Tenor Joseph Calleja was the guest singer at a ceremony held last night during which Amnesty International handed its highest honour to the Pakistani education activist and Nobel Peace Prize nominee Malala Yousafzai.

Malala shared the Ambassador of Conscience Award with American singer and human rights activist Harry Belafonte.

The ceremony was held in Dublin.

The award recognised "individuals who have promoted and enhanced the cause of human rights through their life and by example."

Malala was shot in the head and neck by Taliban gunmen in her native Swat Valley in northwest Pakistan last October, in an attack that drew worldwide condemnation.

She was flown to Britain for surgery and returned to school in Birmingham in March. The 16-year-old schoolgirl and former BBC blogger, wrote about life under Taliban pressure and her views about promoting education for girls.

Malala said she was "truly honored" to receive the award, adding: "I hope that by working together we will one day realize our dream of education for every child, in every corner of the world." 

Calleja,  was accompanied on stage by German guitarist Carl Carlton, who lives in Xaghra. They performed the track Miss Sarajevo, originally performed by Bono and Luciano Pavarotti.

U2's Bono and former Pink Floyd frontman Roger Waters were among those who took part in the ceremony.