OSLO, Norway – Chief U.N. nuclear inspector Mohamed ElBaradei accepted the 2005 Nobel Peace Prize on Saturday, sharing the award with his International Atomic Energy Agency for efforts to control the spread of nuclear weapons.
While accepting the award, ElBaradei warned that humanity faces a choice between atomic weapons and survival.
"I have no doubt that if we hope to escape self-destruction, then nuclear weapons should have no place in our collective conscience, and no role in our security," the 63-year-old Egyptian said.
Six decades after the United States dropped atomic bombs on two Japanese cities and 15 years after the Cold War ended, the threat of nuclear nightmare remains strong, ElBaradei said. The world community is deeply concerned about possible atomic weapons programs in Iran and North Korea, and terrorists' increasingly sophisticated efforts to obtain nuclear weapons.
"The Nobel Peace Prize is a powerful message," ElBaradei said. "A durable peace is not a single achievement, but an environment, a process and a commitment."
Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox