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
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
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
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
Francois Zimeray, international lawyer who has served as Ambassador of France to the UN Human Rights Council, addresses the 1st Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see below for full prepared remarks. Full remarks Nazanin Afshin-Jam: I’d like to present to you ambassador Francois Zimeray. He’s the
Robert Boorstin, Senior Vice President at Albright Stonebridge Group and a former Director of Public Policy at Google, addresses the 2nd Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see below for full prepared remarks. Full remarks Chair, Bart Woord: And I mean, the search engine, I remember when I
A panel including Tunisian blogger and activist, Lina Ben Mhenni; award-winning Egyptian blogger, activist, and writer, Mahmoud Salem; journalist and international affairs commentator specializing in Middle Eastern history and politics, Charles Super; and one of Egypt’s leading human rights activists, Executive Director of the Center for Middle East and East
Alexander Ntoko, Chief of the Operations and Planning Department at the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), addresses the 2nd Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see below for full prepared remarks. Full remarks Alexander Ntoko: Good morning everybody. I am usually not used to reading declarations but I
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
Hillel Neuer, international lawyer, diplomat, activist and Executive Director of UN Watch, addresses the 5th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see below for full prepared remarks. Full remarks Hillel Neuer: Welcome to the Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy. My name is Hillel Neuer. I’m
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
Victor Navarro, Venezuelan journalist and human rights defender, addresses the 16th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see below for his remarks. *Vídeo y transcripción en español abajo Full Remarks: In 2013 my life changed, specifically the day they killed my father. At that time Caracas, the
Abdalaziz Alhamza, award-winning journalist and co-founder of Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently, which exposes the atrocities committed by the Assad regime and ISIS, addresses the 11th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see quotes below, followed by full prepared remarks. On becoming a citizen journalist: “The local
Nurcan Baysal, Kurdish author, journalist and human rights defender who in 2017 was awarded the “Brave Women Journalists Award” by the Italian Women Journalists Association, addresses the 11th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see quotes below, followed by full prepared remarks. On being targeted by the Turkish
Gazelle Sharmahd, Iranian human rights activist and daughter of imprisoned journalist Jamshid Sharmahd, addressed the 16th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy on May 15th 2024. Full remarks: My name is Gazelle Sharmahd and I wish I could be there with you today in person, but unfortunately we
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
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: I would like to thank everyone for coming
A panel including one of Kazakhstan’s most prominent independent journalists and former editor-in-chief and reporter at Uralskaya Nedelya, Lukpan Akhmedyarov; Moroccan human rights activist and intellectual, Kacem El Ghazzali; journalist and former Executive Director of the “Club Suisse de la Presse,” Guy Mettan; and Russian performance artist, political activist, and
Maria Baronova, Russian human rights activist, journalist and subject of “The Bolotnaya Case”, addresses the 7th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see below for full prepared remarks. Full Remarks Hello. I am from Russia and as you know, things in my country are not as good as we would
Felix Maradiaga, Nicaraguan opposition leader and human rights activist, addresses the 11th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see quotes below, followed by full remarks in English and Spanish. On human rights abuses in Nicaragua: “It was the case of the child Conrado Alvaro, who was shot in
Full Transcript Moderator: I want to ask you, you served as Afghanistan’s youngest female mayor. But what made you run for mayor in the first place? Zarifa Ghafari: Thank you so much. Actually, first of all, I think if you believe in yourself, if you believe you’re doing right, it doesn’t
Chief of staff to imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny and co-founder of the Internet Protection Society, Leonid Volkov, addresses the 14th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy Full Transcript Moderator: Let me introduce Leonid, whom we heard at the UN yesterday – we had a small taster
Baroness Sal Brinton, Member of House of Lords and Human Rights Chair of Liberal International, delivers her remarks as she presents the 2025 Geneva Summit Courage Award to President-elect Edmundo González and opposition leader María Corina Machado. Full Remarks: Ladies and Gentlemen, Liberal International is a proud, long-time partner of
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
James Kirchik, visiting fellow at the Center on the United States and Europe and the Project on International Order and Strategy at the Brookings Institution, addresses the 6th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see below for full prepared remarks. Full Remarks James Kirchik: I turned on the