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
Rebecca Kabuo, Congolese human rights activist who has been arrested more than a dozen times during peaceful protests and, in 2015, was dubbed the youngest prisoner of conscience in the world, addresses the 12th Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy — see quotes below, followed by full prepared remarks.
Full Transcript Moderator: Good morning. My name is Luke de Pulford. Friends, we have 45 minutes together and we need to use every moment of that time because as I speak to you from this podium the People’s Republic of China is perpetrating atrocities on a scale not seen since
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
Marina Ovsyannikova, Russian journalist who famously interrupted a live state TV news broadcast with a sign protesting Putin’s war on Ukraine, addressed the 18th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy on February 18, 2026. Full Prepared Remarks: I am a journalist from Russia. For more than twenty
Tibetan-Canadian human rights activist and community organizer, Chemi Lhamo, addresses the 16th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see below for her remarks. Full Remarks: Home. Where is home for one that has never seen their own beautiful country, and in my case: Bhoe. Tibet. Tashi delek
Daria Navalnaya, pro-democracy activist and daughter of poisoned and jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny – winner of the 2021 Moral Courage Award, addresses the 13th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see quotes below, followed by full prepared remarks. On father Alexei Navalny’s political activism: “He spent
A panel including Minister for Development and International Relations for the Central Tibetan Administration, Dicki Chhoyang; Franco-Syrian politician, journalist, anthropologist, and leading figure in the opposition to Bashar Al Assad’s Syrian regime, Randa Kassis; Cuban pro-democracy activist and member of the Coordination Team of the Christian Liberation Movement (MCL), Rosa
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: If they complain, they could be submitted to
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
Julieta Lopez, aunt of Latin America’s best-known prisoner of conscience, Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez, accepts the 2016 Geneva Summit Courage Award on his behalf and addresses the 8th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see quotes below, followed by full prepared remarks. On her feelings of
Ensaf Haidar, wife of liberal Saudi blogger Raif Badawi who was sentenced to 10 years in prison and 1,000 lashes for setting up an online platform for political and religious debate, addresses the 11th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see quotes below, followed by full prepared remarks.
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
A panel including international lawyer and associate counsel at the International Criminal Court (ICC), Ilana Soskin; a Zimbabwean journalist, human rights advocate, and key opponent of the Mugabe regime, Grace Kwinjeh; prominent Venezuelan journalist and political activist, Miguel Angel Rodriguez; and French-Vietnamese exile journalist who was imprisoned by her government for association
James Kirchik, journalist, author, and visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution, addresses the 11th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see quotes below, followed by full prepared remarks. On the universality of human rights: “Don’t let anyone tell you that certain cultures are immune to democracy or individual
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
International lawyer, writer and Executive Director of UN Watch Hillel Neuer gives the opening address at the 10th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy. Full Remarks Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Hillel Neuer. I am the executive director of United Nations Watch. On behalf of the 25
Fouzia Elbayed, Moroccan women’s rights advocate and former Member of Parliament, addresses the 7th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see below for full prepared remarks. Full Remarks Hillel Neuer: Elbayed is a member of parliament in Morocco. She is the founder of the Network of Parliamentarians Against the Death
Soe Aung, a Burmese dissident activist campaigning for freedom in Burma, addresses the 1st Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see below for full prepared remarks. Full remarks Moderator, Ellen Bork: We turn now to Soe Aung, Burmese, dissident, and activist who was involved in the 1988 people’s
Pyotr Verzilov, Russian performance artist, political activist, and founder of the news website MediaZona, adresses the 5th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see below for full prepared remarks. Full remarks Extract from a September 2012 interview with President Vladimir Putin Reporter: I would like to talk
Ti-Anna Wang, a Chinese-Canadian dissident whose father, Wang Bingzhang, is a prisoner of conscience in China, addresses the 3rd Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see below for full prepared remarks. Full remarks
Survivor and activist fighting to end Female Genital Mutilation, Marie-Claire Kakpotia, addresses the 15th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see below for her remarks. Full Remarks I am very honored to speak here today and I want to thank the Geneva Summit for giving me the opportunity to break the
Lukpan Akhmedyarov, one of Kazakhstan’s most prominent independent journalists, former editor-in-chief, and reporter at Uralskaya Nedelya, addresses the 5th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see below for full prepared remarks. Full remarks Lukpan Akhmedyarov: Good afternoon. I am very sorry, I don’t speak English. I don’t
Professor Mukesh Kapila, public health and international development expert, addresses the 5th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy remotely via a video message– see below for full prepared remarks. Full remarks James Kirchik: Mukesh Kapila, who is a professor of Global Health and Humanitarian Affairs at the
Ugandan LGBT activist and founder and director of Freedom and Roam Uganda, Kasha Jacqueline, addresses the 10th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see quotes below, followed by full prepared remarks. On being openly gay in Uganda: “Our struggle needs a face because we want people to know
Esther Mujawayo, therapist, activist, and Rwandan genocide survivor, addresses the 1st Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see below for full prepared remarks. Full remarks Esther Mujawayo: Thank you, Professor Cotler. I must say while Mr. Hamid was speaking, I was very uncomfortable because […] 15 years after