25 Rights NGOs Respond to Ukraine Invasion By Hosting Russian Opposition Leader

GENEVA, February 24, 2022 —  A coalition of 25 non-governmental human rights groups announced today that Russian opposition leader and chief of staff to the imprisoned Alexei Navalny Leonid Volkov will speak at the 14th annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy.

Volkov will expose Russia’s human rights abuses at home and abroad at the April 6 event, where he will address an audience of UN diplomats, human rights activists and journalists from around the world.

Volkov was invited to “ensure Vladimir Putin is unable to hide his domestic crackdown under the fog of war,” said Hillel Neuer, executive director of United Nations Watch, a co-organizer of the conference together with Liberal International and Human Rights Foundation, among others.

Also announced as speakers this week:

  • Tatsiana Khomich, Sister to imprisoned Belarussian opposition leader Maria Kalesnikava and opposition Representative for Political Prisoners.
  • Mariam Claren, Daughter to German-Iranian dual national and women’s rights activist Nahid Taghavi, who has been held hostage in Iran since October 2020.

The Geneva Summit takes place at the CICG in Geneva, Switzerland, on April 6, 2022, when courageous dissidents and champions of human rights from around the world will gather to tell their compelling personal stories of arrest and imprisonment by the world’s worst regimes.

Click here to register for the event. Participation is free, but registration is mandatory.

For media inquiries, please contact Pat Rose at media@genevasummit.org.

Image

Related

Democracy

Protesting Against Putin with Polina Nemirovskaia

Polina Nemirovskaia, a seasoned human rights campaigner in Russia and active player in the political campaigns of Boris Nemtsov before his tragic addition to the list of high-profile political critics of President Vladimir Putin assassinated for their dissent, addresses the 8th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see

Democracy

Rights in Russia with Lyubov Sobol

Lyubov Sobol, Russian lawyer, anti-corruption activist and leader of the pro-democracy movement, addresses the 12th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy — see quotes below, followed by full prepared remarks. On her election candidacy: “This past summer I ran for election in the Moscow City Duma.” “Independent, democratically

Authoritarianism

Putin’s Propaganda with James Kirchick

James Kirchik, visiting fellow at the Center on the United States and Europe and the Project on International Order and Strategy at the Brookings Institution, addresses the 6th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see below for full prepared remarks.   Full Remarks   James Kirchik: I turned on the