U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan is "delighted" that the 2005 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and its director-general, Mohamed ElBaradei, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said today. "The secretary-general congratulates him and the entire staff of the agency, past and present, on their contributions to global peace," Dujarric told reporters. ElBaradei and the IAEA join 12 other U.N. officials or agencies, including Annan, as recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize. "The prize is a welcome reminder of the acute need to make progress on the issue of nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament at a time when weapons of mass destruction continue to pose a grave danger to us all," said Dujarric. The United Nations formed the IAEA in 1957 to stem the proliferation of nuclear weapons and to promote the safe and peaceful uses of nuclear technology. ElBaradei, an Egyptian national, has been director since 1997.
