Leaders to take US peace prize

Tony Blair and Bertie Ahern to be honoured

UK Prime Minister Tony Blair and his Irish counterpart Bertie Ahern are to be honoured in the US for their role in advancing the Northern Ireland peace process.

Both leaders will receive the Thomas J Dodd Prize in International Justice and Human Rights for their role in the development of the Good Friday Agreement.

They are to be recognised in a ceremony at the University of Connecticut on Wednesday.

The university said Mr Ahern would attend while Mr Blair would be represented by Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott.

Advance human rights

The move comes as intensive talks are taking place to broker a deal to revive the political institutions in Northern Ireland which have been suspended since last October.

Last week, university president Philip Austin said: "Whether human rights mean the right of a young child to walk safely to school or the right of an entire nation to determine its own future, there are few who have done more in recent history to advance the cause of human rights than Tony Blair and Bertie Ahern."

The honour, as well as 75,000 dollars, is donated biennially to "an individual or group that has made a significant effort to advance the cause of international justice and global human rights".

The Good Friday Agreement was forged in 1998 and set out an agenda for bringing peace to Northern Ireland.

Despite suffering setbacks such as the suspension of the power-sharing Assembly at Stormont - the accord has been seen as a significant advance in the Northern Ireland peace process.