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Timothy Cho: “The power of love, democracy, and the right to free speech is more powerful than any nuclear power.”
By Sam Namias As Kim Jong Un’s hermit kingdom becomes an increasingly closed and dangerous country, I interviewed North Korean human rights activist and two-time defector Timothy Cho (GS’22). We discuss Cho’s inspiring personal story and outlook on life, the importance of the Geneva Summit, and what the international community should do to support those trapped
Frances Hui: “Existing is part of resisting”
By Emma Waxlax Ahead of the 26th anniversary of the Hong Kong Handover on July 1st, I interviewed prominent Hong Kong activist Frances Hui (GS’23). Amidst a worsening crackdown on democratic freedoms in Hong Kong, we discuss Hui’s experiences confronting CCP oppression, the situation in her home city today, and
Kasha Jacqueline Nabagesera: “You cannot be free when other people around the world are not free.”
By Emma Waxlax On May 29th, Uganda’s President Museveni signed into law the Anti-Homosexuality Act, a bill that expands already existent legislation targeting homosexuals, trans and gender non-conforming people. Sparking condemnation across the international community, the bill prescribes the death penalty for certain sexual relations involving individuals of the same-sex,
15th Geneva Summit: In the News
Media Mentions of the 2023 Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy. For videos, photos, transcripts, quotes, and more, click here. CNN interview with Summit speakers, husband and wife Félix Maradiaga and Berta Valle: “‘An audit of the heart’: Nicaraguan dissident Felix Maradiaga and his wife Berta Valle on
The 15th Geneva Summit: Photos, Videos, and Testimony
15th Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy • Hi-res photos: Geneva Summit (May 17, 2023) | United Nations Opening (May 16)• Video of full event• Videos of individual speakers Remarks in video and transcript: • Abraham Jiménez Enoa, Prominent Cuban journalist forced into exile, grandson of the bodyguard to
The 15th Geneva Summit United Nations Opening: Photos, Videos, and Testimony
On the 17th of May 2022 the 15th Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy formally began at the United Nations opening event, hosted at the Palais des Nations in Geneva and attended by leading diplomats from around the world. Photos and Videos can be found below: For all photos,
‘Peace negotiations will happen, but with the next president of Russia’: Olga Aivasovska on the future of Ukraine
By Emma Waxlax Following the one-year anniversary of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, I spoke with Ukrainian civil society activist Olga Aivasovska (GS’22) on the current situation in her home country. We discuss ongoing efforts to hold Russia accountable, the importance of history in understanding the war, and the future of
Hopewell Chin’ono: “That’s what the regime would want; they want me to keep quiet.”
As an award-winning investigative journalist and filmmaker, Hopewell Chin’ono has been repeatedly arrested for uncovering the truth and countering injustice. In 2022, we invited him to address the 14th Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy, where he spoke on corruption in Zimbabwe. In a candid discussion with Hillel Neuer, Chin’ono
Hope for Iran: Nazanin Afshin-Jam In Conversation With Hillel Neuer
In 2009, Nazanin Afshin-Jam chaired the first Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy, where she spoke on the human rights crisis in Iran and the crimes committed by the Islamic Republic. More than a decade later and the situation in Iran has only worsened, igniting mass protests following the
Setting the Record Straight – What’s Actually Happening in Burma: An Interview with Zoya Phan
By Emma Waxlax Amidst mounting violence inflicted by Burma’s military junta following their coup in February 2021, I spoke with democratic activist, author, and Geneva Summit alum Zoya Phan (GS’12). We discuss what has happened in the country over the past decade, its connection to the current plight faced by
14th Geneva Summit: In the News
Media Mentions of the 2022 Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy. For videos, photos, transcripts, quotes, and more, click here. The World story on Summit speaker and chief of staff to Alexei Navalny, Leonid Volkov: “‘Tectonic Shift’ as Support for Putin erodes” CNN segment on Summit speaker and chief
The 14th Geneva Summit: Photos, Videos, and Testimony
Russian opposition activist Leonid Volkov on stage at the 14th Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy, April 6, 2022. For photos, videos, and speaker testimony, see below: For all high-res photos, click here. For a full video, click here. For individual videos, click here. To read full individual testimony,
The 14th Geneva Summit United Nations Opening: Photos, Videos, and Testimony
On the 5th of April 2022 the 14th Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy formally began at the United Nations opening event, hosted at the Palais des Nations in Geneva and attended by leading diplomats from around the world. Photos and Videos can be found below: For all photos,
“Our Humanity Is At Stake”: A Uyghur Advocate on Why the West Must Learn to Make Sacrifices
By Dylan Rogers After the Beijing Olympics came to a close earlier this month, I talked to Uyghur attorney and Atlantic Council Senior Fellow Rayhan Asat (GS’21). In 2016 Rayhan’s brother Ekpar disappeared. It wasn’t until January 2020 that the Chinese state officially confirmed what had happened. Rayhan wasn’t surprised
25 Rights NGOs Announce Women’s Rights Award Winner: Zarifa Ghafari, Youngest Female Afghan Mayor
The Geneva Summit announces today that its prestigious women’s rights award will go this year to Zarifa Ghafari, Afghanistan’s youngest female mayor and a survivor of three Taliban assassination attempts. Ghafari will receive the Geneva Summit 2022 International Women’s Rights Award at a ceremony on Wednesday, April 6th, where she
2022 Courage Award: In the News
Media mentions of the Geneva Summit’s decision to award Enes Kanter Freedom its 2022 Courage Award: The National Endowment for Democracy article on the decision to award Freedom the Courage Award and other Summit speakers: “NGOs Announce Courage Award for activist NBA player Enes Kanter Freedom”. Newsweek article on the
“These Are Our Memories”: A Ukrainian Ex-MP On Why Kyiv Won’t Surrender
Interviewed by Dylan Rogers Almost every Ukrainian kid knows the phrase “4am Kyiv is bombed”. It is the expression that was used to announce the start of the German bombardment in 1941. Yet last Thursday morning it came alive again, as Russian dictator Vladimir Putin began an unprovoked attack on
The Reporter That Won’t Be Silenced
Interviewed by Dylan Rogers. Kazakhstan’s strongmen have long cast the country as a bastion of stability in an otherwise restive region. Yet in January Kazakhstan erupted in protest, as an increase in fuel prices combined with political concerns to drive nationwide demonstrations […]
The Reluctant Revolutionary: An Interview With Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya
After an eventful year in which Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko illegally downed a plane carrying a dissident blogger and orchestrated a migrant crisis on Europe’s eastern border, I talked to democratic opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya (GS’21).
The Geneva Summit’s #LettertoLai Campaign: In the News
Media Mentions of the Geneva Summit’s #LettertoLai Campaign, launched 8th December 2021 […]
The Unlikely Face of Nicaragua’s Opposition
Interviewed by Dylan Rogers. After elections denounced by President Biden as a “pantomime”, I sat down with Berta Valle, the wife of imprisoned opposition leader Felix Maradiaga (GS’19)
“I Know the Course of History”: Lyubov Sobol Confronts Russia’s Future
Interviewed by Dylan Rogers. Shortly after Russia went to the polls this September, I sat down with opposition leader Lyubov Sobol (GS’20). At 34 Sobol occupies an idiosyncratic place in Russia’s pro-democracy movement. She has been with the now-imprisoned Alexei Navalny from the start, joining his anti-corruption campaign in 2011.
Bringing Back “The Light of Hope”: Afghanistan’s First Woman Presidential Candidate Makes a Promise to the World
Interviewed by David Naftulin. I sat down with pioneering Afghan women’s rights hero Dr. Massouda Jalal (GS’10), who just weeks ago was forced to flee her country as the Taliban took power. Originally a medical professor, psychiatrist and pediatrician, Dr. Jalal became one of Afghanistan’s most influential activists after the
“The Power of Will”: A Cuban Dissident’s Fight for Freedom
A conversation with Geneva Summit speaker Rosa María Payá (GS’16), one of Cuba’s most renowned human rights activists.
GS Speaker Spotlight: Q&A with Yavuz Aydin (GS’20)
Editor’s Note: On July 15, 2016, the day of the failed coup attempt in Turkey, there were 14,500 judges and prosecutors. One of them was Yavuz Aydin (GS’20) who, among 4,500 other jurists, was purged by the Erdogan regime, smeared as a terrorist, and ultimately exiled—all for the crime of
