"Women's rights are a concern, an interest and a policy," she said in an interview with Lusa in Lisbon, admitting that one of her main concerns is gender equality.

The award received today is, for this activist, a sign of recognition.

"It is the recognition of Moroccan women, Muslim women, Imazighen women" (a group of North African peoples who speak Berber languages), she said, adding that it is also "a recognition of what [Morocco] has done or is doing in relation to human rights and, specifically, women's rights".

According to the activist, Morocco has a specific approach to working on human rights, based on three elements.

"The first is the interaction between non-governmental organisations, States and institutional actors", which allows "a first consensus", she explained; the second element is consensus, that is, "the type of responses that can be given to problems".

Finally, the third aspect is to have "an inclusive society, with a participatory approach from all Moroccan people from the 12 regions of Morocco".

"I think this award also recognised this approach to implementing human rights and democracy," she reiterated.

For the activist, who is also president of the National Human Rights Council of Morocco, the current world situation requires a "'remobilisation' around the values and principles of human rights" and needs "a lot of perseverance".

"We have to find a balance in each situation, in each country, in each continent, in each conflict. We cannot implement standards for the North and standards for the South," she argued, stressing that the international community has not yet found ways to balance solutions between the North and the South for specific issues.

A staunch advocate for the abolition of the death penalty in all countries, Amina Bouayach admits that sanctioning states that follow this solution "is important, but not enough".

"We have to promote the right to life, the duty to respect the physical integrity of each person. Killing is an act of violence and states should fight against violence," she stressed.

The Moroccan activist received today, together with the Global Campus of Human Rights network of universities, the 2023 North-South Prize, awarded by the Council of Europe, in a ceremony held at the Assembly of the Republic.

According to the organisation's jury, Amina Bouayach was chosen "for her commitment to promoting human rights, gender equality and the prevention of torture at regional and continental level".

Awarded today by the President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, the award has a long list of winners since 1995, including the Portuguese Jorge Sampaio, António de Almeida Santos and Mário Soares.

Read Also: Moroccan activist receives today the North-South Prize of the Council of Europe (Portuguese version)