Venezuela
Pedro Urruchurtu
Venezuelan opposition campaign advisor held hostage for over 400 days inside the Argentine embassy in Caracas
May 15, 2024 — list of speakers for the Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy
2026 program Coming soon:
Geneva Summit for
human rights and democracy
February 18, 2026, Geneva, Switzerland
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Watch past speeches and get a sense of what to expect from the Geneva Summit.
PRogram
Morning Session
10:00 WELCOME
Hillel Neuer, Executive Director of United Nations Watch, on behalf of the 25 NGO co-sponsors of the Geneva Summit
10:10 OPENING ADDRESS
Evgenia Kara-Murza, Human rights activist, wife of jailed Russian prisoner of conscience and opposition politician Vladimir Kara-Murza
10:20 TYRANNY, OPPRESSION AND ATROCITIES IN CHINA
Moderator: Yang Jianli, president of Initiatives for China, former political prisoner
● Peter Yang, Son of Guo Feixiong, imprisoned Chinese “barefoot lawyer” and civil rights activist
● Dr. Gyal Lo, Academic expert on China’s mass use of boarding schools to eradicate Tibetan identity and culture
● Frances Hui, First Hong Kong activist granted political asylum in the US, Policy and Advocacy coordinator for the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation
● Kalbinur Sidik, Uyghur activist, witness to Chinese reeducation camp atrocities, survivor of forced sterilization
11:10 THE TRAGEDY OF ZIMBABWE
Fadzayi Mahere, Constitutional lawyer and opposition spokesperson arrested repeatedly in Zimbabwe
11:20 ESCAPING THE TALIBAN
Nila Ibrahimi, 16-year-old Hazara activist who narrowly escaped the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan
11:30 2023 International Women’s Rights Award
Shima Babaei, Activist imprisoned for removing hijab, daughter of forcibly disappeared dissident Ebrahim Babaei
11:45 THE IRANIAN STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM: A CALL FOR GLOBAL SOLIDARITY
Special Session on Iran: Supporting the Iranian People in Parliaments Worldwide
Moderator: Hillel Neuer, Executive Director of United Nations Watch
● Hadrien Ghomi, French MP outspoken for victims of repression in Iran
● Alireza Akhondi, Swedish MP campaigning to designate IRGC as terrorist entity
● Ali Ehsassi, Chair of Foreign Affairs Committee, Canadian Parliament
● Dr. Nargess Eskandari-Grünberg, Mayor of Frankfurt and former political prisoner in Iran
Afternoon Session
14:30 THE UYGHUR HUMAN RIGHTS CRISIS
Dolkun Isa, President of the World Uyghur Congress
14:40 North Korea: Escape FROM STARVATION AND OPPRESSION
Songmi Han, North Korean escapee and survivor of extreme poverty, oppression, and abandonment
14:50 DIARY OF AN INVASION: EYEWITNESS TO RUSSIA’S WAR ON UKRAINE
Andrey Kurkov, Renowned Ukrainian novelist, author of “Diary of an Invasion” on Russia’s war
15:00 THE TERRIBLE COST OF RESISTING PUTIN
Anastasia Shevchenko, First dissident convicted under Russia’s “undesirable organizations” law, profiled in Oscar-shortlisted film “Anastasia”
15:10 FIGHTING FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION
Marie-Claire Kakpotia, Survivor and activist fighting to end Female Genital Mutilation
15:20 ERDOGAN, JOURNALISM & THE ELECTIONS IN TURKEY
Nevsin Mengu, Turkish journalist dropped from CNN Türk after she criticized President Erdogan
Interviewer: Melissa Mahtani, journalist, former CNN producer
15:40 THE HIDDEN ISLAND: THE LIFE OF CUBANS UNDER DICTATORSHIP
Abraham Jiménez Enoa, Prominent Cuban journalist forced into exile, grandson of the bodyguard to Fidel Castro and Che Guevara
15:50 VENEZUELA: BUILDING UNITY TO CHALLENGE OPPRESSION
Hasler Iglesias, Venezuelan youth leader, went into hiding to escape arrest by Maduro regime
16:00 THE 2023 COURAGE AWARD
Félix Maradiaga, Nicaraguan opposition leader and former political prisoner, targeted by the government on false criminal charges
Presenter: Javier El-Hage, Chief Legal and Policy Officer at Human Rights Foundation
Interview with Félix Maradiaga and Berta Valle, Nicaraguan journalist and wife of Félix Maradiaga
Interviewer: Melissa Mahtani, journalist, former CNN producer
17:00 END OF #GENEVASUMMIT2023
speakers
Learn more about the incredible speakers and moderators who will highlight urgent rights issues from around the world.
Afghanistan
Marzieh Hamidi
Afghan-Iranian taekwondo champion and advocate for women’s rights in Afghanistan
Iran
Masih Alinejad
Award-winning Iranian freelance journalist and creator of ‘My Stealthy Freedom’ project encouraging women to post photos without headscarves
