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
A panel including Chinese-Canadian dissident whose father, Wang Bingzhang, is a prisoner of conscience in China, Ti-Anna Wang; leading Chinese dissident and pro-democracy activist, Yang Jianli; Uyghur rights activist and Chairman of the ‘Norway Uyghur Committee,’ Bahtiyar Omer; Tibetan dissident and founder of ‘High Peaks Pure Earth,’ a website that
A panel including French lawyer and former President of ‘Jeune République,’ Juan Branco; Sudanese activist and one of the “Lost Boys of Sudan,” John Dau; senior UN correspondent at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, Catherine Fiankan-Bokonga; journalist and activist who served as General Secretary of ‘Collectif Urgence Darfour,’ Bernard
James Jones, an award-winning documentary filmmaker, addresses the 9th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see quotes below, followed by full prepared remarks. On the reluctance of the outside world to condemn Saudi Arabia’s human rights violations: “Unlike North Korea and unlike ISIS, Saudi Arabia is not a
Diego Arria, former Venezuelan politician and diplomat who served as Venezuela’s permanent representative to the UN from 1991 to 1993, addresses the 12th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy — see quotes below, followed by full prepared remarks. On the being a Venezuelan pro-democracy activist: “I am one
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
Chloe Cheung, the youngest Hong Kong dissident on Beijing’s “Wanted Persons” list and Manager of Public Affairs and Advocacy at the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation, addressed the 18th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy on February 18, 2026. Full Prepared Remarks: You hear chanting.
Antonietta Ledezma, daughter of former Mayor of Caracas and political prisoner, Antonio Ledezma, addresses the 9th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see quotes below, followed by full prepared remarks. On the arrest of her father Antonio Ledezma, Mayor of Caracas: “For the longest hours of my
Yeon-Mi Park, a North Korean defector and activist, addresses the 7th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see quotes below, followed by full prepared remarks. Quotes: To Be Confirmed Full Remarks Good morning everyone. I was so depressed to hear all of these heartbreaking stories; it’s really difficult to
Dong-Hyuk Shin, advocate for human rights in North Korea and former prisoner at the notorious “Camp 14” North Korean labor camp, addresses the 5th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see below for full prepared remarks. Full remarks Dong-Hyuk Shin: I would like to thank everyone for coming
International lawyer, diplomat and Executive Director of UN Watch, Hillel Neuer delivers day two opening and concluding remarks at the 13th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see quotes below, followed by full prepared remarks. On the Geneva Summit: “The Geneva Summit provides a unique opportunity to hear testimony from
A panel including visiting Chinese dissident and former political prisoner, Dr. Yang Jianli; Danish lawyer and founder of a Copenhagen-based think-tank focussing on freedom of speech and the rule of law, Jacob Mchangama; outspoken activist and opposition politician from Cambodia, Mu Sochua; international lawyer and Executive Director of United Nations
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
Turkish journalist dropped from CNN Türk after she criticized President Erdoğan, Nevşin Mengü interviewed by journalist and former CNN producer Melissa Mahtani at the 15th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see below for the interview. Interview: Melissa Mahtani We have heard some incredibly powerful testimony from our last
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
Chair of the Women’s Committee of the World Uyghur Congress, Zumretay Arkin, presents the 2022 Courage Award at the 14th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see quotes below, followed by full prepared remarks. Introducing Enes Kanter Freedom: “His work, and the work of human rights defenders in this
Ashraf El Hajouj, a Palestinian-Bulgarian medic who was the principal defendant in Libya’s so-called “HIV Trial,” addresses the 1st Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see below for full prepared remarks. Full remarks
Full Transcript Dennis Chau: So, on that, just not putting trade relations above basic human rights when you’re thinking of signing these new trade agreements, as countries do. Not putting trading relations above basic human rights. Moderator, Irwin Cotler: I think what Dennis has said about the importance of not
Daughter to German-Iranian women’s rights activist Nahid Taghavi, currently held hostage in Iran, Mariam Claren, speaks at the 14th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see quotes below, followed by full prepared remarks. On leaving Iran: “The last time I stepped foot in Iran, I was 2 years
Niemat Ahmadi, survivor of the Darfur Genocide, Sudanese women’s rights defender, and founder and president of Darfur Women Action Group, addressed the 17th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy on February 18th, 2025. Full Remarks: Good Afternoon, everyone, I am standing before you today, feeling incredibly dismayed that,
A panel including the owner of Venezuela’s last remaining independent newspaper, Miguel Henrique Otero; the wife of imprisoned Nicaraguan presidential candidate, Berta Valle; and recently released Cuban political prisoner, Hamlet Lavastida; discuss the threat of dictatorship in Latin America with CNN’s Melissa Mahtani at the 14th Annual Geneva Summit for
Professor Irwin Cotler, Chair of the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights and former Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, addresses the 2nd Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see below for full prepared remarks. Full remarks Hillel Neuer: We are going to begin our
Chinese dissenter, human rights activist, and former political prisoner Rei Xia addresses the 16th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see below for her remarks. Full Remarks: Thank you all. Ladies and gentlemen, imagine one day you wake up and realize that you’ve turned into a caterpillar,
Times Wang, human rights lawyer and the son of Chinese democracy pioneer, Dr. Wang Bingzhang, who has been imprisoned since 2002, addressed the 17th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy on February 18th, 2025. Full Remarks: I remember the message from my aunt like it was yesterday: “Your
Rosa Maria Paya, one of Cuba’s leading human rights and democracy activists and the daughter of the late Oswaldo Paya, addresses the 8th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see quotes below, followed by full prepared remarks. On dictatorship in Cuba: “Let me tell you that as a
Grace Jin Drexel, daughter of Pastor Ezra Jin, a political prisoner in China, addressed the 18th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy on February 18, 2026. Full Prepared Remarks: On October 10th, my father, Pastor Ezra Jin, was arrested by the Chinese authorities along with 27 other