Jared Genser, international human rights lawyer, and Paula Schriefer, former Vice President for Global Programs at Freedom House, lead a human rights skills-building workshop at the 2nd Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see below for full prepared remarks.
Full remarks
International human rights lawyer
Advocacy Director, Freedom House
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
A panel including Associated Press reporter at the United Nations in Geneva, Frank Jordans; former Director of Communications in the Executive Office of the United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Edward Mortimer; and International lawyer, diplomat, and Executive Director of UN Watch, Hillel Neuer, address the 2nd Annual Geneva Summit for
Edmundo González, President-elect of Venezuela, and María Corina Machado, Venezuelan opposition leader received the 2025 Courage Award at the 17th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy on February 18th, 2025. Click here to view the presentation of the award by Baroness Sal Brinton. Full Remarks: Good afternoon all
Maryam Malekpour, sister of Saeed Malekpour, Iranian developer serving life sentence in Evin prison on spurious charges, addresses the 10th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see quotes below, followed by full prepared remarks. On Iran’s abduction and imprisonment of Saeed Malekpour: “Our nightmare began on October
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
Mathilde Gahier, a student at the Institut Florimont in Geneva, presented the empty chair for Maria Kalesnikava at the 17th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy on February 18th, 2025. Full Remarks: The empty chair on this stage is dedicated to Maria Kalesnikava, an opposition leader and defender
A panel including visiting fellow at the Center on the United States and Europe and the Project on International Order and Strategy at the Brookings Institution, James Kirchik; journalist, former Executive Director of the Club Suisse de la Presse between 1998 and 2019, and former President of the Swiss Red Cross,
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, President-elect of Belarus, delivered the 2026 Keynote Address at the 18th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy on February 18th, 2026. Full Prepared Remarks: Dear friends, A few months ago, my children hugged their father again. For years, they had only memories. There was no communication.
Michel Tran Duc, Viet Tan activist, pro-democracy organizer, and the son of an exiled Vietnamese intellectual, addresses the 4th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see below for full prepared remarks. Full remarks Catherine Fiankan-Bokonga: I now give the floor to Mr. Michel Tran Duc from Vietnam, who arrived
Full Transcript Moderator: Earlier this year, the whole world was reminded of just how fragile democracy is. We all saw the scenes on television of rioters here in the US storming the US Capitol. The erosion of freedom and democracy is something we have seen in many other countries around
Anastasia Lin, actress, classical pianist, human rights activist and Miss World Canada 2015, addresses the 8th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see quotes below, followed by full prepared remarks. On arriving in a democracy: “Now after I moved to Canada only then did I realize the extent
Chinese dissident and former political prisoner Yang Jianli addresses the 10th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see quotes below, followed by full prepared remarks. On China’s harassment of human rights activists: “In mid- January 2018, a Beijing–based human rights lawyer, Yu Wensheng, while walking his son to
Masih Alinejad, Iranian journalist and women’s rights activist, accepted the 2026 Courage Award on behalf of the heroes of Iran at the 18th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy on February 18th, 2026. Click here to view the presentation of the award by Alice Teodorescu Måwe. Full
Médard Mulangala, a Congolese human rights activist and opposition leader, addresses the 9th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see quotes below, followed by full prepared remarks. On the DRC’s crossroads moment: “This is a critical moment in the history of my country because, in the next few
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
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
Antonietta Ledezma, daughter of Caracas mayor Antonio Ledezma, in jail on politically-motivated charges, addresses the 8th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see quotes below, followed by full prepared remarks. On her father’s arrest: “The last 15th of February of 2015, 120 armed policemen smashed into my father’s
Gonzalo Himiob Santome, a Venezuelan lawyer, rights activist, and writer, addresses the 1st Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see below for full prepared remarks. Full remarks Good morning to you all. It is really a privilege for me to be here at the summit. Not only because
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
Full Transcript Moderator: It was incredibly powerful. I would like to just begin by taking a moment, to really recognize the courage and sacrifice all of you, including Nury, have really taken and I don’t think it gets hard enough recognition. So, please, just join me in giving them all
Denise Ho, award-winning Hong Kong-based singer, actress and pro-democracy and LGBTQ rights activist, addresses the 12th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy — see quotes below, followed by full prepared remarks. On her own involvement in the Hong Kong protests: “I started to understand the negative impacts of
Isabel Rochat, member of the Council of the Geneva canton between 2009 and 2013 and member of the Federal Commission Against Racism until 2012, delivers opening remarks at the 2nd Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see below for full prepared remarks. Full remarks Hillel Neuer: On
Russian democracy dissident Vladimir Kara-Murza receives the Geneva Summit Courage Award at the 10th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see quotes below, followed by full prepared remarks. On the commitment of Russians to human rights: “Russia is not usually the first country that comes to mind when
Regis Iglesias Ramirez, Cuban activist, former prisoner of conscience, and member the Christian Liberation Movement (MCL), addresses the 5th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see below for full prepared remarks. Full remarks in Spanish. See below for English En Mayo de 2002 por primera vez desde
Nury Turkel, attorney and Uyghur rights advocate who co-founded the Uyghur Human Rights Project, addresses the 12th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy — see quotes below, followed by full prepared remarks. On China’s mass detention of Uyghurs: “Since 2017, as many as three million Uyghurs have been detained