Matteo Mecacci, Italian Member of the European Parliament, elected official of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe’s (OSCE) Parliamentary Assembly, and former Chairperson of the Italian Parliamentary Intergroup for Tibet, addresses the 2nd Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see below for full prepared remarks.
Full remarks
Italian MP, OSCE Rapporteur
Hillel Neuer, international lawyer, diplomat, activist and Executive Director of UN Watch, addresses the 8th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see quotes below, followed by full prepared remarks. Full remarks TBC
Dewa Mavhinga, former Southern Africa Director of Human Rights Watch and former Regional Coordinator for the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition, addresses the 2nd Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see below for full prepared remarks. Full remarks Dewa Mavingha: Thank you and thank you to UN Watch and
Massouda Jalal, former faculty member at Kabul University, psychiatrist and pediatrician, and the only woman to run against Hamid Karzai in Afghanistan’s 2004 presidential race, addresses the 2nd Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see below for full prepared remarks. Full remarks Dr. Massouda Jalal: Fellow speakers, distinguished
Yang Jianli, leading Chinese dissident and pro-democracy activist, addresses the 4th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see below for full prepared remarks. Full remarks Yang Jianli: Thank you Hillel. Good morning my friends and good day. I say good day because anytime friends join together to
Uyghur activist, linguist, and former political prisoner Abduweli Ayup, addresses the 16th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see below for his remarks. Full Remarks: Good morning. I’m Abduweli Ayup. I’ve been fascinated by the Uyghur language since I was young. Every year, around March 21st,
Kang Chol-hwan, North Korean defector and former inmate of the notorious Yodok concentration camp, addresses the 5th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see below for full prepared remarks. Full remarks Kang Chol-Hwan: It’s my honor to speak in front of you at the Geneva Summit. This
Blind Chinese human rights lawyer Chen Guangcheng recieves the 2014 Geneva Summit Courage Award and addresses the 6th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see below for full prepared remarks. Full Remarks Hillel Neuer: As I said when we opened today’s summit, all of our speakers today
Ambassador Alfred Moses, former special counsel to President Carter, U.S. ambassador to Romania, and special presidential envoy for the Cyprus conflict, addresses the 7th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see below for full prepared remarks. Full Remarks Hillel Neuer: The work that the Geneva Summit does for the past
Brandon Silver, Director of Policy and Projects at the Raoul Wallenberg Center for Human Rights, delivers introductory remarks as moderator for the Beyond the Great Firewall: Brave Voices of Dissent in China panel at the 2024 Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see below for his prepared remarks.
Javier El-Hage, Chief Legal and Policy Officer of Human Rights Foundation, addressed the 17th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy on February 18th, 2025. Full Remarks: Ladies and gentlemen, It is a privilege to stand before so many survivors and human rights heroes today. I am not one
Betlehem Isaak, Swedish-Eritrean writer, and daughter of journalist Dawit Isaak who has been detained in Eritrean prison without trial for 24 years, addressed the 17th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy on February 18th, 2025. Full Remarks: Eritrea has been called “Africa’s North Korea,” “The Hermit Kingdom,” “An
Phuntsok Nyidron, one of Tibet’s longest held political prisoners, addresses the 2nd Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see below for full prepared remarks. Full remarks Phuntsok Nyidron: Good morning everybody. My name is Phuntsok Nyidron. I was born in Phenpo, a small village near Lhasa, the capital
Juan Carlos Gutiérrez, human rights lawyer who represents prominent Venezuelan opposition leaders and political prisoners including Leopoldo López and Juan Guaido, addresses the 11th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see quotes below, followed by full prepared remarks. On arrest and imprisonment of Dr. Eduardo Cardet: “Dr. Cardet
Rahima Mahmut, Uyghur human rights activist, translator, and singer, addressed the 17th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy on February 18th, 2025. Full Remarks: Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. It is an honor and privilege to be here with you today. In 1989, I was one of thousands
Yang Jianli, leading Chinese dissident and pro-democracy activist, addresses the 6th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see below for full prepared remarks. Full remarks Thank you. Hello. “Long live troublemakers!” I was just copying what Richard Gere said a little more than a year ago at a Tom
Lyubov Sobol, Russian lawyer, anti-corruption activist and leader of the pro-democracy movement, addresses the 12th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy — see quotes below, followed by full prepared remarks. On her election candidacy: “This past summer I ran for election in the Moscow City Duma.” “Independent, democratically
Michael Levitt, Canadian MP and Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, addresses the 11th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see quotes below, followed by full prepared remarks. On the need for advocacy: “Unfortunately, we are seeing a resurgence of gross human rights violations around the word…And the
Waad Al-Kateab, Syrian refugee, activist and award-winning filmmaker, addresses the 13th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see quotes below, followed by full prepared remarks. On eruption of 2011 Arab Spring in Syria: “The idea that people would fight back was something I’d always dreamed of, but
Prominent Cuban journalist forced into exile, grandson of the bodyguard to Fidel Castro and Che Guevara, Abraham Jiménez Enoa, addresses the 15th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see below his remarks in Spanish, followed by the English translation and the corresponding video. Full Remarks: Spanish A mediados del
Diego Scharifker, a Venezuelan pro-democracy activist and former leader of the country’s student movement, addresses the 2nd Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see below for full prepared remarks. Full remarks Diego Scharifker: Good morning. I am immensely honoured to be with all you distinguished regional and worldwide
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
Dang Xuong Hung, a diplomat who defected from the Vietnamese Communist Party, addresses the 6th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see below for full prepared remarks. Full Remarks Dang Xuong Hung: Ladies and gentlemen, dear friends, my name is Dang Xuong Hung. I am the former consul
Yavuz Baydar, Editor-in-Chief of Ahval, a Turkish independent online news and podcasts site, addresses the 10th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see quotes below, followed by full prepared remarks. On the threat to journalism: “We the journalists are more than ever before alienated, demonized, targeted, threatened, forced
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
“I realized the true meaning of freedom and how freedom is more important than one’s life.” On abuse of Tibetans: “Without the support I received from the international community, I would be long dead.” “The moment the Tibetan person is labelled — that is just a dead body.” “When I