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Speech by Alain Berset, Secretary General of the Council of Europe
Your Excellency, President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa,
Mr. José Pedro Aguiar-Branco, President of the Assembleia da República,
Mr. Miguel Ángel Moratinos, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations,
Ambassador Francesca Camilleri Vettiger, President of the Executive Committee of the North-South Centre,
Ms. Edite Estrela, Head of the Delegation of the Assembleia da República to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe,
Ms. Nawal El Moutawakel, Vice President of the International Olympic Committee,
Ms. Leila Marques, Vice President of the International Paralympic Committee,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is an honour to be here with you today in Lisbon for this ceremony.
É um prazer especial fazer a minha primeira visita oficial a Portugal como Secretário-Geral do Conselho da Europa.
In just a few days, we will mark seventy-five years of the European Convention on Human Rights.
A milestone for our continent.
And our North Star as we navigate what I have called a “perfect storm.”
Crises from the war in Ukraine to disinformation and the rise of extremism that are threatening both democracy, multilateralism, and ultimately peace.
The Council of Europe is first and foremost a peace project.
Peace built on justice and international cooperation — vital for the preservation of human society and civilisation.
This is what the North-South Centre is all about.
And that is why this prize matters.
Today’s discourse is too often anti.
Anti-European. Anti-immigration. Anti-elite. Anti-system.
The recipients we honour today are the opposite.
They are for dialogue. For human dignity. For hope.
They are beacons of courage and conviction in this perfect storm.
Under-Secretary-General Miguel Ángel Moratinos has devoted his life to peace, intercultural dialogue, and multilateralism.
As he told the University of Balamand students in Lebanon in June, what the world needs today is “Dialogue over division. Learning over ignorance. And compassion over fear.”
The world needs more Miguel Ángel Moratinos.
That spirit of bridge-building is what this Prize honours.
Today, we also celebrate the Olympic Refuge Foundation, the International Olympic Committee, and the International Paralympic Committee.
By empowering refugee athletes, they give life to inclusion and human dignity.
And it deeply resonates with the work of the Council of Europe in the field of sport.
I am pleased that we are joined by Cindy Ngamba and Zakia Khudadadi, two Olympic and Paralympic medallists who have made history.
As Zakia said: “Je cherchais un moyen de transformer mon handicap en force, c’est pourquoi j’ai commencé le sport.”
Turning a disability into strength.
Both of them remind us of the power of example — and the example of power.
Antes de concluir, gostaria de agradecer às autoridades portuguesas pelo seu apoio firme ao Prémio Norte-Sul e ao nosso Centro Norte-Sul.
Quero também expressar a minha gratidão pessoal ao Presidente Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa pela sua liderança e pelo profundo compromisso de Portugal com o trabalho do Conselho da Europa.
E, Senhor Presidente, aproveito esta oportunidade para o convidar calorosamente a vir a Estrasburgo num futuro muito próximo.
The external action of the Council of Europe is a strategic imperative — one of my top priorities.
In today’s perfect storm, credibility means accountability, no double standards, and the courage to act.
This Prize speaks of what endures.
Peace, justice, human rights, and cooperation.
The bedrock of our shared future.
Thank you.