Speaker Bios – The Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy

Mauritania

Biram Dah Abeid

Leader of the fight against slavery in Mauritania

Venezuela

María-Alejandra Aristeguieta-Álvarez

Ambassador-designate in Switzerland of Venezuela’s interim President Juan Guaido

Political Prisoners

Irwin Cotler

International Chair of Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights, former Minister of Justice & Attorney General of Canada

Vietnam

Dang Xuan Dieu

Vietnamese dissident, just freed after 6 years in prison

Turkey

Can Dündar

Leading Turkish journalist arrested and forced into exile for his brave reporting

The Philippines

Chito Gascon

Chair of the Human Rights Commission of the Philippines

Moderator

Jared Genser

International human rights lawyer

Saudi Arabia

James Jones

Emmy-winning documentary-maker, producer of Saudi Arabia Uncovered

North Korea

Kim Kwang-Jin

Former banker for the North Korean regime

Venezuela

Antonietta Ledezma

Daughter of imprisoned mayor of Caracas, Antonio Ledezma

Nyima Lhamo

Tibetan activist and niece of religious leader Tenzin Delek Rinpoche

Cuba

Danilo “El Sexto” Maldonado

Cuban artist and activist, just released after imprisonment for criticizing Castro

Human Rights

Alfred Moses

Chair of UN Watch, former U.S. Ambassador to Romania, Special Presidential Envoy for the Cyprus Conflict, Special Counsel to President Jimmy Carter

Democratic Republic of Congo

Médard Mulangala

Vice President of the Africa Liberal Network

The Maldives

Mohamed Nasheed

Former President of the Maldives

Russia

Zhanna Nemtsova

Journalist, founder of the Boris Nemtsov Foundation for Freedom

Human Rights

Hillel Neuer

Executive Director, UN Watch

Iran

Taghi Rahmani

Journalist, former Iranian political prisoner, and husband of jailed human rights activist Narges Mohammadi

Iraq

Shirin

Freed Yazidi sex slave of ISIS, author of ‘I Remain a Daughter of the Light’

Presenter

Astrid Thors

Finnish politician and former OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities