“We do need great change in Burma. We are trying to build a new society, a society where basic human rights are respected, and where our people enjoy all the benefits of democratic institutions.” PeopleNeedsTryingHumansEnjoyRightsBenefitsInstitutionsDemocraticHuman RightsGreat ChangeBurmaBasic Human Rights Author:Aung San Suu Kyi
“Moves toward sovereignty in Iraq stimulate pressures first for human rights among the bitterly repressed Shi'ite population but also toward some degree of autonomy. You can imagine a kind of a loose Shi'ite alliance in Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Iran, controlling most of the world's oil and independent of the United States. And much worse, although Europe can be intimidated by the United States, China can't. It's one of the reasons, the main reasons, why China is considered a threat. We're back to the Mafia principle.” WorldFirstsHumansKindStatesReasonMovingUnitedPrinciplesUnited StatesRightsImagineDegreesEuropePressureIndependentThreatHuman RightsIraqPopulationChinaOilReason WhyIranSovereigntyAutonomyMafiaAlliancesIntimidatedArabiaSaudi ArabiaSaudisRepressed Author:Noam Chomsky
“The idea of universal human rights may not seem as weird to some people as the idea of a personal God, but it is still a metaphysical idea that liberalism, at least as we know it, couldn't really survive without.” PeopleKnowsHumansMayStillsIdeasSeemsRightsUniversalHuman RightsLiberalismMetaphysical Author:Ross Douthat
“I see a violation of human rights not in the mere fact that people don't have enough to eat and that they are very vulnerable, but I see it in the fact that the economic institutional order of the world is associated with this very persistent poverty and that different institutional arrangements at the supranational level could stop and even reverse the slide towards ever-greater income disparities.” PeopleWorldHumansDifferentEnoughFactsOrderLevelsPovertyGreaterRightsEconomicMereHuman RightsIncomeVulnerableReverseArrangementsPersistentSlidesViolationDisparityViolation Of Human Rights Author:Thomas Pogge
“We should condemn as unjust a global economic order that leads to ever-increasing economic disparities - provided this effect is foreseeable and provided it is also avoidable through some alternative institutional design that would foreseeably lead to much less poverty and inequality. Those involved in designing or imposing the existing rules are collectively responsible for the resulting excess deprivations and human rights deficits.” ShouldHumansOrderPovertyRightsEconomicEffectsDesignInvolvedResponsibleHuman RightsInequalityAlternativesExcessUnjustDeficitImposingDeprivationDisparityEconomic Order Author:Thomas Pogge
“Let's not use the term democracy as a play on words which is what people commonly do, using human rights as a pretext. Those people that really violate human rights [the West] violate human rights from all perspectives. Typically on the subject of human rights regarding the nations from the south and Cuba they say, "They are not democratic societies, they do not respect human rights, and they do not respect freedom of speech".” PeopleHumansPlayUseNationsTermDemocracyRightsSubjectsPerspectiveSpeechDemocraticWestSouthHuman RightsFreedom Of SpeechCubaDemocratic SocietyPretextPlay On Words Author:Alejandro Castro Espin
“Human rights and international criminal law both illustrate the contradictory potential of international law. On one level, the imposition of human rights norms is a restraint on interventionary diplomacy, especially if coupled with respect for the legal norm of self-determination. But on another level, the protection of human rights creates a pretext for intervention as given approval by the UN Security Council in the form of the R2P (responsibility to protect) norm, as used in the 2011 Libyan intervention. The same applies with international criminal accountability.” IfsHumansSelfFormLawUsedGivenLevelsResponsibilityRightsSecurityProtectDeterminationInternationalHuman RightsProtectionCriminalsAccountabilitySelf DeterminationApprovalRestraintNormDiplomacyCouncilInterventionContradictoryPretextInternational LawImpositionSecurity CouncilCriminal LawResponsibility To Protect Author:Richard A. Falk
“There are degrees of incompatibility, and there are more factors relevant to upholding democracy and human rights than the operation of neoliberal markets. Perhaps this point can be initially made by reference to the decline of democracy and the erosion of human rights within the United States since the 9/11 attacks.” HumansMadeStatesUnitedUnited StatesDemocracyRightsDegreesHuman RightsFactorsOperationsRelevantDeclineErosionIncompatibilityDemocracy And Human Rights Author:Richard A. Falk
“The deliberate weakening of the labour movement by the machinations of market fundamentalists, gaining momentum during the periods when Margaret Thatcher led the United Kingdom and Ronald Reagan governed in the United States, contributed to the decline of human rights.” HumansStatesUnitedUnited StatesRightsMovementPeriodsHuman RightsKingdomsLabourDeclineDeliberateMomentumUnited KingdomWeakeningLabour Movement Author:Richard A. Falk
“The systemic incompatibility between free-market capitalism and the quality of democratic life and respect for human rights has to be modified to take account of such contextual variables as wartime, security threats, and the societal balance between entrepreneurial and working classes.” HumansQualityClassRightsSecurityBalanceCapitalismAccountsThreatDemocraticHuman RightsWorking ClassFree MarketEntrepreneurialVariablesWartimeIncompatibilityFree Market Capitalism Author:Richard A. Falk
“Just as it wouldn't be right to only to have an economic dialogue with China, equally you shouldn't restrict your dialogue solely to issues around, say, human rights. You can raise all those issues, and that is what reflects a mature discussion. So I don't think essentially we have to choose between being partners in China's economic development and being proud defenders of British values.” ThinkingHumansValuesIssuesRightsEconomicDevelopmentProudRaisesHuman RightsChinaBritishPartnersDialogueDiscussionMatureBe ProudDefendersEconomic Development Author:George Osborne
“[Professional accountants ] should be encouraging companies to enhance their green credentials by switching to renewables, and to respect core labor standards and human rights.” ShouldHumansCompanyRightsStandardsLaborGreenHuman RightsCoreAccountantsCredentialsSwitching Author:Kofi Annan
“[Refugees] cannot be stopped, but they can and must be managed better, more humanely, protecting migrants' human rights whilst accepting states' rights to control their borders.” HumansStatesAcceptingRightsHuman RightsBordersRefugeeMigrantsStates Rights Author:Kofi Annan
“Human rights is a big important part of how to prevent conflict in the first place if we focus on how the governments are treating their people.” PeopleIfsFirstsHumansImportantBigsGovernmentFocusRightsConflictHuman Rights Author:Nikki Haley
“Good, healthy democratic societies are built on three pillars: there's peace and stability, economic development, and respect for rule of law and human rights. But often, we take stability - peace in terms of security and economic activity - to mean a country is doing well. We forget the third and important pillar of rule of law and respect for human rights, because no country can long remain prosperous without that third pillar.” HumansWellsMeanLongImportantCountryLawThreeTermForgetRightsEconomicSecurityDevelopmentHealthyActivityBuiltThirdsDemocraticHuman RightsStabilityProsperousRule Of LawGood HealthPillarsDemocratic SocietyEconomic Development Author:Kofi Annan
“We oppress people, we make our victims small wherever they are, whether they are a black girl in a rural community in, say, America or Britain, or whether it's something happening out there in one of the countries of conflict. I mean Sri Lanka, the human rights abuse there is appalling.” PeopleHumansMeanCountryAmericaGirlBlackCommunityRightsConflictHappeningsAbuseVictimHuman RightsBritainSri LankaBlack GirlRural Communities Author:Roma Tearne
“In Burma, we are being told by so-called experts and some governments that we must be patient and that there can be incremental change through Parliament. The UN did this, and failed spectacularly, and while they did, the human rights situation got worse. The dictatorship ignored the UN and international community, making not a single concession. Now we are being told again these Parliaments are new, we should engage with them and if improved they can bring positive change. I don't place any hope in that.” IfsShouldHumansGovernmentCommunitySituationRightsPatientInternationalHuman RightsExpertsDictatorshipIgnoredParliamentBe PatientInternational CommunityPositive ChangeConcessionsBurmaIncremental Change Author:Zoya Phan
“I would like to see an agreement that recognizes that we live on the same planet and that some interests, such as human rights, must be universal and that all religions must be respected.” HumansInterestRightsPlanetsUniversalHuman RightsAgreement Author:Ninian Smart
“US law and international human rights law have radically diverged in the past years in terms of the recognition of indigenous people's rights. International human rights law now looks at not whether or not the tribes have formal ownership or legal title in a Western legal conception might have it, but rather they look at the tribe's historical connection to that land.” PastTermHistoricalWesternHuman RightsRecognitionOwnershipIndigenousIndigenous People Author:Robert A. Williams, Jr.
“What John Marshall says is that right of occupancy can be taken away by purchase, conquest or any other means. So the reason that this case Johnson v. M'Intosh is so important is it really sets the foundation for this radical approach to understanding the basic human rights of Indian people to hold and control the lands that they occupy. It gives the US government the right to relocate, it stands at the bottom of the ethnic cleansing campaigns, for example, in the removal era.” PeopleGivingMeanImportantReasonUnderstandingTakenBottomHuman RightsRadicalConquestRemoval Author:Robert A. Williams, Jr.
“A lot of young people are very cynical about the political framework because they see the countries that preach democracy and human rights being countries largely responsible for the problems in their region.” PeopleCountryProblemPoliticalDemocracyResponsibleHuman RightsCynical Author:Mary Robinson
“For most women, running for office starts with a passion for an issue you care about. For me, it's always been about human rights, domestic-violence prevention, juvenile-justice reform, sexual-assault prevention.” CareRunningPassionOfficeHuman Rights Author:Catherine Cortez Masto
“Men realize that they have work to do, to pull up women and take ownership on where we are as a society, and that they have work to do to help their female relatives and friends - to give a voice to women, not in a patriarchal way, but in a supportive way. It is all of our jobs to make sure that women's rights are human rights, and that they do have a place at the table, and we all push toward equality.” MenGivingHelpingRealizingFemaleHuman RightsOwnershipSupportive Author:Julie Smolyansky
“It is all of our jobs to make sure that women's rights are human rights, and that they do have a place at the table, and we all push toward equality. The leadership numbers for women in business really haven't changed since I began as CEO. There are only 21 female CEOs at Fortune 500 companies, there is only 17 to 19 percent of female representatives in Congress, there are only eight female governors.” ChangedFemaleHuman RightsCeoBusiness Woman Author:Julie Smolyansky
“I trust that the space for LGBT community in Singapore will continue to grow, and that we will eventually have equality and freedom, even as the world begins to recognise that LGBT rights are human rights.” WorldCommunityHuman RightsLgbt Author:Ivan Heng
“I've been a social justice advocate all my life, becoming an activist for women and human rights even in high school, and found ways to weave it in to my later for-profit career. The first film I got involved in was Christy Turlington's "No Woman, No Cry" , which was about the impact of maternal health around the world. It brought this important issue to light, and even though I wasn't in a credit position, I helped her find ways to screen it.” WorldImportantSchoolFilmJusticeCryHigh SchoolSocial JusticeHuman RightsActivist Author:Julie Smolyansky
“I think the issue that concerns us is certainly regaining stability, but issues of human rights are an integral part of our reform policies, of our new constitution.” ThinkingPolicyConcernConstitutionHuman RightsStability Author:Sameh Shoukry
“Most of the things I'm talking about are essential human rights. I don't think it should be political to say that children should be able to have lunch at school when their families can't afford to feed them properly, or to say women should have access to basic health care, or that Muslims deserve equal protection under the law, or police shouldn't be killing black people and getting away with it - it shouldn't be a political thing to say. A lot of people on the right standing behind Christian values should be standing with us, because equality is a basic tenet of Christianity.” PeopleThinkingChildrenCareSchoolChristianPoliticalValuesBlackChristianityEqualDeservePoliceKillingHuman RightsProtectionHealth CareGet AwayBlack People Author:Zoe Kazan
“It is very deplorable that North Korea still does not uphold human rights, which are universal values.” ValuesHuman RightsNorth Korea Author:Moon Jae-in
“Humanitarian assistance and exchanges are still allowed, even under the sanctions regime on North Korea. Therefore, in parallel with sanctions and pressure, we must also employ humanitarian assistance. The meeting of separated families is also a measure to ensure human rights.” MeetingsHuman RightsHumanitarianNorth Korea Author:Moon Jae-in
“I believe all Americans who believe in freedom, tolerance and human rights have a responsibility to oppose bigotry and prejudice based on sexual orientation.” BelieveHumansI BelieveResponsibilityRightsRacismPrejudiceHuman RightsToleranceRacistBigotryBlack HistoryOrientationLove And ResponsibilityEnding Racism Author:Coretta Scott King
“O.J. Simpson existed in a bubble. So when Harry Edwards approached him about being involved in the Olympic Project for Human Rights, O.J.'s response was, famously, "I'm not black - I'm O.J." O.J. had ambitions to be famous, rich and liked by everyone, and I think he understood that being political and militant as a black athlete was not a way to engender universal love.” ThinkingPoliticalBlackRichAmbitionResponseHuman RightsAthleteBubblesMilitant Author:Ezra Edelman
“It is, for me, clear that the world needs a United States that is engaged in security issues, in development issues, in human rights issues. The contribution of the United States for global affairs is absolutely crucial. And the cooperation with the U.N. is very important from our perspective.” WorldImportantSecurityPerspectiveAffairHuman RightsCooperation Author:Antonio Guterres
“I think that it's very important to have the United States' engagement in many situations we have around the world, be it in Syria, be it in the African context. The United States represents an important set of values, human rights, values related to freedom, to democracy. And so the foreign policy engagement of the United States is a very important guarantee that those values can be properly pursued.” ThinkingWorldImportantValuesSituationDemocracyPolicyHuman RightsForeign PolicySyria Author:Antonio Guterres
“Russia is a competitor. They're a strong nation, something we need to recognize, but their economy is just a little bit bigger than Illinois, so they're not our equal. I think its important to engage them. And I think it's important that we continue to fight for human rights, which is essential to denying the next generation of terrorists their recruits and this is a long-term fight we're in when it comes to the war on terror. And I think the Russians are exacerbating this by making people displaced and killing families and that's how you lead to radicalization.” PeopleThinkingImportantWarFightingStrongEconomyEqualKillingHuman RightsTerrorTerroristNext GenerationWar On Terror Author:Adam Kinzinger
“For years, Taiwan has been dominated politically by a single party, the Kuomintang. People now want the place to be more democratic. They want to place more emphasis on human rights and transparency in terms of government decision-making. This is different from the way the government conducted business in the days when this was pretty much an authoritarian place.” PeopleDifferentTermPartyDemocraticHuman RightsTransparency Author:Tsai Ing-wen
“Gorsuch, who is a U.S. Supreme Court nominee in the United States, said the real test of law is when a government can lose in its own courts and still respect the order. And I think Canadian need to ask is why would Canada, if it's doing everything right, why wouldn't you want to be watched? If they are contesting the fact that their own courts don't have jurisdiction over the government's human rights violations, then our next step is to go to federal court and find the federal government that can come to court and we will do that.” ThinkingRealHuman RightsSupreme Court Author:Cindy Blackstock
“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” ChildrenLittlesCharacterDreamNationsJusticeFourTeachingIdentityColorKingsIntegrityOne DaySpeechDiversityRacismSkinsHuman RightsConservativeEqualitySillyDiscriminationAfrican AmericanHypocrisyBlack PeopleJudgedAmerican DreamDiverseAmerican HistorySentimentalGood CharacterI Had A DreamUnity In DiversityOregonSkin ColorEquality And JusticeBeing EqualHappy ChildrenIntegrity And CharacterIntegrity CharacterEquality Of PeopleEquality For AllI Have A Dream SpeechKings SpeechAnti RacistKings And LoveBeing JudgedGood KingsSocial EqualityPeaceful ProtestSlave OwnersInjustice And OppressionAnti DiscriminationBlack SkinRacism And PrejudiceDark SkinnedJustice EqualityJudge Of CharacterTolerance And DiversityBrown SkinMarch On WashingtonPolitical EqualityRace And ColorDefects Of CharacterTrue EqualityAfrican RacePreschool Children Author:Martin Luther King, Jr.
“There's no point going to a country which is torturing people to ask them to stop if they can point out that the United States is doing it too. It enormously weakens the argument. Back in the early days of the Bush administration, PEN made a decision that we would try and make human rights issues and civil rights issues in this country part of the priority, and not just international issues, which had more or less been the priority up until then.” PeopleTryingCountryDecisionArgumentHuman RightsPrioritiesCivil RightsPens Author:Salman Rushdie
“I've heard the government say many nice things. But it did make some gestures, like writing human rights protection into the constitution - that surprised me. And it improved the conditions for foreign journalists: It used to be impossible for you to meet with me personally. But there still hasn't been a real improvement in the human rights situation.” WritingRealSituationNiceImpossibleConstitutionHuman RightsProtectionImprovementJournalist Author:Liu Xiaobo
“If the Olympics fail, human rights will suffer. The government would stop paying any attention to the rest of the world. I personally think: we want the Games and we want human rights to be respected.” ThinkingWorldSufferingAttentionFailingHuman Rights Author:Liu Xiaobo
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” WisdomPeaceCommunityJusticeFreedomStruggleRightsSocietyDangerKingsGaySocial JusticeThreatInjusticeHuman RightsEqualityCivil RightsIslamicJailBentEqual RightsMenacePeace And JusticeCriminal JusticeI Had A DreamBeing At PeacePeace JusticeRacial JusticeEquality And JusticeInternational PeaceBirminghamLiberty And JusticeMass IncarcerationSocial InjusticeTruth And JusticeLaw And JusticeI Have A Dream SpeechKings SpeechJustice For AllKings And LoveGood KingsSocial EqualityCivil Right MovementJustice And MercyJustice And InjusticeSocial ActionAfrican American InspirationalAmerican JusticeEqual JusticeLegal RightsHuman EqualityAfrican American Civil RightsJustice EqualityJustice TruthBeloved CommunityInterrelatednessInjustice AnywhereRights In AmericaJustice Denied Author:Martin Luther King, Jr.
“The sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality.” SummerHuman RightsEqualityAutumnDiscontentI Had A DreamInvigoratingI Have A Dream SpeechDiscontentmentFreedom And Equality Author:Martin Luther King, Jr.
“American Jews are overwhelmingly liberal. By "liberal," I mean, basically, support for the rule of law, support for human rights, support for peace; and on all those counts - rule of law, human rights, peace - Israel's record has become indefensible.” MeanSupportHuman RightsJewRule Of Law Author:Norman Finkelstein
“We are calling on countries that supply weapons to comply with certain restrictions: not to sell weapons to human rights abusers, not to sell them to governments or groups carrying out aggression against states, not to make weapons sales that could disrupt security or development in the receiving region. These are in many ways common sense principles, but sadly, there seems to be very little common sense in the international arms trade.” CountryCommonSecurityTradeHuman RightsCommon SenseAggression Author:Oscar Arias
“I have gotten the sense that developments when it comes to human rights are very alarming. In the long term, it needs to be in our interest to have a Turkey in which human rights are respected. Anything else would mean destabilization right on our border. If we look away, the developments in Turkey will constantly get worse.” MeanLongTermInterestHuman RightsLong Term Author:Sebastian Kurz
“I work in the human rights field and there are serious conflicts between certain interpretations of Islamic law and human rights. That's something which I don't make any bones about at all, it's something which I think is very important for everyone to address, including the Muslim community, and many Muslims are addressing that issue.” ThinkingImportantCommunitySeriousConflictHuman RightsBonesIslamic Author:Sadakat Kadri
“The Muslim Arbitration Tribunal, if you look at its website, it basically deals with commercial disputes, it's not allowed to deal with matters involving children, it's not allowed to deal with criminal matters, it's subject to judicial review, it's subject to the Human Rights Act, it's subject to the Children's Act, and it's completely proper and right that it should be subject to all those things.” ChildrenHuman RightsWebsiteJudicial Author:Sadakat Kadri
“The first thing to say is that the ordinary criminal law in this country, the Human Rights Act, the Children's Act, all of the laws of the country take precedence, but what I'm also saying is that within the context of a secular country, which Britain now kind of is, or at least a country which purports to be relatively equal between religions, there should be some scope for allowing faith communities to govern themselves - subject to it being consensual and subject to everyone's human rights being observed.” KindCountryCommunityEqualHuman RightsSecularCriminal Law Author:Sadakat Kadri
“There's a feminist critique of Muslim Arbitration Tribunals, which I'm certainly not unsympathetic to, because as I keep saying, I come from a human rights context. But there's a feminist critique of Muslim Arbitration Tribunals specifically, which says women are going to have their rights eroded by virtue of the fact of these courts are going to negotiate settlements and negotiate the dropping of criminal charges against men. There's not been any evidence of that taking place.” MenVirtueEvidenceHuman RightsFeministCritiqueSettlementUnsympathetic Author:Sadakat Kadri