Dissidents to Meet at U.N. for Human Rights Summit

GENEVA, March 30, 2023 — An international coalition of 25 human rights organizations announced today that it will hold its 15th annual gathering of pro-democracy dissidents — courageous activists from around the globe who are standing up against dictatorships — on May 17, 2023, in Geneva, Switzerland.

On May 16, the 2023 Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy will hold its opening session at the Palais des Nations, the European headquarters of the United Nations.

The renowned Geneva Summit assembles hundreds of courageous dissidents, human rights activists, diplomats, journalists, and student leaders to shine a spotlight on urgent human rights situations that require global attention, including Afghanistan, Cuba, China, Iran, Russia, Ukraine, Venezuela and Zimbabwe.

The event will showcase the voices of the world’s bravest human rights defenders, many of whom have suffered torture, and give a vital platform to family members of political prisoners who are struggling to free their loved ones.

Previous editions of the Geneva Summit have drawn a standing-room only audience of more than 800 participants, along with international coverage in major media including CNN, BBC, Al Jazeera, Le Monde and TIME magazine.

Admission to this year’s Geneva Summit is free and open to the public, but registration is mandatory.

For media inquiries and interview requests, please contact Pat Rose at media[]genevasummit.org.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Geneva Summit 2023 Speakers:

Evgenia Kara Murza, Human rights activist, wife of jailed Russian prisoner of conscience and opposition politician Vladimir Kara-Murza

Yang Jianli, President of Initiatives for China, former political prisoner

Peter Yang, Son of Guo Feixiong, imprisoned Chinese “barefoot lawyer” and civil rights activist

Dr. Gyal Lo, Academic expert on China’s mass use of boarding schools to eradicate Tibetan identity and culture

Frances Hui, First Hong Kong activist granted political asylum in the US, Director of We the Hong Kongers organization

Qelbinur Sidik, Uyghur activist, witness to Chinese reeducation camp atrocities, survivor of forced sterilization

Fadzayi Mahere, Constitutional lawyer and opposition spokesperson arrested repeatedly in Zimbabwe

Nila Ibrahimi, 15-year-old Hazara activist who narrowly escaped the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan

Shima Babaei, Activist imprisoned for removing hijab, daughter of forcibly disappeared dissident Ebrahim Babaei

Darya Safai, Belgian MP fighting for rights of Iranian women

Hadrien Ghomi, French MP outspoken for victims of repression in Iran

Alireza Akhondi, Swedish MP campaigning to designate IRGC as terrorist entity

Ali Ehsassi, Chair of Foreign Affairs Committee, Canadian Parliament

Dolkun Isa, President of the World Uyghur Congress

Songmi Han, North Korean escapee and survivor of extreme poverty, oppression, and abandonment

Andrey Kurkov, Renowned Ukrainian novelist, author of “Diary of an Invasion” on Russia’s war

Anastasia Shevchenko, First dissident convicted under Russia’s “undesirable organizations” law, profiled in Oscar-shortlisted film “Anastasia”

Marie-Claire Kakpotia, Survivor and activist fighting to end Female Genital Mutilation

Nevşin Mengü, Turkish journalist dropped from CNN Turk after she criticized President Erdogan

Melissa Mahtani, Journalist, former CNN producer

Abraham Jiménez Enoa, Prominent Cuban journalist forced into exile, grandson of the bodyguard to Fidel Castro and Che Guevara

Hasler Iglesias, Venezuelan youth leader, went into hiding to escape arrest by the Maduro regime

Hillel Neuer, Executive Director of United Nations Watch, on behalf of the 25 NGO co-sponsors of the Geneva Summit

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

Related

Yazidi Genocide

Geneva Summit 2016 Women’s Rights Award with Jan Ilhan Kizilhan

Professor Dr. Dr. Jan Ilhan Kizilhan, German psychologist who has helped to repair the shattered and broken lives of countless Yezidi women who have suffered at the hands of ISIS, addresses the 8th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see quotes below, followed by full prepared remarks. On

Democracy

Fighting Authoritarianism with Javier El-Hage

Javier El-Hage, chief legal officer of the Human Rights Foundation, addresses the 10th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see quotes below, followed by full prepared remarks. On learning the importance of liberty: “The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots

Human Rights

Fighting for Dignity in Tibet with Tenzin Dhardon Sharling

Tenzin Dhardon Sharling, the youngest member of the Tibetan Parliament in exile, addresses the 6th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see below for full prepared remarks.   Full Remarks   Tenzin Dhardon Sharling: Good morning everyone.  First of all, a huge thanks to the UN watch for organizing

Long Live the Troublemakers with Yang Jianli

Yang Jianli, leading Chinese dissident and pro-democracy activist, addresses the 6th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see below for full prepared remarks.   Full remarks   TBC

From Moscow to the Middle East: The Silencing of Critical Voices with Kacem El Ghazzali, Lukpan Akhmedyarov, Guy Mettan, Pyotr Verzilov

A panel including one of Kazakhstan’s most prominent independent journalists and former editor-in-chief and reporter at Uralskaya Nedelya, Lukpan Akhmedyarov;  Moroccan human rights activist and intellectual, Kacem El Ghazzali; journalist and former Executive Director of the “Club Suisse de la Presse,” Guy Mettan; and Russian performance artist, political activist, and

Human Rights

Welcome with Isabel Rochat

Isabel Rochat, member of the Council of the Geneva canton between 2009 and 2013 and member of the Federal Commission Against Racism until 2012, delivers opening remarks at the 2nd Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see below for full prepared remarks.   Full remarks   Hillel Neuer: On

How the UN can Save Asia Bibi from Execution with Anne-Isabelle Tollet

Anne-Isabelle Tollet, French journalist, novelist, and screenwriter, addresses the 4th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see below for full prepared remarks.   Full remarks   Anne-Isabelle Tollet: I am very honored to be here today and speak to you today about Asia Bibi. She is a 42-year-old wife and

Press Freedom

The Hidden Island: The Life of Cubans Under Dictatorships with Abraham Jiménez Enoa

Prominent Cuban journalist forced into exile, grandson of the bodyguard to Fidel Castro and Che Guevara, Abraham Jiménez Enoa, addresses the 15th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see below his prepared remarks in Spanish, followed by the English translation and the corresponding video. Prepared Remarks: A mediados del

Protecting Press Freedom and Internet Freedom with Nguyen Thanh Van, Grace Kwinjeh, Ilana Soskin, Miguel Angel Rodriguez

A panel including international lawyer and associate counsel at the International Criminal Court (ICC), Ilana Soskin; a Zimbabwean journalist, human rights advocate, and key opponent of the Mugabe regime, Grace Kwinjeh; prominent Venezuelan journalist and political activist, Miguel Angel Rodriguez; and French-Vietnamese exile journalist who was imprisoned by her government for association

Press Freedom

The Pen and the Sword with Asli Erdoğan

Asli Erdoğan, renowned Turkish novelist imprisoned for more than four months following the summer 2016 coup attempt, addresses the 10th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see quotes below, followed by full prepared remarks. On repression in Turkey before and after the coup: “I still have burn marks

Modern Slavery

The Battle to End Slavery with Biram Dah Abeid

Biram Dah Abeid, “the Nelson Mandela of Mauritania,” founder of the Initiative for the Resurgence of the Abolitionist Movement (IRA) and an antislavery campaigner, addresses the 6th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see below for full prepared remarks.   Full Remarks   Biram Dah Abeid: I thank you, dear

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

Women's Rights

Gender Violence in Pakistan with Rakhshinda Perveen

Rakshinda Perveen, Pakistani survivor of gender violence, addresses the 6th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see below for full prepared remarks.   Full Remarks   Rakshinda Perveen: Respected guests of honour, Human Rights heroes, ‘sheroes’, mentors, teachers, friends, colleagues. Ladies and gentlemen, good morning. I would begin by saying

Human Rights

Presentation of the Geneva Summit 2017 Courage Award with Astrid Thors

Astrid Thors, a former OSCE High Commissioner for National Minorities and Finnish MP, addresses the 9th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see quotes below, followed by full prepared remarks. Presenting the 2017 Moral Courage Award to former Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed: “Mister President, your work shows how

Human Rights

Mobilising the 98% with Taha Bawa

Taha Bawa, co-founder of Goodwall, the humanitarian and environmental social network that encourages people to actively contribute to society and seek to inspire others, addresses the 6th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see below for full prepared remarks.   Full Remarks   My name is Taha, and I’m here

Political Prisoners

Losing My Husband to China with Sophie Luo

Wife of imprisoned Chinese human rights lawyer, Sophie Luo, speaks at the 14th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see quotes below, followed by full prepared remarks. On the case of her husband, Ding Jiaxi: “I fell in love with Jiaxi the first time I met him. I’ll

The Right against Arbitrary Arrest with Gwang-il Yung

Gwang-il Yung, a North Korean defector, survivor of a labor camp, an currently working for ‘Free the North Korean Gulag,’ addresses the 3rd Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see below for full prepared remarks.   Full remarks    

Press Freedom

Confronting Erdogan with Yavuz Baydar

Yavuz Baydar, Editor-in-Chief of Ahval, a trilingual Turkish news service, addresses the 7th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see below for full prepared remarks. Full Remarks Good morning everyone, thanks for joining us to discuss and debate issues around this noble cause. I have come here from Turkey, which

Political Prisoners

Iran’s Abusive Legal System with Taghi Rahmani

Taghi Rahmani, Iranian journalist and human rights activist, addresses the 9th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see quotes below, followed by full prepared remarks. On his imprisonment: “I was tortured physically many times but there are many prisoners that have suffered more than I have.” “I personally

Political Prisoners

Geneva Summit 2016 Courage Award with Julieta López

Julieta Lopez, aunt of Latin America’s best-known prisoner of conscience, Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez, accepts the 2016 Geneva Summit Courage Award on his behalf and addresses the 8th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see quotes below, followed by full prepared remarks. On her feelings of

Women’s Rights, Human Dignity and Equality with Mukhtar Mai

Mukhtar Mai, Pakistani author, women’s rights activist, and victim of “honor revenge,” addresses the 5th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see below for full prepared remarks.   Full remarks   Mukhtar Mai: I am thankful for the Geneva Summit and its organizers, and I am thankful to all the