North-South Prize
Encyclopedia
The North–South Prize is awarded annually by the North-South Centre
of the Council of Europe
to two public figures who are recognised for their deep commitment, outstanding achievements and hope they have generated in the field of protection of human rights
, the defence of pluralist democracy and North-South partnership and solidarity. The prize originated in 1995 and it is sometimes known as the Lisbon North–South Prize.
The call for candidates is made on its website and its Newsletters. The Centre's partners are similarly asked to inform their respective media organs. The file is sent for review to each member of the jury. After studying the files, the North–South Prize Jury makes a final decision on the candidates.
North-South Centre
The North–South Centre, officially named the European Centre for Global Interdependence and Solidarity, is an autonomous agency — called a Partial Agreement — of the Council of Europe, the oldest political organisation of European states.-History:...
of the Council of Europe
Council of Europe
The Council of Europe is an international organisation promoting co-operation between all countries of Europe in the areas of legal standards, human rights, democratic development, the rule of law and cultural co-operation...
to two public figures who are recognised for their deep commitment, outstanding achievements and hope they have generated in the field of protection of human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
, the defence of pluralist democracy and North-South partnership and solidarity. The prize originated in 1995 and it is sometimes known as the Lisbon North–South Prize.
Call for candidates and selection
The "quadrilogue" (made up of governments, members of parliament, local and regional authorities, and non-governmental organisations from civil society) involved in overseeing the North-South Centre of the Council of Europe, along with media representatives and international and regional government organisations, are urged to name individuals or an organisation whose activities are considered worthy of distinction.The call for candidates is made on its website and its Newsletters. The Centre's partners are similarly asked to inform their respective media organs. The file is sent for review to each member of the jury. After studying the files, the North–South Prize Jury makes a final decision on the candidates.
Candidate selection criteria
The Prize is awarded to a candidate from the North and one from the South (preferably to a man and a woman). Candidates should be recognised within the following fields of action: human rights protection, defence of pluralist democracy, promotion of public awareness about issues concerning global solidarity and interdependence, and reinforcement of the North-South partnership. Candidates may be nominated for their achievements within the cultural, institutional and political fields.North-South Prize Jury
The North–South Prize Jury is composed of the Members of the Bureau of the North-South Centre and the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, under the presidency of the Chairman of the Executive Council of the North-South Centre. The Jury is helped in its task by the Secretariat of the North-South Centre.The winners
- 1995 Peter GabrielPeter GabrielPeter Brian Gabriel is an English singer, musician, and songwriter who rose to fame as the lead vocalist and flautist of the progressive rock group Genesis. After leaving Genesis, Gabriel went on to a successful solo career...
and Vera DuarteVera DuarteVera Duarte is a Cape Verdean human rights activist, government minister and politician. Duarte was the recipient of the inaugural North–South Prize in 1995, along with musician, Peter Gabriel. The North–South Prize is awarded annually to recipients in the field of human rights by the North–South... - 1996 Danielle MitterrandDanielle MitterrandDanielle Mitterrand was the wife of French President François Mitterrand, and president of the foundation France Libertés Fondation Danielle Mitterrand.-Biography:...
and Algerian women - 1997 Mary RobinsonMary RobinsonMary Therese Winifred Robinson served as the seventh, and first female, President of Ireland from 1990 to 1997, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, from 1997 to 2002. She first rose to prominence as an academic, barrister, campaigner and member of the Irish Senate...
and Patricio AylwinPatricio AylwinPatricio Aylwin Azócar was the first president of Chile after its return to democratic rule in 1990, following the military dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet.- Early life :... - 1998 Graça MachelGraça MachelGraça Machel, DBE is a Mozambican politician and humanitarian. She is the third wife of former South African president Nelson Mandela and the widow of Mozambican president Samora Machel...
and Lloyd AxworthyLloyd AxworthyLloyd Norman Axworthy, PC, OC, OM is a prominent Canadian politician, statesman and University President from Manitoba. He is best known for having served as Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Jean Chrétien... - 1999 Emma BoninoEmma BoninoEmma Bonino is an Italian politician, former Member of the European Parliament and current Member of the Italian Senate. She is a leading member of the Italian Radicals, a political party that supports economic and social libertarianism, and human rights...
and Abderrahmane YoussoufiAbderrahmane YoussoufiAbderrahmane Youssoufi is a Moroccan politician who served as the Prime Minister of Morocco from 1998 to 2002.-Early life:... - 2000 Marguerite BarankitseMarguerite Barankitse-Humanitarian work:Barankitse began providing food and shelter to 25 children on October 25, 1993, one of the worst days of the Burundi Civil War. She saw many people brutally killed before her very own eyes and gathered 25 children who were there as well so she could help them...
and Mário SoaresMário SoaresMário Alberto Nobre Lopes Soares, GColTE, GCC, GColL, KE , Portuguese politician, served as Prime Minister of Portugal from 1976 to 1978 and from 1983 to 1985, and subsequently as the 17th President of Portugal from 1986 to 1996.-Family:... - 2001 Maria de Nazaré Gadelha Ferreira Fernandes and Cornelio SommarugaCornelio SommarugaCornelio Sommaruga is a prominent Swiss humanitarian, lawyer and diplomat who is best known for being President of the International Committee of the Red Cross from 1987 to 1999. Today, he chairs the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining in Geneva...
- 2002 Albina du BoisrouvrayAlbina du BoisrouvrayAlbina du Boisrouvray is a former journalist and film producer who has become a global philanthropist and social entrepreneur working with AIDS orphans and vulnerable children around the world. She is a grandchild of the Bolivian King of Tin, Simón Patiño, who was one of the wealthiest men in the...
and Xanana GusmãoXanana GusmãoKay Rala Xanana Gusmão GCL is a former militant who was the first President of East Timor, serving from May 2002 to May 2007... - 2003 Frene GinwalaFrene GinwalaFrene Noshir Ginwala is a South African journalist and politician who was the Speaker of the National Assembly of South Africa from 1994 to 2004.Frene Ginwala is an Indian South African from the Parsi-Indian community of western India...
and António de Almeida SantosAntónio de Almeida SantosAntónio de Almeida Santos, GCL , is a Portuguese lawyer, politician, parliamentary and minister in several occasions.-Career:... - 2004 Nawal El SaadawiNawal El SaadawiNawal El Saadawi , born October 27, 1931, is an Egyptian feminist writer, activist, physician and psychiatrist. She has written many books on the subject of women in Islam, paying particular attention to the practice of female genital mutilation in her society....
and Stéphane HesselStéphane HesselStéphane Frédéric Hessel is a diplomat, ambassador, writer, concentration camp survivor, former French Resistance fighter and BCRA agent. Born German, he became a naturalised French citizen in 1939... - 2005 Bogaletch GebreBogaletch GebreBogaletch Gebre is an Ethiopian women's-rights activist. She is the co-founder of KMG Ethiopia .- Awards :* The 2005 North-South Prize...
and Bob GeldofBob GeldofRobert Frederick Zenon "Bob" Geldof, KBE is an Irish singer, songwriter, author, occasional actor and political activist. He rose to prominence as the lead singer of the Irish rock band The Boomtown Rats in the late 1970s and early 1980s alongside the punk rock movement. The band had hits with his... - 2006 Mukhtaran BibiMukhtaran BibiMukhtaran Bibi is a Pakistani woman from the village of Meerwala, in the rural tehsil of Jatoi of the Muzaffargarh District of Pakistan...
and Francisco Van Der HoffFrans van der HoffFrans van der Hoff , or Francisco VanderHoff Boersma as he is called in Latin America, is a Dutch missionary who, in collaboration with Nico Roozen and ecumenical development agency Solidaridad, launched Max Havelaar, the first Fairtrade label in 1988... - 2007 Kofi AnnanKofi AnnanKofi Atta Annan is a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh Secretary-General of the UN from 1 January 1997 to 31 December 2006...
and Simone VeilSimone VeilSimone Veil, DBE is a French lawyer and politician who served as Minister of Health under Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, President of the European Parliament and member of the Constitutional Council of France.... - 2008 Jorge Sampaio and Rania of Jordan
- 2009 Mikhael Gorbachev and Rola DashtiRola DashtiRola Dashti is a Kuwaiti activist advocating democratic reform, gender equality and increased roles for women in public life. Dashti lobbied for the May 2005 decree permitting Kuwaiti women to vote and run for parliamentary elections for the first time...
- 2010 Louise ArbourLouise ArbourLouise Arbour, is the former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, a former justice of the Supreme Court of Canada and the Court of Appeal for Ontario and a former Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda...
and Lula da Silva - 2011 Boris TadićBoris TadicBoris Tadić is the President of Serbia and leader of the Democratic Party. He was elected to a five-year term on 27 June 2004, and was sworn into office on 11 July. He was re-elected for a de facto second five-year term on 3 February 2008 and was sworn in on 15 February...
and Souhayr BelhassenSouhayr BelhassenSouhayr Belhassen is a Tunisian human rights activist and journalist. She has served as the President of the International Federation for Human Rights based in Paris since April 26, 2007...