Speeches

Welcome with Hillel Neuer

Hillel Neuer, international lawyer, diplomat, writer, activist and Executive Director of UN Watch, addresses the 12th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy — see quotes below, followed by full prepared remarks. On the United Nations Human Rights Council: “We don’t say here at the Summit that the Human

Human Rights

Blasphemy in Pakistan with Peter Bhatti

Peter Bhatti, brother of Pakistan’s first and only Christian Federal Minister who was assassinated for opposing Pakistan’s blasphemy laws and Chairman of the non-profit International Christian Voice, addresses the 12th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy — see quotes below, followed by the full prepared remarks. On Pakistan’s

Democracy

Rights in Russia with Lyubov Sobol

Lyubov Sobol, Russian lawyer, anti-corruption activist and leader of the pro-democracy movement, addresses the 12th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy — see quotes below, followed by full prepared remarks. On her election candidacy: “This past summer I ran for election in the Moscow City Duma.” “Independent, democratically

Democracy

Iranian Authoritarianism with Kaveh Shahrooz

Kaveh Shahrooz, lawyer, writer and human rights activist who led a recent successful effort to convince Canada’s parliament to recognize the 1988 massacre of political prisoners in Iran as a crime against humanity, addresses the 12th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy — see quotes below, followed by

Uyghur Persecution

The Uyghur Crisis: A Global Problem with Nury Turkel

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

Human Rights

Qatar’s World Cup Slaves with Pete Pattisson

Pete Pattisson, award-winning investigative journalist who reports on labor exploitation and modern forms of slavery around the world, addresses the 12th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy — see quotes below, followed by full prepared remarks. On exploitation of migrants in Qatar: “My reporting began in the summer

Democracy

Taking on the Cuban Regime with Laritza Diversent

Laritza Diversent, Cuban lawyer, journalist, and human rights defender who serves as Executive Director of the nonprofit Cubalex, addresses the 12th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy — see quotes below, followed by full prepared remarks. On lack of democracy in Cuba: “The judiciary does not exist.” “The

Human Rights

Ending A Cycle of War with Rebecca Kabuo

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.

Democracy

Purged by Erdogan with Yavuz Aydin

Yavuz Aydin, Turkish judge purged by President Erdogan now living in exile, addresses the 12th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy — see quotes below, followed by full prepared remarks. On the coup events and subsequent purge: “Even before this coup attempt was done, the High Council met

Women's Rights

Trailblazer: Jailed for Showing her Hair with Shaparak Shajarizadeh

Shaparak Shajarizadeh, who became a leader in the “Girls of Revolution Street” and White Wednesday civil disobedience movements in Iran and who was famously arrested in February 2018 for removing her headscarf in defiance of Iran’s compulsory hijab laws, receives the Women’s Rights Award and addresses the 12th Annual Geneva

Women's Rights

Ending Child Marriage with Memory Banda

Memory Banda, leading Malawian rights activist fighting to end child marriage and harmful practices against girls, recipient of the International Youth Student Award and the UN’s Young Activist Award, addresses the 12th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy — see quotes below, followed by full prepared remarks. On

Political Prisoners

Our Responsibility to Political Prisoners with Irwin Cotler

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

Political Prisoners

Snatched off the Street in Vietnam with Dennis Chau

Dennis Chau, son of Vietnamese political prisoner Van Kham Chau who was detained in January 2019 while visiting the country from Australia and given a 12-year prison sentence, addresses the 12th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy — see quotes below, followed by full prepared remarks. On learning

Uyghur Persecution

My Missing Father with Jewher Ilham

Jewher Ilham, rights activist and daughter of Uyghur scholar Ilham Tohti now serving a life-sentence in Chinese prison for working to bridge the gap between the Uyghurs and the Han Chinese, addresses the 12th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy — see quotes below, followed by full prepared

Political Prisoners

Speaking out for Raif Badawi with Elham Manea

Dr. Elham Manea, Yemeni-Swiss political scientist, writer and human rights activist who focuses on the Arab Middle East, addresses the 12th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy — see quotes below, followed by full prepared remarks. On reforms in Saudi Arabia: “It is staggering that while these winds

Political Prisoners

Supporting Political Prisoners with Irwin Cotler, Elham Manea, Dennis Chau, Jewher Ilham

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

Hong Kong

The Hong Kong Protests: An Eyewitness Account with Denise Ho

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

United Nations

Reflections on the 75th Anniversary of the UN Charter with Alfred Moses

Alfred Moses, Chair of UN Watch, former U.S. Ambassador to Romania, Special Presidential Envoy for the Cyprus Conflict, and Special Counsel to President Jimmy Carter, addresses the 12th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see quotes below, followed by full prepared remarks. On the UN Charter: “Human

United Nations

Does Maduro Belong on the UNHRC? with María-Alejandra Aristeguieta-Álvarez

Maria-Alejandra Aristeguieta-Alvarez, Ambassador-designate in Switzerland of Venezuelan interim President Juan Guaido, addresses the 12th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy — see quotes below, followed by the full prepared remarks. On the failings of the UN: “The Universal HR system has been documenting and underlining the increasing deterioration of

Human Rights

“I Heard Five Shots” with Rosa Orozco

Rosa Orozco, mother of student Geraldine Moreno killed by the Venezuelan National Guard while protesting against the government in February 2014, addresses the 12th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy — see quotes below, followed by the full prepared remarks. On her daughter being shot and killed by

Human Rights

Ending Torture in Venezuela with Diego Arria

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

Presentation of the 2020 Courage Award with Brandon Silver

Brandon Silver, international human rights lawyer, and Director of Policy and Projects at the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights, addresses the 12th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy – see quotes below, followed by full prepared remarks. On the Geneva Summit: “At the 2020 Geneva Summit for

Human Rights

The Abolitionist Who Won’t Be Silenced with Biram Dah Abeid

Biram Dah Abeid, Mauritanian antislavery campaigner and founder of Mauritania’s Initiative for the Resurgence of the Abolitionist Movement (IRA), receives the Courage Award and addresses the 12th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy — see quotes below, followed by full prepared remarks. On slavery in Mauritania: “Our parents,