The Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy is a major conference that shines a spotlight on urgent human rights situations that require global attention. It provides human rights heroes, activists and former political prisoners with a unique platform to testify about their personal struggles for democracy and freedom, while building an international community to take on dictatorships. The Summit is held around the main annual session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, when foreign ministers gather in Geneva, to place critical issues onto the international agenda. 

2025 Speakers

Russia

Garry Kasparov

Human rights activist, promoter of democracy, and former World Chess Champion

Afghanistan

Massouda Jalal

Former Afghan Minister of Women’s Affairs and the first woman to run for President of Afghanistan

Hong Kong

Sebastien Lai

Democracy activist and son of imprisoned pro-democracy media entrepreneur Jimmy Lai

Saudi Arabia

Tirad Badawi

Son of Raif Badawi, banned from leaving Saudi Arabia for promoting liberalism

2025 PROGRAM

MORNING SESSION

10:00 WELCOME

Hillel Neuer, Executive director of United Nations Watch, on behalf of 30 co-sponsoring NGOs

 

10:10 OPENING ADDRESS

Garry Kasparov, Vice-President of World Liberty Congress, pro-democracy leader, author, former world chess champion
 
 

10:20 SURVIVING PUTIN’S GULAG: THE PRICE OF DISSENT IN RUSSIA

Evgenia Kara-Murza, Advocacy Director of the Free Russia Foundation, defending anti-war activists, dissidents and political prisoners
Vladimir Kara-Murza, Russian opposition leader, author, historian, filmmaker, survivor of two poisoning attempts and harsh imprisonment
 
 

10:40 STILL NOT FREE: THE FIGHT FOR LIBERALISM IN SAUDI ARABIA

Tirad Badawi, Son of human rights activist Raif Badawi who was imprisoned for 10 years in Saudi Arabia and remains barred from leaving
 
 

10:50 MY FATHER’S LEGACY: FIGHTING FOR DEMOCRACY IN CHINA 

Times Wang, Human rights lawyer, son of Chinese democracy pioneer Wang Bingzhang who has been imprisoned since 2002
 
 

11:00 EMPTY CHAIR: MARIA KALESNIKAVA, POLITICAL PRISONER IN BELARUS   

 

11:05 SACRIFICING EVERYTHING TO SAVE DEMOCRACY IN HONG KONG

Sebastien Lai, Leader of the international #FreeJimmyLai campaign, son of imprisoned pro-democracy newspaper publisher Jimmy Lai 
 
 

11:15 THE CAMPAIGN TO STOP CHINA’S DESTRUCTION OF THE UYGHURS 

Rahima Mahmut, Uyghur human rights activist, translator and singer
 
 

11:25 BORDERLESS REPRESSION: THE LONG REACH OF VIETNAM’S REGIME

Nguyen Van Trang, Vietnamese democracy activist, survivor of regime attacks and transnational repression

 

11:35 2025 INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S RIGHTS AWARDS

Dr. Massouda Jalal, Former Afghan Minister of Women’s Affairs and the first woman to run for President of Afghanistan
Husna Jalal, Exiled Afghan women’s rights activist
 
 

AFTERNOON SESSION 

14:30 2025 KEYNOTE ADDRESS: THE STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM IN IRAN

Reza Pahlavi, Crown Prince of Iran
 
 

14:50 PANEL: THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC’S BRUTALITY AGAINST PROTESTERS

  • Mahan Mehrabi, Sister of political prisoner Mahmoud Mehrabi, now facing torture following his arrest for protesting
  • Maryam Diyor, Mother of Abdolfazl Amir-Ataei, who was killed at age 16 by the regime while he attended a protest
  • Saman Pouryaghma, Blinded in one eye after being shot while protesting
 
 

15:15 PUTTING AN END TO FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION

Assita Kanko, Belgian Member of the European Parliament, writer, and women’s rights activist

 
 

15:25 A TIBETAN’S BRAVE ESCAPE FROM THE CHINESE REGIME 

Namkyi, Exiled Tibetan activist and former political prisoner 

 

15:35 2025 DEFENDER OF FREEDOM AWARD

Presenter: Vladimir Kara-Murza
  • Irwin Cotler, International human rights lawyer for political prisoners, legal scholar, former Canadian Minister of Justice and Attorney-General
 

15:50 SUDAN’S ONGOING NIGHTMARE: PREVENTING FURTHER ATROCITIES

Niemat Ahmadi, Survivor of the Darfur Genocide, Sudanese women’s rights defender, Founder and President of Darfur Women Action Group
 
 

16:00 EMPTY CHAIR: RAHILE DAWUT, UYGHUR SCHOLAR DISAPPEARED BY CHINA

 
 

16:10 ERITREA AND THE WORLD’S LONGEST IMPRISONED JOURNALIST 

Betlehem Isaak, Swedish-Eritrean writer, daughter of journalist Dawit Isaak who has been detained in Eritrean prison without trial for 24 years
 
 

16:20 FIGHTING FOR DEMOCRACY AND HUMAN RIGHTS IN LATIN AMERICA

Javier El-Hage, Chief Legal and Policy Officer of Human Rights Foundation
 
 

16:35 2025 COURAGE AWARD

 
 

16:50 CALL TO ACTION: CARRYING THE TORCH OF HUMAN RIGHTS FORWARD

Brandon Silver, International human rights lawyer, 2024 Magnitzky Award laureate, Director of Policy & Projects at Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights
 
 

17:00 CONCLUSION

 

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2024 Geneva Summit Highlights:

The 16th Geneva Summit was held on Wednesday, May 15, 2024. The event was attended by hundreds of dissidents, victims, diplomats, journalists, student leaders and other concerned citizens. Thousands more watched online.

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