Karolina Sacha (Y11) and Sianna Zewdie (Y11)
February 18th, 2025 marked the annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy. Held to raise the attention needed on countless urgent affairs, many people from a variety of different cultures and origins stepped up to take action on human rights issues all over the world. Many took stances that would bring attention to them— with some even risking their safety—for the good of their nation. A handful of La Châtaigneraie students, led by Mr. Hambley, were given the opportunity to participate in this event, with interviews, and an empty chair speech was given by Petra Dillon, a bright year 10 student.
This year, the crown prince of Iran, Reza Pahlavi, attended the Summit. With his presence, many with the interest of hearing him speak—about their country—filled the surrounding streets of Geneva. Right outside the entrance, was a long line bursting with chaos, noise, and chatter. Every single passionate person, stood outside for hours, waiting eagerly to enter, many argued or simply pushed to the front to get a chance to attend.
Down the street, a large group of people gathered on the Place des Nations. Over 500 Iranian, stood their ground, hoping to raise attention to have Reza Pahlavi to play a role in the democratic future of their country. All of this was done, to demand a regime change in Iran, for the better of their people. Every single one of them, stood their ground to fight for the freedom and justice of their country, chanting “Woman, resistance, freedom!”.
Hillel Neuer, a Canadian international human rights layer, took the stage to commence the event. In his welcoming speech, he did not shy away from controversy: according to him, the United Nations Human Rights Council “are not Aristotle, Socrates and Plato, but rather many of the world’s worst violators of human rights.” This scathing accusation was quickly followed by a list of countries—“China, Cuba, Qatar, Sudan, Vietnam, and others”—who serve as members on the council, a fact that Neuer finds extremely hypocritical.
Throughout the rest of his speech, he threw away any pretense of admiration of the UNHRC; instead choosing to methodically list out the crimes and charges against these oh-so-mighty members of the Council.
China, he says, is a communist regime eager to judge other countries on the crimes they commit in their own borders: subjugation of many people such as Uyghurs, Tibetans Hong Kongers, and even their own. Cuba and Vietnam, a police and one-party communist state respectively, targeting pro-democracy activists for their ‘radical’ ideals. Sudan for it’s conflicts that have led to the death of 150 thousand and the displacement of 11 million. Eritrea with its first and only president, yet another regime resisting the pull towards novel concepts such as ‘democracy’ and ‘freedom’.
And Qatar: a nation that supposedly loves to “throw money around” to the supposed delight of UN directors, to the point where UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Muhammad pronounced: “I hope there is a day that we do recognize this government.” The government she is referring to in this instance, happens to be the Taliban, which doesn’t inspire much faith in the UNHRC—at least definitely not from Neuer’s point of view.
“No dictatorship is legitimate, because legitimacy comes from the people. Legitimacy comes from recognizing the rights and humanity and security of the people.”
– Garry Kasparov
Garry Kasparov, perhaps better known as for his former position as the worlds #1 chess player, took the stage next to give a bleak but honest outlook on democracy today. He spoke of the fight for freedom against seemingly all powerful regimes, stating that “dictatorships may look strong, but they are as brittle as glass”. He too joined Neuer in his distaste for the United Nations now that it “has been hijacked by a modern-day rogues’ gallery”. Kasparov urged the audience to never lose faith in the power of ‘the Free World’ before closing off by stating that the “The United Nations has failed to uphold the terms in the Universal Declaration [of Human Rights]. It has failed, but we must not. We must unite. We must act. I welcome you all in this shared fight.”
Two “champions of human rights” as interviewer Björn Stritzel put it, spoke next: Evgenia and Vladimir Kara-Murza, two brave Russian opposition leaders. There was a haunted glimmer in their eyes they spoke of their experiences and their fight for freedom and democracy. “I was certain that I was going to die in that Siberian prison,” said Vladimir, as he spoke of the sense of gratitude he’d felt to all those who had stood beside him in his fight. He went on to reveal the horrors behind the Russian regime, that even incomplete figures stating that Russia holds 1497 political prisoners is more than the Soviet Union—15 countries—had in the mid 1980s.
“Putin’s propaganda wants the whole world to believe that all Russians support his regime, that all Russians back his war. But, actions speak louder than words.”
– Vladimir Kara-Murza
Evgenia went on to describe the excessive censorship and propaganda campaigns held by the Russian government over the last two decades. She also called out the tech company, Apple, for aiding the Russian government in this, through removing dozens of VPN services that huge numbers of Russians relied on to access independent news and information. The two concluded their grim views with an expression of their dreams of a free and democratic Russia. Whether this will happen anytime soon is anybody’s guess, but it’s safe to say that we all appreciate and support their fierce fight for freedom.
While Karolina and I unfortunately did not attend the rest of the conference since we had to return to school for mock exams, a number of other noteworthy advocates and activists also spoke. Their speeches and the transcripts are available on the Summit website. Petra Dillon of La Châtaigneraie presented an empty chair dedicated to Ugyghur scholar Rahile Dawut, who was disappeared by the Chinese government eight years ago. Her speech is available here.
The 2025 Geneva Summit of Human Rights and Democracy is a symbol of the future that we should be aspiring for. The dedication and strength of all the speakers, who have risked their lives to stand their ground, for the good of their country, and for freedom as a whole.