On 29 October 2025the North-South Centre in Lisbon announced that the 2025 North-South Prize is awarded to Miguel Ángel Moratinos and the Olympic refugee sports initiative
© North-South Centre of the Council of Europe // North-South Prize of the Council of Europe
The Council of Europe North-South Prize has been awarded to Miguel Ángel Moratinos, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for the United Nations Alliance of civilizations, and to an initiative that enables refugees to compete in the Olympic and Paralympic Games. The award ceremony took place at the Portuguese Parliament in Lisbon.
In his speech at the ceremony, Secretary General Alain Berset said: “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. The recipients we honour today are for dialogue, human dignity, and for hope”.
Miguel Ángel Moratinos has been rewarded for his career in diplomacy and international relations, dedicated to advancing peace – notably in the Middle East, for which he was European Union Special Representative for seven years – and intercultural dialogue between different regions. He has also served, among other roles, as Minister of Foreign Affairs of Spain.
The initiative enabling refugees to compete in the Olympic and Paralympic Games – led by the Olympic Refuge Foundation, the International Olympic Committee and the International Paralympic Committee – was honoured for their commitment to making the participation of refugee athletes in the Olympic and Paralympic Games possible. By competing on the world stage, these athletes – displaced by conflict, persecution or crises – inspire hope and exemplify the power of sport to unite people in the spirit of fair play, tolerance and cooperation.
The initiative was represented at the ceremony by Nawal El Moutawakel, Vice-President of the International Olympic Committee, Leila Marques, Vice-President of the International Paralympic Committee, and the athletes Cindy Ngamba and Zakia Khudadadi, who made history as the first members of the Refugee Olympic and Paralympic teams to win a medal.
For more on the North-South Prize and its laureates, see: https://www.trueheroesfilms.org/thedigest/awards/8FA97F67-9D63-4D8D-B00D-B260262A61E2
Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards 