Venezuela
Leopoldo López
Venezuelan dissident, former political prisoner, co-founder of the World Liberty Congress
May 15, 2024 — list of speakers for the Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy
2026 program
Geneva Summit for
human rights and democracy
February 18, 2026, Geneva, Switzerland
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Watch past speeches and get a sense of what to expect from the Geneva Summit.
PRogram
Morning Session
10:00 WELCOME
Hillel Neuer, Executive Director of United Nations Watch, on behalf of the 30 NGO co-sponsors of the Geneva Summit
10:10 OPENING ADDRESS: CARRYING ON NAVALNY’S LEGACY
Yulia Navalnaya, Chair of the Human Rights Foundation and the Anti-Corruption Foundation, founded by her late husband, Alexei Navalny
10:25 THE PRICE OF EXPOSING CORRUPTION IN VIETNAM
Hue Nhu, Vietnamese pro-democracy and anti-corruption activist, former political prisoner
10:35 HONG KONG’S FIGHT FOR FREEDOM IS NOT OVER
Chloe Cheung, Hong Kong pro-democracy activist with a HK$1 million bounty on her head
10:45 SILENCED FOR REPORTING: ZIMBABWE’S WAR ON THE PRESS
Blessed Mhlanga, Zimbabwean journalist held in pre-trial detention for 73 days
10:55 ESCAPING NORTH KOREA TO FREEDOM
Kim Yumi, North Korean defector, escaped by boat with family in 2023
11:05 EMPTY CHAIR: KIDNAPPED AT AGE SIX, THE STORY OF THE 11TH PENCHAN LAMA
11:10 SUDAN ATROCITIES: SEEKING ACCOUNTABILITY
Mutasim Ali, Sudanese human rights advocate, legal counsel at the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights
11:20 DEFYING THE KREMLIN’S PROPAGANDA MACHINE
Marina Ovsyannikova, Journalist who famously interrupted live Russian TV news broadcast with a sign protesting Putin’s war on Ukraine
11:45 2026 INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S RIGHTS AWARD
Afternoon Session
14:30 KEYNOTE: THE STRUGGLE FOR DEMOCRACY IN BELARUS
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, President-elect of Belarus
14:45 PANEL: COMBATING TRANSNATIONAL REPRESSION
Moderator: Hillel Neuer, Executive Director of United Nations Watch
● Leopoldo Lopez, Co-founder of the World Liberty Congress, Venezuelan opposition leader, former political prisoner
● Masih Alinejad, Co-founder of the World Liberty Congress, leading advocate for women’s rights in Iran, target of multiple assassination attempts by the regime
15:15 MINORITIES UNDER FIRE IN SYRIA
Aram Aqil, Kurdish minority rights activist, former ISIS hostage
15:25 EMPTY CHAIR: RUSSIAN POLITICAL PRISONER MIKHAIL KRIGER
15:10 VENEZUELA’S FIGHT FOR FREEDOM
Pedro Urruchurtu Noselli, Venezuelan opposition campaign advisor held hostage for over 400 days inside the Argentine embassy in Caracas
15:50 THE CCP’S WAR ON RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
Grace Jin Drexel, Daughter of Ezra Jin, a prominent Chinese pastor detained by the CCP since October 2025
15:40 2025 COURAGE AWARD
Accepted by Masih Alinejad, on behalf of The Heroes of Iran
16:30 CALL TO ACTION
16:40 END OF #GENEVASUMMIT2026
speakers
Learn more about the incredible speakers and moderators who will highlight urgent rights issues from around the world.
Russia
Yulia Navalnaya
Chair of the Human Rights Foundation and the Anti-Corruption Foundation, founded by her late husband, Alexei Navalny
Russia
Marina Ovsyannikova
Journalist who famously interrupted live Russian TV news broadcast with a sign protesting Putin’s war on Ukraine
Sudan
Mutasim Ali
Sudanese human rights advocate, Legal Advisor at Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights
Afghanistan
Marzieh Hamidi
Afghan-Iranian Taekwondo athlete, advocate for women’s rights in Afghanistan
Venezuela
Pedro Urruchurtu Noselli
Venezuelan opposition advisor, wanted for arrest on politically motivated charges, who took refuge for over 400 days inside Argentine embassy in Caracas
Iran
Masih Alinejad
Iranian journalist and women’s rights activist, repeated target of attempted assassinations
Belarus
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya
President-elect of Belarus, forced into exile by Lukashenko after 2020 rigged election