Youssoufi gets Lisbon North-South Forum 99 Prize

Premier Abderrahman Youssoufi and former European commissioner Emma Bonino will be awarded Friday the Lisbon North-South Forum 99 Prize with President Jorge Sampaio and Portuguese Cabinet members attending.

The 1999 Lisbon Forum, stemming from the European Council, convenes in the Portuguese capital Oct 29-31 to tackle in two separate workgroups issues related to the "Democratic process and human rights protection in the Mediterranean."

After the opening session chaired by political affairs director of the European Council Hans-Peter Furrer and former president Mario Soares, a plenary will assess progress made in the protection of human rights in the Mediterranean. In another plenary, participants will look into "Euro-Mediterranean partnership: Facts and prospects" before the closing session on Saturday and adoption of the "Lisbon Declaration."

Since inception in 1991, the forum convenes every year to look into one of the major topic related to human rights in the North-South dialogue.