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Quote by Mary Robinson

“As a citizen of Ireland I have more sovereignty over our government. Because citizens now have more ways of holding the Irish government to account, not just under Irish constitutional law, but under the European system, at Strasbourg and Brussels. This, I believe, is the benefit for individual citizens.”

Quote by Mary Robinson

Author

Mary Robinson, born on May 21, 1944, is an esteemed Irish lawyer, diplomat, and human rights activist. She served as the President of Ireland from 1990 to 1997. Robinson is recognized for her advocacy on human rights and social justice issues both in Ireland and internationally. more

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“In human rights theory it is very important that governments still have the primary responsibility for the standards and provision of such services even if they no longer deliver them. They must insist that the private sector delivers without discrimination. So governments still have responsibility, including the need to influence business.”

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“It is a great problem for the true international agenda of human rights that the United States, uniquely among industrialised countries, has not ratified three main instruments, has not ratified the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, or the Convention on the Rights of the Child, or the Convention for the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, and we could have so much richer a debate and dialogue on international human rights standards if the superpower would sign up to the agenda.”

“If you live in a global world and you want to champion liberty in it, then you have you got to sign up to that global world.”

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“I'm not interested in scoring points or being over-critical of the US administration. I want to find the entry points to try and get it back on track so that the United States can get out of the present disastrous situation it's in, and back into being a constructive force for human rights in the world.”

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“Since 9/11 the United States has been followed by countries with bad records, such as the former Soviet Union countries, into erosions of human rights. Because the United States has changed its standards it is undermining civil liberties elsewhere.”

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“Freedom from discrimination for women, ensuring that female children can learn to read, these are human needs for half the human race, not western values.”

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“In general, I don't think that economic, social and cultural rights are primarily a matter of going to court. They are most useful today as commitments which can help ensure effective and equitable policy-making at every level.”

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“Sharing experience and building public support for the full range of rights is more powerful than legal cases.”

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“Christian fundamentalists seek to roll back women's right to choose in the United States, and then also insist that money against Aids must not go to organisations that help people obtain their reproductive rights. These are extremely worrying trends.”

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