Speech delivered by the President of the Republic at the award ceremony of the 2007 North-South Prize of the Council of Europe
Parliament Building, March 19, 2007
Honourable Speaker
Honourable Secretary-General of the Council of Europe
Honourable Vice-President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
Honourable President of the Executive Committee of the North-South Centre
Honourable Prize Winners
Honourable Ambassadors
Members of Parliament
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am particularly pleased to take part, in this Parliament Building, in the award ceremony of the North-South Prizes of the Council of Europe.
I wish, first of all, to render homage to the Council of Europe which, by defending Human Rights, democracy and the Rule of Law, contributed decisively to a European identity based on these values.
The Council of Europe is in our debt for having established fundamental instruments for the qualitative progress of the building of Europe, such as the European Convention on Human Rights and the European Social Charter, which today are global references that enrich the universal culture of Human Rights.
The Council of Europe revealed early on, a special interest in greater cooperation and solidarity and a more outright dialogue between North and South, with respect and valuation of human rights as a background. It was precisely this concern that was the source of the decisions taken in this Parliament, in 1984, to create a body to promote worldwide solidarity in a North-South perspective.
Later, as Prime Minister, I was extremely pleased to formalize the presentation to the Council of Europe of the proposal to create the European Centre for Worldwide Interdependence and Solidarity, known as North-South Centre, with headquarters in Lisbon, a project which came into fruition in 1990.
The North-South Centre has developed a particularly valuable activity towards a greater awareness of the problems surrounding global interdependence and in favour of policies that promote a closer and friendlier relationship between the North and the South.
The mission of the North-South Centre is now of greater opportunity than ever. The challenges of globalization and the inequalities that continue to exist, whether in matters of fundamental freedom or in the levels of social and economic development, demand a redoubled sense of responsibility and solidarity towards the more penalized and unprotected peoples.
I am fully convinced that only through a globalization imbued with pluralism and solidarity will we be able to reach a fairer, more balanced and sustainable worldwide development, this being an objective which each of us must promote, independently from the offices we occupy.
The winners of this year’s North-South Prize are the very example of what I have just said. Their courage, determination and exceptional spirit of solidarity contribute to strengthen our conviction that it is possible to make a difference and to build a better and fairer world.
The example of the life of Mrs. Mukhtaran Bibi shows us the possibility of making adversity the reason for an untiring militancy against violence and discrimination, in a dignifying campaign in defence of women’s rights.
This path shows us also that the fight against discrimination can only be won if we are able to combat its deeper causes, by eradicating illiteracy and willing to future generations the fulfilment of the universal and inalienable right of access to learning and education.
In turn, the actions of Father Francisco Van Der Hoff are an example of altruism, of active citizenry and of dedication to the cause of a fairer and more equitable development for all.
The movement and, later, the marque “fair trading” proves, amongst other aspects, that it is possible to ensure the inclusion in world economy of the humbler and less protected producers, simultaneously promoting an economic development which respects the environment and the living conditions of the native populations.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
At a time when the assertion of citizenry and solidarity is conditioned by an egotism which leads to exclusion, the North-South Prize has a very particular significance, when distinguishing persons such as Mrs. Mukhtaran Bibi and Father Francisco Van Der Hoff, whose dedication to the community should be an example and a stimulus to all of us.
It was due to decisions such as this that, throughout the last 12 years, this Prize has become a symbol of the founding matrix of the North-South Centre. I am certain that it will so continue in the future.
Thank you very much.
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