Barack Obama arrived in Oslo yesterday to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. The granting of this prestigious prize to the US president was controversial for a number of reasons. Some complained that it was too soon for the prize to be awarded to Obama as he had only just taken up office and he was yet to achieve any of his foreign policy aspirations. Others criticised the granting of a peace prize to the Commander in Chief of the worlds only military superpower which is currently engaged in two overseas conflicts. This latter point was directly addressed by Obama in his acceptance speech in Oslo yesterday. The speech includes many moments of rhetorical flourish, typical of Obama, culminating in a call for “faith in human progress [to] always be the North Star that guides us on our journey.” However, there are also several points in the speech which are of particular interest for international lawyers.