The 2020 North-South Prize of the Council of Europe will be awarded to the International Commission against the Death Penalty (ICDP), represented by its President, Judge Navanethem Pillay, in recognition of its contribution to the protection of the right to life and its dedication to international solidarity and global partnership. It will also be awarded to the Mediterranean Expert Network on Climate and Environmental Change (MedECC), represented by Professors Wolfgang Cramer and Dr Joël Guiot, for its elaboration of the first ever scientific assessment on the impact of climate and environmental change in the Mediterranean basin.

Twenty-four personalities and twenty-three States contribute to the ICDP's mission, working toward the universal abolition of the death penalty. The MedECC is composed of over six-hundred scientists from thirty-five Mediterranean and European States dedicated to environmental research and policy planning.

The Prize will be presented by the Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa. The President of the Assembly of the Portuguese Republic, the Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe, as well as the President of the Executive Committee of the North-South Centre will also be part of the event. 

The Ceremony of the North-South Prize of the Council of Europe represents a major event for interregional dialogue. The Jury's decision reminds us that we are inextricably linked with the other regions of the world, and that, striving to make this unity ever more enduring, many are those who dedicate their lives to global solidarity. The Award Ceremony is a tribute to their stories and their commitments. It is a great honour for us to welcome this year's representatives of the ICDP and MedECC, Judge Navanethem Pillay and Professors Wolfgang Cramer and Joël Guiot, for the Award Ceremony of the 2020 North-South Prize of the Council of Europe, to celebrate together the prowess of a commitment that spans continents.

Ambassador Afonso Henriques Abreu de Azeredo Malheiro, Executive Director of the North-South Centre of the Council of Europe.