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The 9th Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy, organized by 25 renowned international NGOs , was held on 21 February 2017 with over 500 delegates coming from many countries of the globe. Opened by a welcome address of the executive director of UN Watch, this 2017 Geneva Summit of human rights activists was another  clear manifestation of the fast decline of  human rights and democracy in the world.   

The return of authoritarianism with all of its dangers, the risks to past achievements to human rights, and the state of the fight for freedom and democracy today were among the major topics handled by prominent panelists, and 16 witness speakers, singers and painters who availed themselves at the podium during the day. They had many horror stories to tell about what happened to them and their compatriots in their respective countries. Sadly, there was no Eritrean witness this year as a victim  to witness to tell what  has happened to him/her and his/her compatriots in that country where crimes against humanity were being systematically perpetrated for a quarter of a century.

Every witness at the summit had stories that provoked tears in the eyes of many conference participants. Others (like the Mauritanian Birham Abeid) narrated about continuation of slavery, pure and simple, and related abuses to human rights that seem hard to believe. Still others (like former president of Maldives, see separate story) wanted to advise the new generations to mobilize themselves for stiff fight and "never  capitulate" to the new "strong man" phenomenon building up in many corners of the world.

The Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy is held every year a few days before the convening of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. A delegate of the Eritrean People's Democratic Party (EPDP)  was attending the conference for the second consecutive year.

Shown in the pictures below are the witnesses, panelists and some of the 2017 Geneva Summit prize awardees for their contribution in the struggle to promote human rights and democracy in the world.

Anastasia Zotova, wife of jailed Russian dissident Ildar Dadin; Antonietta Ledezma, daughter of imprisoned mayor of Caracas, Antonio Ledezma;  Astrid Thors, Finnish politician and former OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities; Biram Dah Abeid, leader of the fight against slavery in Mauritania.

Can Dündar, leading Turkish journalist and the former editor-in-chief of Cumhuriyet; Chito Gascon, Chair of the Human Rights Commission of the Philippines; Dang Xuan Dieu, Vietnamese dissident, just freed after 6 years in prison; Danilo “El Sexto” Maldonado, Cuban artist and activist, just released after imprisonment for criticizing Castro.

Irwin Cotler, former Canadian Minister of Justice and MP, advocate for political prisoners; James Jones, Emmy-winning documentary-maker, producer of Saudi Arabia Uncovered; Médard Mulangala, Vice President of the Africa Liberal Network;  Mohamed NasheedFormer President of the Maldives.

Nyima Lhamo, Tibetan activist and niece of religious leader Tenzin Delek Rinpoche; Shirin, freed Yazidi sex slave of ISIS, author of 'I Remain a Daughter of the Light'; Taghi RahmaniJournalist, former Iranian political prisoner, and husband of jailed human rights activist Narges Mohammadi; Zhanna NemtsovaJournalist, founder of the Boris Nemtsov Foundation for Freedom, and North Korean Defector(picture dropped for security purposes).