On 18 February, Baroness Sal Brinton represented ALDE Party and Liberal International (LI) at the annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy.
The ALDE Party Vice-President and chair of Liberal International's human rights committee joined a delegation of representatives such as LI Vice-President Dr. Phil Bennion to reaffirm our joint unwavering commitment to human rights advocacy.
During the visit to Switzerland, Vice-President Brinton met with former political prisoner Vladimir Kara-Murza, who was held captive by Putin’s regime for over two years on politically-motivated grounds and released in August last year.
Kara-Murza, addressing the opening session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, urged global leaders to ensure Ukraine’s participation in peace negotiations and to advocate for the release of Russia’s unjustly imprisoned political dissidents.
Vice-President Brinton also presented the 2025 Courage Award to Edmundo Gonzalez and Maria Corina Machado, whose fight for democracy in Venezuela embodies the spirit of defiance against authoritarian regimes seeking to silence opposition.
“For over two decades, the people of Venezuela have suffered under a regime that systematically dismantled democratic institutions, suppressed dissent, and trampled fundamental human rights. Against this backdrop of repression and hardship, Edmundo González and María Corina Machado have emerged as beacons of moral courage, offering the Venezuelan people a vision of hope and renewal. They risked everything for a cause greater than themselves – the right of their people to live in freedom and dignity,” said Vice-President Brinton.
Kara-Murza in turn presented the Defender of Freedom Award to Irwin Cotler, a venerated human rights advocate from the Liberal Party of Canada, while the Women’s Rights Award was bestowed upon Massouda Jalal and her daughter Husna, stalwart defenders of Afghan women’s rights.
During the Summit, speakers from across the globe laid bare the brutal realities faced by political prisoners, persecuted minorities and activists under siege.
ALDE Party and Liberal International remain resolute in our mission to stand against tyranny, champion democracy and ensure that no voice is left unheard in the fight for human rights worldwide.
Photo: UN Charter / Flickr