Mayor Orlando gets the “North-South Prize of the Council of Europe”

Mayor Leoluca Orlando was awarded today with the "North-South Prize of the Council of Europe", "for his commitment to human rights and for affirming the role of law at the local level".

Since 1995, the prize has been awarded annually by the Council of Europe to two personalities who have distinguished themselves for the protection of human rights, international solidarity and democracy.

The award for 2019 went to the mayor of Palermo and the Tunisian sociologist Nabila Hamza, vice president of the Municipality of La Marsa, as well as one of the first women elected to a municipal council in Tunisia.

The award was presented by the President of the Portuguese Republic Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, in the presence of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Marija Pejčinović Burić, and the President of the General Assembly of the Council of Europe, Rik Daems. To receive the award was the Ambassador of Italy to Portugal, Carlo Formosa.


In his speech of thanks, the mayor - who participated in the ceremony by videoconference - said that the Award "confirms the leadership role of the Council of Europe in the promotion of human rights and confirms that the Italian and European mayors who promote culture and the practice of human rights are not alone in this endeavor.
This award is an honor not only for me, but also for the many who in recent years have fought for fundamental rights, for peace, for liberation from the slavery of hunger, for the inalienable right to life ".