International lawyer, diplomat and Executive Director of UN Watch, Hillel Neuer delivers opening remarks at the 16th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy
Hillel Neuer
Executive Director, UN Watch
Speakers and Participants
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Women's Rights
Presentation of the 2024 International Women’s Rights Award with Joelle Fiss
Member of Grand Conseil of the Canton of Geneva, Joelle Fiss, presents the International Women’s Rights Award at the 16th annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy to Fatou Baldeh, a Gambian women’s rights activist and survivor fighting to end Female Genital Mutilation.
Human Rights
Conclusion with John Suarez
John Suarez, Executive Director at the Center for a Free Cuba, adresses the 5th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see below for full prepared remarks. Full remarks John Suarez: Thank you Hillel and I just want to say thanks to UN Watch for making this possible
Free and Fair Elections – Case Study: Iran with Shaheen Sariri
Shaheen Sariri, former representative of Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRAI), a non-political and non-governmental organization comprised of advocates who defend human rights in Iran, addresses the 2nd Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see below for full prepared remarks. Full remarks
Welcome with Hillel Neuer
International lawyer, diplomat and Executive Director of UN Watch, Hillel Neuer delivers opening remarks at the 15th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see below for his remarks. Full Remarks Excellencies, courageous defenders of human rights gathered from around the globe, ladies and gentlemen, friends. Welcome to the 2023 Geneva Summit
Authoritarianism
Tyranny, Oppression and Atrocities in China with Yang Jianli, Peter Yang, Dr. Gyal Lo, Frances Hui, Kalbinur Sidik
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Women's Rights
Presentation of the 2023 International Women’s Rights Award with Genoveva Tisheva
Vice Chair of the U.N Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, Genoveva Tisheva presents the International Women’s Rights Award at the 15th annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy– see below for her remarks Full Remarks It is a great honor to stand before you today as
Resisting Authoritarianism: Human Rights, Democracy and the Dissident Movement with Marlon Zakeyo
Marlon Zakeyo, a Zimbabwean lawyer and activist, addresses the 1st Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see below for full prepared remarks. Full remarks Bonjour, good morning, mangwanani, to all of the participants here. To my fellow Zimbabweans wherever they are and to all friends of Zimbabwe throughout
Human Rights
Blasphemy in Pakistan with Peter Bhatti
Peter Bhatti, brother of Pakistan’s first and only Christian Federal Minister who was assassinated for opposing Pakistan’s blasphemy laws and Chairman of the non-profit International Christian Voice, addresses the 12th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy — see quotes below, followed by the full prepared remarks. On Pakistan’s
Press Freedom
Silenced for Reporting: Zimbabwe’s War on the Press with Blessed Mhlanga
Blessed Mhlanga, Zimbabwean journalist and former political prisoner, addressed the 18th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy on February 18, 2026. Full Prepared Remarks: Last year, I spent 73 days in pre-trial detention for another man’s speech at a press conference I did not even attend. This
Political Prisoners
Losing My Husband to China with Sophie Luo
Wife of imprisoned Chinese human rights lawyer, Sophie Luo, speaks at the 14th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see quotes below, followed by full prepared remarks. On the case of her husband, Ding Jiaxi: “I fell in love with Jiaxi the first time I met him. I’ll
Human Rights
The Islamic Republic’s Crackdown on Dissent with Mahan Mehrabi
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Press Freedom
The Pen and the Sword with Asli Erdoğan
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Freedom of Expression: The Key Battlegrounds with Guy Mettan, Cole Durham, Renata Arianingtyas, Pierre Fournel
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Authoritarianism in Syria with Randa Kassis
Randa Kassis, Franco-Syrian politician, journalist, anthropologist, and leading figure in the opposition to Bashar Al Assad’s Syrian regime, addresses the 5th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy –see below her remarks in French, followed by the English translation. Full Remarks: French Bonjour, je vous remercie. Quand on parle
United Nations
Welcome with Hillel Neuer
Hillel Neuer, Executive Director of UN Watch, addresses the 11th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see quotes below, followed by full prepared remarks. On the UN Human Rights Council: “We meet only a few days after the conclusion of the main annual session of today’s United Nations
Tibet
Fighting for Dignity in Tibet with Tenzin Dhardon Sharling
Tenzin Dhardon Sharling, the youngest member of the Tibetan Parliament in exile, addresses the 6th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see below for full prepared remarks. Full Remarks Tenzin Dhardon Sharling: Good morning everyone. First of all, a huge thanks to the UN watch for organizing
The Right against Arbitrary Arrest with Gwang-il Yung
Gwang-il Yung, a North Korean defector, survivor of a labor camp, an currently working for ‘Free the North Korean Gulag,’ addresses the 3rd Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see below for full prepared remarks. Full remarks
Authoritarianism and Dissent: 21st Century Horizons with José Gabriel Ramón Castillo
José Gabriel Ramón Castillo, Cuban human rights activist, who was expelled from the University of the Orient in 1993 after founding the first human rights organization in the Eastern region of the island, and was arrested and tortured in the 1990s, addresses the 2nd Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights
Press Freedom
Exiled from Vietnam: The Fight for Freedom of Speech with Minh-Hoang Pham
Vietnamese scholar and former political prisoner imprisoned for his dissident blogging, Minh-Hoang Pham, addresses the 14th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see quotes below, followed by full prepared remarks. On repression in Vietnam: “Many people imagine Vietnam as a tourist paradise, a place above is the sun
Political Prisoners
Trapped in Tehran: 804 Days in Evin Prison with Kylie Moore-Gilbert
Australian-British academic freed after two years in Iranian prison as a victim of hostage diplomacy, Kylie Moore-Gilbert, addresses the 16th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see below for her remarks. Full Remarks: My name is Dr Kylie Moore-Gilbert. I have very generously been invited back to
Democracy
Champions for Change with Yang Jianli, Evan Mawarire, Vladimir Kara-Murza, Melissa Mahtani
Full Transcript Moderator: Welcome to our panel on Champions for Change. I’m joined by three incredibly courageous individuals here: Evan Mawarire, pastor and democracy activist from Zimbabwe, Yang Jianli, a dissident from China; and Vladimir Kara-Murza, an opposition politician from Russia. So I’m going to dive straight in here, and,
Free and Fair Elections – Case Study: Iran with Caspian Makan, Stephane Bussard
Stéphane Bussard, former Le Temps US correspondent in New York, and Caspian Makan, fiancé of the late Neda Agha Soltan, who was murdered in the streets of Iran in 2009 for speaking up and protesting against the Iranian regime, address the 2nd Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see
Uyghur Persecution
The Uyghur Crisis: A Global Problem with Nury Turkel
Nury Turkel, attorney and Uyghur rights advocate who co-founded the Uyghur Human Rights Project, addresses the 12th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy — see quotes below, followed by full prepared remarks. On China’s mass detention of Uyghurs: “Since 2017, as many as three million Uyghurs have been detained
Authoritarianism
Story of a Survivor: Seeking Justice from Cuba’s Regime with Osiris Puerto Terry
Osiris Puerto Terry, a victim of brutality by the Cuban regime who was shot twice at the 11J protests, addressed the 17th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy on February 18th, 2025. Full Remarks (Translated from Spanish): I am not a politician. I am not an activist. I
Democracy
Fighting for Cuba with Guillermo Fariñas Hernández
Cuban Psychologist and journalist, Guillermo Fariñas Hernández, who has endured 23 hunger strikes and 11 years in prison for his defiance of the Cuban regime, addresses the 10th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see quotes below, followed by full prepared remarks. On lack of democracy in Cuba: