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2025 Geneva Summit: In the News
Media Mentions of the 2025 Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy For information about our 2025 speakers, videos, photos, transcripts, quotes, and more, click here. Reuters article on Sebastien Lai: “Jimmy Lai’s son urges US, UK to get father out of Hong Kong jail”. Also published in The Straits
Canadian Human Rights Icon Irwin Cotler to Receive Defender of Freedom Award
GENEVA, February 13, 2025 — The Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy, a cross-regional coalition of more than 30 human rights organizations, announced today that its Defender of Freedom Award will honor Professor Irwin Cotler, international human rights lawyer, legal scholar, former Canadian justice minister, and nominee for next
Mother-Daughter Team of Afghan Activists Honored with 2025 International Women’s Rights Award
Dr. Massouda Jalal (right) with daughter Husna Jalal (left) photographed after being exiled to the Netherlands (Photo: Marieke van der Velden) GENEVA, February 13, 2025 — A cross-regional coalition of more than 30 human rights organizations announced today that Dr. Massouda Jalal and her daughter Husna Jalal will receive the
Venezuelan President-Elect Edmundo González and Opposition Leader María Corina Machado to Receive 2025 Courage Award
GENEVA, February 11, 2025 — The Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy, a cross-regional coalition of more than 30 human rights organizations, announced today that its prestigious Courage Award will this year honor Venezuelan President-Elect Edmundo González and opposition leader María Corina Machado for their inspiring leadership in struggling
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
Geneva Summit Exposes Systemic Abuses by World’s Most Oppressive Regimes
Prominent dissidents expose severe human rights violations in nations like Iran, China, Russia, Zimbabwe, Cuba, and more. “We live in a world where terrorists are invited on red carpets, and activists have to fend for their own lives,” testified Gazelle Sharmahd, daughter of Jamshid Sharmahd, a journalist currently on death
25 Human Rights NGOs Announce: Targeted Iran International Journalists to Receive 2024 Courage Award
GENEVA, May 13, 2024 — A cross-regional coalition of 25 human rights organizations announced today that its prestigious human rights award will go this year to Iran International, to be accepted by news director Aliasghar Ramezanpour and TV news presenter Pouria Zeraati. Ramezanpour was convicted in absentia two years ago by Tehran’s Revolutionary Court for the crime of
Anti-FGM Campaigner Fatou Baldeh to Receive 2024 Women’s Rights Award
GENEVA, May 7, 2024 — A cross-regional coalition of 25 human rights organizations announced today that Gambian women’s rights activist Fatou Baldeh will be honored with the Geneva Summit Women’s Rights Award. She campaigns to end female genital mutilation, a practice that she survived and now dedicates herself to ending. Baldeh will receive the prestigious
Dissidents from Cuba, Iran, Venezuela, Nicaragua to Spotlight Abuses at 16th Geneva Summit
GENEVA, April 2, 2024 — Leading dissidents and courageous activists worldwide will gather in Geneva, Switzerland on May 15, 2024, for the 16th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy at the Centre International de Conférences Genève. The Summit, hosted by a coalition of 25 human rights organizations, will showcase the voices of the
Geneva Summit Speaker Nila Ibrahimi Featured in CBC Article
Around 1 million girls can’t go to school in Afghanistan, UN says By CBC Kids – October 11th, 2023 Click Here for the original story. HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW Nila Ibrahimi fled Afghanistan in August 2021 because it wasn’t safe for her and her family. Many girls in
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
Metro Article about Zimbabwean Lawyer and Activist Fadzayi Mahere
Zimbabwe election: Voters go to the polls with fear and change on their minds Jordan King | Aug 23, 2023 Click Here for the original article Polls are opening for the sourthern African country to elect its new leader (Pictures: EPA/Getty) Zimbabweans are choosing their next president today, in the
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
Metro UK Article on Swedish MP and Iranian Human Rights Activist Alireza Akhondi
‘Iran’s armed forces murdered my mum, it’s time the UK called them terrorists’ By: Gergana Krasteva | Jul 2, 2023 Click here for the original article Members of the Iranian community rally in solidarity with Mahsa (Jina) Amini (Picture: AP) A woman whose mother was killed by 167 shotgun pellets
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,