Navalny Wins Award as Russia, China, Iran, Belarus, Zimbabwe Scrutinized at Geneva Rights Summit


Daria Navalnaya, daughter of jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, received the 2021 Moral Courage Award on behalf of her father, and testified about the fight for freedom and democracy in Russia. Her video has gone viral on Instagram, with more than 200,000 views within hours.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

GENEVA, June 8, 2021 — Russian political prisoner Alexai Navalny today won a prestigious human rights award as Russia, China, Iran, North Korea, Belarus, and Zimbabwe came under scrutiny at an annual assembly of dissidents and former political prisoners.

The 13th annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy, organized by a cross-regional coalition of 25 human rights groups, and being held virtually for the first time, takes place ahead of the June session of the UN Human Rights Council, in a bid to place urgent situations on the world agenda.

Daria Navalnaya accepted the 2021 Moral Courage Award on behalf of her father, jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who was chosen for his “extraordinary courage and heroic efforts to sound the alarm about the Putin regime’s grave violations of the human rights of the Russian people,” said Hillel Neuer, the executive director of United Nations Watch, a co-organizer of the conference.

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, Belarusian opposition leader, spotlighted the Lukashenko regime’s abuses and corruption.

North Korean rights activist Jihyun Park testified about her harrowing experiences in a forced labor camp, and how she managed to escape.

Testimonies by the activists focused on issues that, under pressure by powerful UNHRC members like China and Russia, typically go ignored at that body. The Geneva Summit hopes that today’s powerful testimonies will mobilize pressure upon the council to address the plight of the victims at its upcoming session, which opens on June 21st.

Program | Facebook photo album | Transcripts | Videos

 

Day 2: Testimonies from 13th Geneva Summit

 

 

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