Second Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights, Tolerance and Democracy

The second Geneva Summit for Human Rights, Tolerance and Democracy was held 8-9 March 2010, “in parallel [with] and to enhance the main annual session of the UN Human Rights Council.” Organized by an international coalition of human rights NGOs and co-chaired by Mr. Lech Walesa and Mr. Vaclav Havel, the Summit was planned “to offer dissidents and human rights activists from around the world a global platform and forum to share their personal struggles, their fight for freedom and equality, and their vision for how to bring change.” Issues addressed included Internet freedom, defending ethnic minorities, equality for women, combating contemporary slavery, legal activism, defamation of religion v. free speech, and the future of dissent. The event also featured presentations from victims of oppression from critical regions worldwide.  The full agenda as well as video recordings of summit proceedings are now available on the Summit Website.