Brandon Silver

Brandon Silver is an international human rights lawyer, and Director of Policy and Projects at the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights (RWCHR). He also serves as Chief Advisor to former Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada Irwin Cotler, the Founder and Chair of the RWCHR.

In this capacity, Brandon serves on the legal teams of prisoners of conscience, representing some of the world’s leading dissidents and statespeople. He has successfully contributed to the release and resettlement in Canada of a number of former political prisoners and hostages. He also acts on behalf of mass atrocity victims, and is a key figure in the Global Magnitsky Justice Campaign and a recognized subject expert in targeted sanctions. Brandon is also sought after for his strategic counsel to democratic governments, parliaments, and major international organizations on rule of law and public policy reforms.

Brandon’s work has been featured in major publications, including TIME magazine, Project Syndicate, the Globe and Mail, Foreign Policy, and the Washington Post, and is a past nominee of the Quebec Literary Awards and winner of the CBC Reader’s Choice Prize. In 2016, the World Economic Forum named him a “Global Shaper,” and in 2022 he was named one of Canada’s “Top 25 Most Influential Lawyers” by Canadian Lawyer Magazine.

He is trained in both major world juridical traditions of Common Law and Civil/Continental Law, holding law degrees from the University of Ottawa Faculty of Law, the Université de Montréal Faculty of Law, and a Masters of Law from UC Berkeley on a scholarship for excellence in Public Law.

Speeches

Iran

Presentation of the 2024 Courage Award with Brandon Silver

Brandon Silver, Director of Policy and Projects at the Raoul Wallenberg Center for Human Rights, delivers his remarks as he presents the 2024 Geneva Summit Courage Award to Aliasghar Ramezanpour and Pouria Zeraati on behalf of Iran International.

Mauritania

Presentation of the 2020 Courage Award with Brandon Silver

Brandon Silver, international human rights lawyer, and Director of Policy and Projects at the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights, addresses the 12th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see quotes below, followed by full prepared remarks. On the Geneva Summit: “At the 2020 Geneva Summit for

Presenter

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