Germany’s capital from 7-9 November became the meeting place for nearly 200 political activists and opposition figures from sixty countries across the world presently under authoritarian rule. Alongside numerous international guests, the dissidents gathered for the General Assembly of the World Liberty Congress held in the Abgeordnetenhaus, the Berlin state parliament, ahead of the first Berlin Freedom Week. The assembly elected a new leadership and adopted a manifesto outlining principles and coordinated action against the world’s autocratic regimes.
Opening the assembly, Iranian-born dissident and the group’s founding president Mashi Alinejad invoked the history of Berlin, whose western part was encircled by a death strip erected by the East German dictatorship, embodying the frontline of the Cold War for decades. “Once, the Berlin Wall cut through this city and divided humanity. It was brought down by the people, proof that no wall, no dictator, no regime lasts forever”, Alinejad stated. She called Iran’s compulsory hijab laws and political repression a Berlin Wall of today.
No wall, no dictator, no regime lasts forever
According to founding vice president and Russian dissident Garry Kasparov, the democratic world is currently defended on the battlefields in Ukraine, highlighting the worldwide ramifications of Russia’s war of aggression. Founding secretary-general and Venezuelan opposition activist Leopoldo López emphasized the need of united resistance against authoritarian regimes and dictatorships worldwide. “Our strength is solidarity and dictators fear that more than sanctions,” he said.
The assembly elected Nicaraguan opposition leader Felix Maradiaga as new president. Former Afghan lawmaker Shukria Barakzai was elected vice president. Rwandan-Belgian rights advocate Carine Kanimba, the previous spokesperson, was elected secretary general. Belarusian veteran dissident Andrei Sannikov took the role of ombudsperson. Tibetan-Canadian campaigner Chemi Lhamo was elected new spokesperson. To foster a culture of democratic change, the group’s three co-founders did not stand for re-election but emphasized their commitment remains unabated.
Berlin Manifesto: a call for democratic action and unity
Dubbed as a “global parliament of dissidents” by Syrian-born human rights activist Ammar Abdulhamid, the group’s policy director, the assembly adopted a Berlin Manifesto calling on “free people and free nations” to unite “for only together can we overcome the gathering forces of tyranny”.
Liberty is the birthright of every human being
Running over more than ten pages, the manifesto includes sixteen sections. It elaborates on the global authoritarian threat; the importance of supporting Ukraine against the Russian aggression; the conditions of non-violent resistance and the international community’s responsibility to protect; building a “global democratic ecosystem”; confronting polarization inside democracies; supporting next-generation democratic leaders; supporting political prisoners; the role of private business and philanthropy; confronting gender apartheid; strengthening the democratic diaspora; deterring transnational repression; forced statelessness as a “tool of modern tyranny”; the creation of a “League of Democracies” and a “Democracy Security Compact”; the role of youth; defending freedom of faith; as well as Bitcoin as a “freedom technology”.
The document declares that “liberty is the birthright of every human being” and resolves “to stand as one transnational community in defense of that sacred right.” According to the manifesto, the “regimes in Beijing and Moscow, bolstered by allies from Tehran to Pyongyang, have formed a de facto alliance of autocracies.” It explains that a “new axis of oppression spanning multiple continents” is converging which regards “the very existence of free societies as an existential threat”.
Declaring that democracy is a universal value, the statement calls on “the democracies of the Global South, from India to South Africa, Indonesia to Brazil” to join the United States and Europe “in a common front” against authoritarian expansion.
The United Nations is too often subverted by authoritarian influence
The United Nations and other multilateral bodies according to the statement “have too often been paralyzed or even subverted by authoritarian influence.” It condemns “the cynical abuse of international institutions by regimes that masquerade as legitimate statesmen even as they brutalize their peoples at home.” The document calls for a “Democratic Alliance” of “nations and non-state actors that can act flexibly to support movements on the ground, bypassing the paralysis of institutions like the UN.”
The manifesto affirms that “sovereign authority carries a corresponding duty to protect populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing, and crimes against humanity”. When a state fails in this duty, the international community “bears a responsibility to act”. It further urges “the creation of a ‘League of Democracies’ or parallel alliance through which like-minded democratic nations can act when the UN Security Council is paralyzed by vetoes.”
“Together, we will work tirelessly to end the era of autocracy and usher in a new dawn of human liberty,” the manifesto says in the conclusion, capturing the spirit of the World Liberty Congress and its members. “We envision a future assembly in a free Minsk, a free Moscow, a free Tehran, a free Havana and one day, a free Beijing. Skeptics may say this is overly ambitious. But so was the dream that the Berlin Wall would fall – until it did”, the document states.
The General Assembly of the World Liberty Congress was followed by the Berlin Freedom Conference on 10 November 2025, a public event featuring speeches, panels and workshops to kick off the Berlin Freedom Week, a platform for dozens of independent events organized around the city until 15 November. In the opening speech, Berlin’s Governing Mayor Kai Wegner announced that the city will help the World Liberty Congress to establish its headquarters in Berlin. Key partners of the World Liberty Congress’ Berlin events included Visit Berlin, the Axel Springer Foundation, and the Human Rights Foundation.
The Executive Director of Democracy Without Borders, Andreas Bummel, who was one of the guests at the General Assembly, congratulated the co-founders, the newly elected leadership and all delegates. “The World Liberty Congress and its moral clarity, bold ambition and the courage of its members are a beacon of hope and an inspiration,” he said.
As part of the Berlin Freedom Week, Democracy Without Borders organized a round table on “The UN: problem or pathway for freedom and democracy?” A report will follow.