Search

Dissidents from Russia, Cuba, Iran, Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia, Tibet, Eritrea, and More to Spotlight Abuses at the 17th Geneva Summit

GENEVA, January 8, 2025 — Leading dissidents and courageous activists worldwide will gather in Geneva, Switzerland, on February 18, 2025, for the Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy at the Centre International de Conférences Genève.

The Summit, hosted by a coalition of over 25 human rights organizations, will showcase the voices of the world’s bravest human rights defenders, many of whom have suffered torture. The event will also provide a vital platform to family members of political prisoners who are struggling to free their loved ones.

Featured speakers include:

• Reza Pahlavi, Crown Prince of Iran.

• Garry Kasparov, human rights activist, promoter of democracy, and former World Chess Champion.

• Vladimir Kara-Murza, Russian dissident and politician who survived two poisoning attempts.

• Evgenia Kara-Murza, activist and wife of formerly jailed Russian opposition leader Vladimir Kara-Murza.

• Sebastien Lai, democracy activist and son of the pro-democracy media entrepreneur Jimmy Lai.

• Rahima Mahmut, Uyghur human rights activist, translator, and singer.

• 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 and the daughter of Massouda Jalal.

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

• Betlehem Isaak, Swedish-Eritrean writer and daughter of Dawit Isaak, the longest arbitrarily detained journalist in the world.

• Times Wang, Human rights lawyer and the son of Chinese political prisoner Wang Bingzhang.

• Namkyi, exiled Tibetan activist and former political prisoner.

• Tirad Badawi, son of Raif Badawi, an iconic figure of freedom of expression in Saudi Arabia.

• Nguyen Van Trang, Vietnamese democracy activist and victim of transnational repression.

Speakers are available for interviews before the event and more speakers are set to be announced soon. For a full list of speakers, please see our media kit. For media inquiries or interview requests, contact media@genevasummit.org.

The annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy assembles hundreds of brave dissidents, human rights activists, diplomats, journalists, and student leaders, shedding light on pressing global human rights issues. It offers a platform for activists, former prisoners, and heroes to share their struggles for democracy. The Summit draws hundreds of attendees and garners extensive media coverage worldwide from major media outlets, 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.

Related

Opening Speech with Markus Löning

Markus Löning, Chair of the Human Rights Committee at Liberal International, addresses the 7th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see below for full prepared remarks. Full Remarks Hillel Neuer: Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Hillel Neuer, I am the Executive Director of UN Watch, and it is

United Nations

Welcome with Hillel Neuer

International lawyer, writer and Executive Director of UN Watch Hillel Neuer gives the opening address at the 10th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy. Full Remarks Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Hillel Neuer. I am the executive director of United Nations Watch. On behalf of the 25

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 Thank you. Hello.  “Long live troublemakers!”  I was just copying what Richard Gere said a little more than a year ago at a Tom

United Nations

Welcome with Hillel Neuer

Hillel Neuer, international lawyer, diplomat, activist and Executive Director of UN Watch, addresses the 8th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see quotes below, followed by full prepared remarks. On the dream of the founders of the UN Commission on Human Rights: “Seventy years ago, Eleanor Roosevelt

Women’s Rights, Human Dignity and Equality with Marina Nemat

Marina Nemat, Iranian author and former prisoner of conscience, addresses the 5th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see below for full prepared remarks.   Full remarks   Marina Nemat: Hello, good morning. Thank you so, so much for your time and for having me here with you today,

2024 Welcome with Hillel Neuer

  International lawyer, diplomat and Executive Director of UN Watch, Hillel Neuer delivers opening remarks at the 16th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy

Democracy

Geneva Summit 2017 Courage Award with Mohamed Nasheed

Mohamed Nasheed, former President of the Maldives and Geneva Summit Courage Award winner, addresses the 9th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see quotes below, followed by full prepared remarks. On his abuse by authorities in the Maldives:  “I’ve spent the good half of my adult life in

Human Rights

2026 Courage Award with Masih Alinejad

Masih Alinejad, Iranian journalist and women’s rights activist, accepted the 2026 Courage Award on behalf of the heroes of Iran at the 18th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy on February 18th, 2026. Click here to view the presentation of the award by Alice Teodorescu Måwe.   Full

Human Rights

“I Heard Five Shots” with Rosa Orozco

Rosa Orozco, mother of student Geraldine Moreno killed by the Venezuelan National Guard while protesting against the government in February 2014, addresses the 12th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy — see quotes below, followed by the full prepared remarks. On her daughter being shot and killed by

Democracy

Iran: The 2018 Protests with Maryam Nayeb Yazdi

Human rights activist Maryam Nayeb Yazdi, founder of Persian2English.com, a website documenting Iranian human rights violations and co-founder of Oslo Women’s Rights Initiative, prepares to address the 10th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see quotes below, followed by full prepared remarks. On the recent protests in Iran:

Political Prisoners

Imprisoned For An Idea with Hamlet Lavastida

Co-Founder of the Cuban dissident San Isidro Movement and recently released political prisoner, Hamlet Lavastida, speaks at the 14th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see quotes below, followed by full prepared remarks. On speaking out: “I agreed that I’d stay silent, that I wouldn’t talk about the

Political Prisoners

Trapped in Tehran: 804 Days in Evin Prison with Kylie Moore-Gilbert

Australian-British academic freed after two years in Iranian prison as a victim of hostage diplomacy, Kylie Moore-Gilbert, addresses the 16th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see below for her remarks. Full Remarks: My name is Dr Kylie Moore-Gilbert. I have very generously been invited back to

War Crimes

Sudan’s Ongoing Nightmare: Preventing Further Atrocities with Niemat Ahmadi

Niemat Ahmadi, survivor of the Darfur Genocide, Sudanese women’s rights defender, and founder and president of Darfur Women Action Group, addressed the 17th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy on February 18th, 2025. Full Remarks: Good Afternoon, everyone, I am standing before you today, feeling incredibly dismayed that,

Human Rights

Surviving Slave Labor with Il Lim

Il Lim, North Korean defector and former slave laborer, addresses the 7th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see below for full prepared remarks. Full Remarks I would like to tell you about my experience as an overseas worker. 19 years ago, on November 8th, 1996, I went to Kuwait

Women's Rights

Fighting Female Genital Mutilation with Marie-Claire Kakpotia

Survivor and activist fighting to end Female Genital Mutilation, Marie-Claire Kakpotia, addresses the 15th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see below for her remarks. Full Remarks I am very honored to speak here today and I want to thank the Geneva Summit for giving me the opportunity to break the

Democracy

Panel: Combating Transnational Repression with Masih Alinejad, Leopoldo López

Hillel Neuer, Executive Director of UN Watch, moderated a discussion with Masih Alinejad and Leopoldo López at the 18th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy on February 18th, 2026. Masih Alinejad is an Iranian journalist, women’s rights activist, and repeated target of attempted assassinations. Leopoldo López is a

Next Generation: Youth, Eights Defenders and the Blogosphere with Ruslan Asadov

Ruslan Asadov, co-founder of Azerbaijan’s ‘OL! Youth Movement,’ which works to develop democratic leaders and disseminate modern and progressive values, addresses the 2nd Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see below for full prepared remarks.   Full remarks   Ruslan Asadov: Hi. Thank you for the passionate presentation. As

LGBT Rights

Equal rights: Decriminalizing homosexuality in Uganda with Jacqueline Kasha

Ugandan LGBT activist and founder and director of Freedom and Roam Uganda, Kasha Jacqueline, addresses the 10th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see quotes below, followed by full prepared remarks. On being openly gay in Uganda: “Our struggle needs a face because we want people to know

Introduction for Professor Irwin Cotler with Brandon Silver

Brandon Silver, Director of Policy and Projects at the Raoul Wallenberg Center for Human Rights, addresses the 11th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see quotes below, followed by full prepared remarks. Introducing Professor Irwin Cotler: “Professor Cotler has not only served as an academic and theoretician on

Uyghur Persecution

Empty Chair: Rahile Dawut, Uyghur Scholar Disappeared by China

Petra Dillon, a student at Ecolint in Geneva, presented the empty chair for Rahile Dawut at the 17th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy on February 18th, 2025. Full Remarks: The empty chair on this stage is dedicated to Rahile Dawut, a world-renowned scholar of Uyghur folklore and

Political Prisoners

Abducted, Tortured, and Sentenced to Death in Iran with Gazelle Sharmahd

Gazelle Sharmahd, Iranian human rights activist and daughter of imprisoned journalist Jamshid Sharmahd, addressed the 16th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy on May 15th 2024. Full remarks: My name is Gazelle Sharmahd and I wish I could be there with you today in person, but unfortunately we

Tibet

Flying the Tibetan Flag with Tenzin Tsundue

More than 16-time imprisoned Tibetan activist and poet Tenzin Tsundue addresses the 14th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see quotes below, followed by full prepared remarks. On having his flag confiscated at the United Nations: “This is the national flag of Tibet and yesterday at the United Nations