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
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,
Vincente de Lima, the brother of Philippines Senator Leila de Lima, currently in prison for criticizing President Duterte’s Drug War, addresses the 11th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see quotes below, followed by full prepared remarks. On Duterte’s assault on human rights: “Imagine a pile of corpses
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
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
Ashiq Masih, husband to Asia Bibi, a Pakistani Christian woman sentenced to death after being convicted of blasphemy, sits down with Philippe Robinet at the 7th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see below for full prepared remarks. Full Transcript Moderator: I just wanted to tell you that in this
Brandon Silver, international human rights lawyer, 2024 Magnitsky Award laureate, and the Director of Policy & Projects at the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights, addressed the 18th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy on February 18th, 2026.
Irwin Cotler, international human rights lawyer for political prisoners, legal scholar, and former Canadian Minister of Justice and Attorney-General, received the 2025 Defender of Freedom Award at the 17th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy on February 18th, 2025. Full Remarks: May I begin by saying how moved
A panel including former Secretary General of the International Federation of Liberal Youth (IFLRY), Bart Woord; Belarusian and Estonian civic activist, media manager, and web producer, Pavel Marozau; international human rights activist and President and co-founder of Stop Child Executions, Nazanin Afshin-Jam; and dissident blogger from Bahrein creating virtual spaces
Ugandan pop-star turned 2021 presidential candidate and opposition leader, Bobi Wine, speaks at the 14th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see quotes below, followed by full prepared remarks. On deciding to speak out: “My fame wouldn’t change the reality – that I was just a boy from
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
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
Irwin Cotler, former Canadian Minister of Justice and MP and founder of the Raoul Wallenberg Center for Human Rights, addresses the 12th Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy — see quotes below, followed by full prepared remarks. On Raoul Wallenberg: “One person with the compassion to care and the
Kylie Moore-Gilbert, Australian-British academic who was just freed after two years in Iranian prison as a victim of hostage diplomacy, addresses the 13th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see quotes below, followed by full prepared remarks. On justice in Iran: “In Iran today, justice itself has
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
Jestina Mukoko, Zimbabwean human rights activist and Director of the Zimbabwe Peace Project, addresses the 4th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see below for full prepared remarks. Full remarks Jestina Mukoko: Good morning ladies and gentlemen. It gives me great pleasure to stand before you and
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.
Tania Bruguera, Cuban political performance artist who has been repeatedly arrested for her work, addresses the 13th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see quotes below, followed by full prepared remarks. On being harassed by Cuba’s State Security: “Imagine yourself walking on the streets with a friend
Peter Yang, son of Guo Feixiong, imprisoned Chinese “barefoot lawyer” and civil rights activist, addresses the 15th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see below for his remarks. Full Remarks I am here today, speaking for my father, Yang Maodong, who is more known for his pen name, Guo
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
Alfred Moses, UN Watch Chair and a former special advisor to President Carter, addresses the 9th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see quotes below, followed by full prepared remarks. On the legacy of the fall of the Berlin Wall: “After the Berlin Wall came down, and
Gibreil Hamid, President of the Darfur Peace and Development Center and critic of UN’s inaction on the genocide, addresses the 1st Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see below for full prepared remarks. Full remarks Gibreil Hamid: Thank you for your nice clear message to all of the
Yunior García Aguilera, Cuban playwright and democracy activist, addressed the 18th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy on February 18, 2026. Full Prepared Remarks: My name is Yunior. Just junior. I was born in Cuba in 1982. The generation before mine had names inspired by Soviet culture.
Sohrab Ahmari, Editorial Writer for The Wall Street Journal, addresses the 8th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy. Full Remarks Well ladies and gentlemen, thank you all for being here, for staying with us. I’m Sohrab Ahmari, I’m an editorial writer for the Wall Street Journal and I have the honor
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
Nobel-nominated Uyghur activist and sister to imprisoned Uyghur doctor Gulshan Abbas, Rushan Abbas, addresses the 14th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see quotes below, followed by full prepared remarks. On becoming an activist: “I am speaking today out of necessity. I’m a mother who had a fulfilling life