“We [Israel] already have two very strong democratic tools - the two basic laws of personal liberties and human rights. I think we should also provide the judiciary with another tool so that they can rely on the fact that Israel is a Jewish state in verdicts.” ThinkingShouldHumansTwoStatesFactsLawStrongLibertyRightsToolsDemocraticHuman RightsIsraelRelyVery StrongJudiciaryVerdictPersonal Liberty Author:Ayelet Shaked
“Even if you look at Iran, those campaigners for human rights there, they don't want to have anything to do with America, because they are afraid that having American support will be the kiss of death for their movement. And that's really tragic.” IfsWantHumansLooksAmericaSupportRightsMovementKissingHuman RightsTragicIranKiss Of Death Author:Yaroslav Trofimov
“The androcentric, patriarchal cultures, whatever you want to call it, are quite new. So, every economic statement should start with reproduction, not production. Every statement for human rights ought to include reproduction as a basic human right, like freedom of speech.” WantShouldHumansCultureRightsEconomicOughtSpeechHuman RightsProductionsStatementsFreedom Of SpeechReproduction Author:Gloria Steinem
“I have witnessed firsthand the anguish of this humanitarian tragedy - in Palestine, Iraq, Syria, Pakistan, and other conflict and post-conflict zones. The destruction of lives and hopes, the emotional trauma, and the economic, social, and political marginalization of the displaced, the human insecurity, with real and potentially devastating consequences over generations, in ever-widening arenas of conflict. We can and must ensure the human rights of the displaced. That begins by making their voices heard.” HumansRealPoliticalSocialVoiceRightsGenerationsHeardEconomicEmotionalConflictConsequenceDestructionTragedyHuman RightsIraqTraumaHumanitarianPostsZoneInsecuritySyriaAnguishPakistanPalestineArenaMarginalizationEmotional Trauma Author:Queen Noor of Jordan
“We still have sanctions on Iran for its violations of human rights, for its support of terrorism and for its ballistic missile program. And we will continue to enforce these sanctions vigorously. Iran's recent missile test, for example, was a violation of its international obligations.” HumansStillsSupportRightsExampleProgramTestsInternationalHuman RightsTerrorismObligationIranViolationSanctionsMissilesViolation Of Human Rights Author:Barack Obama
“And Eleanor's husband was the man who did the interning. And I think they - Governor Warren, who was later to become such an impassioned Chief Justice on all sorts of human rights issues, was very big in the internment process. And I think that we simply sometimes tend not to understand or remember how people felt.” PeopleThinkingMenHumansSometimesBigsRememberFeltProcessJusticeIssuesRightsHe ManHusbandHuman RightsChiefsGovernorsEleanorImpassionedChief JusticeInternment Author:William A. Rusher
“Well, human rights defenders, freedom of speech advocates, lawyers that we spoke to said this is really an expansion. After the military ouster of Egypt's unpopular, but elected Islamist president in 2013, we saw political opponents being arrested by the thousands, really. Then we saw a popular comedian go off the air out of fear of retribution.” HumansWellsSaidPoliticalPresidentSawsRightsAirMilitarySpeechHuman RightsLawyerComedianOpponentsSpokesFreedom Of SpeechExpansionEgyptArrestedRetributionDefendersIslamistsPolitical Opponents Author:Leila Fadel
“When ISIS last year called for the destruction of the Yazidi people, President Obama said that would constitute genocide and he ordered U.S. forces to keep it from happening. Human rights advocates say Christians now face a similar threat Nina Shea directs the Center for Religious Freedom at the Hudson Institute.” PeopleYearsHumansSaidChristianLastsFacesForcePresidentReligiousRightsHappeningsDestructionThreatHuman RightsGenocidePresident ObamaLast YearIsisInstituteReligious FreedomNina Author:Tom Gjelten
“Over the last eight years of being on YouTube, I've seen so much progress. I think the reason for that is that a lot of young people are having open dialogue and honest conversations about social justice and human rights.” PeopleThinkingYearsHumansReasonLastsYoungSocialJusticeRightsProgressHonestConversationSocial JusticeHuman RightsEightDialogueYoutube Author:Tyler Oakley
“It's something fundamental to me, human rights that people are equal under law simply because they are human beings. And I can no more imagine falling in love with someone who believed, for instance, as Orthodox Jews do, that women are unclean during their menstrual periods.” PeopleHumansI CanLawFallHuman BeingsRightsImaginePeriodsEqualFundamentalsFalling In LoveHuman RightsJewInstanceOrthodox Author:Susan Jacoby
“Hong Kong is not just a global financial center. It's also a place with a lot of teens and youth who love freedom, democracy, and human rights.” HumansDemocracyRightsYouthFinancialHuman RightsTeensHong KongLove FreedomDemocracy And Human Rights Author:Joshua Wong
“I think that compared to other politicians who have been put in jail in the past, compared to the human-rights activists in history who have had to face political prosecution, the activists in Hong Kong nowadays are already quite lucky compared to that.” ThinkingHumansHas BeensPastFacesPoliticalRightsPoliticianLuckyHuman RightsJailActivistHong KongProsecution Author:Joshua Wong
“The most important problem in Iran is that the courts have lost their independence, and they are under the influence of the Ministry of Intelligence and their people. This is why we witness a number of journalists and human rights activists, my colleagues, and a number of feminists, in prison.” PeopleHumansImportantProblemLostNumbersRightsInfluenceIndependenceCourtPrisonHuman RightsFeministWitnessJournalistIranActivistMinistryColleagues Author:Shirin Ebadi
“I would say that not many German people are still alive, who experienced what happened during the third reich. We don't have to go to the Stasi, we can go to the Gestapo, and see what happens, when your human rights, your ability to a freedom of expression and a freedom of thought is infringed upon. This is terribly, terribly dangerous territory.” PeopleHumansStillsHappensAbilityAliveRightsHappenedDangerousExpressionThirdsHuman RightsTerritoryFreedom Of ThoughtFreedom Of ExpressionGestapo Author:Ray McGovern
“We all have a responsibility, and as Rabbi Heschel, one of my prophets, has put it: "Those who condone, or are silent, in the face of injustice, are more guilty than the perpetrators." And so, to the degree we pretend to be a democracy, we have a corresponding duty to be activist enough to prevent our human rights form being infringed upon.” HumansEnoughFacesFormResponsibilityDemocracyRightsDutyDegreesSilentInjusticeHuman RightsGuiltyProphetActivistCorrespondingRabbiPerpetrators Author:Ray McGovern
“The communications revolution has given millions of people both a wider and more detailed understanding of the world. Because of technology, ordinary citizens enjoy access to information that formerly was available only to elites and nation-states. One consequence of this change is that citizens have become acutely conscious of environmental destruction, entrenched poverty, health catastrophes, human rights abuses, failing education systems, and escalating violence. Another consequence is that people possess powerful communication tools to coordinate efforts to attack those problems.” PeopleWorldHumansStatesProblemGivenNationsEnjoyUnderstandingPowerfulEffortEducationPovertyMillionsTechnologyRightsViolenceFailingInformationCommunicationRevolutionCitizensHealthyOrdinaryConsciousConsequenceToolsDestructionAbuseEnvironmentalHuman RightsAvailableAccessElitesCatastropheEducation SystemCoordinatesOrdinary CitizensAccess To InformationEscalatingEnvironmental Destruction Author:David Bornstein
“I was against impunity when it comes to human rights violations. But many of us African leaders now want to leave the Rome Statute as soon as possible because of this Western arrogance.” WantHumansLeaderRightsWesternHuman RightsArroganceRomeViolationImpunityStatutes Author:Yoweri Museveni
“Terror became a big issue when the Reagan Administration came in. They immediately announced [their plans] and kind of disparaged Carter's alleged human rights programs. The main issue is state-directed international terrorism. Right at that time that big industry developed. That's when you start getting the academic departments on terrorism.” HumansKindStatesBigsIssuesRightsPlansIndustryProgramInternationalHuman RightsTerrorTerrorismAdministrationDepartmentAcademicCarterInternational Terrorism Author:Noam Chomsky
“I'll tell you what gives me hope. After the struggle for marriage equality, the LGBTQ community has built some very powerful organizations; in particular, I'm thinking of HRC (the Human Rights Campaign), GLAAD... but there are many, many others, too. Along with those organizations come some savvy and tested leaders who have come to understand not only how to change hearts and minds but also legislators and judges votes.” ThinkingGivingMindHumansHeartCommunityPowerfulLeaderStruggleRightsParticularJudgingBuiltVoteOrganizationGive MeHuman RightsCampaignsTestedHeart And MindVery PowerfulLegislatorsSavvyMarriage Equality Author:Steven Petrow
“That term, 'human rights', makes me ill.Human rights are only for 'humans', therefore for the West. And for the rest of the Planet: there, the 'human rights' are used to discredit uncomfortable, even 'hostile' governments through countless implants like NGOs.” HumansGovernmentUsedTermRightsPlanetsWestHuman RightsIllUncomfortableHostileDiscreditImplants Author:Andre Vltchek
“Who talks about the real human rights violations, those committed by the West? Europeans and North Americans have already butchered hundreds of millions of people, or close to one billion, to be precise. They have been looting, torturing and raping. Even now, they are killing millions directly and tens of millions indirectly.” PeopleHumansHas BeensRealMillionsRightsWestKillingHuman RightsCommittedBillionsPreciseViolationReal HumanLooting Author:Andre Vltchek
“If every human rights atrocity is described as a Holocaust,[Adolf] Hitler's attempted obliteration of the Jewish people is diminished or de-recognised in our history.” PeopleIfsHumansRightsHuman RightsHolocaustAtrocities Author:Jeremy Corbyn
“Other human rights atrocities from African slavery to the killing fields of Cambodia, the Armenian and Rwandan Genocides are all of course to be remembered, but diluting their particularity or comparing degrees of evil does no good.” HumansDoeCoursesEvilRightsFieldsDegreesSlaveryKillingHuman RightsCompareRememberedGenocideAtrocitiesArmeniansCambodia Author:Jeremy Corbyn
“The cases involving the question of whether U.S. courts should be open to claims of international human rights violations brought by foreign persons against foreign government officials. And the State Department on the one side has got a very consistent and powerful view that U.S. courts should be open to those claims because there needs to be a place in the world where they can be brought. And those human rights norms ought to be real and enforceable, and we ought to be a beacon to the world.” WorldNeedsShouldHumansPersonsRealStatesGovernmentSidesViewsPowerfulCasesRightsOughtClaimsCourtInternationalHuman RightsOfficialsDepartmentConsistentBeing RealNormViolationInvolvingPlaces In The WorldBeaconsGovernment Officials Author:Donald Verrilli Jr.
“United States Government needs to acknowledge and respect our sovereignty, treaties, traditional Native American values, and our human rights as a people, which under the law as written we deserve, and which should be protected.” PeopleNeedsShouldHumansStatesGovernmentLawValuesUnitedUnited StatesRightsWrittenDeserveHuman RightsTraditionalAcknowledgeNativeProtectedNative AmericanSovereigntyTreatiesState GovernmentAmerican ValuesUnited States Government Author:Leonard Peltier
“Human rights groups are locked in a fierce competition for big checks from wealthy donors and they need to generate big headlines.” NeedsHumansBigsRightsGroupsCompetitionHuman RightsChecksWealthyLockedFierceHeadlinesDonors Author:Paul Kagame
“Human rights are not the preserve of Western activists: The definition must extend to encompass the right to the dignified life; the right to send your kids to school, for that child to get health care, for access for greater prosperity for generations to come and to have a say in the destiny of your community and country. Under that definition, Rwanda has nothing to learn from advocacy groups who think they own the copyright on what constitutes human rights under all conditions in every corner of the world.” ThinkingWorldHumansChildrenCountryCareKidsSchoolCommunityDestinyGreaterRightsGenerationsGroupsConditionsWesternHuman RightsDefinitionsProsperityCornersAccessHealth CarePreservesActivistCopyrightAdvocacyRwandaCorners Of The World Author:Paul Kagame
“The basic problem affecting the Pakistan today is human rights. Islamic fundamentalists have no roots among the common people and while they are pushing hard for religious fundamentalists to take hold, the common people still seek change through humanitarian and common human rights law.” PeopleHumansStillsHardProblemTodayLawReligiousCommonRightsRootsHuman RightsHumanitarianIslamicPushingPakistan Author:Abdul Sattar Edhi
“The common people don't believe this kind of religion [of islamic fundamentalists] because first and foremost they want to solve their basic problems, including human rights and economic.” PeopleWantFirstsBelieveHumansKindProblemCommonRightsEconomicDon't BelieveIncludingHuman RightsSolveIslamic Author:Abdul Sattar Edhi
“The Muslim world suffers from internal divisions, antidemocratic practices, and the violation of fundamental human rights and freedoms.” WorldHumansSufferingPracticeRightsFundamentalsHuman RightsInternalsDivisionViolationRights And FreedomsMuslim World Author:Fethullah Gulen
“The earth is the mother of all people, and all people should have equal rights upon it.” PeopleShouldEarthMotherRightsEqualDiversityShould HaveSocial JusticeHuman RightsIndianNativeNative AmericanEqual RightsAmerican IndianGreat AmericanNative American WisdomEcoGreat SpiritNative AmericaNative American IndianGreat Native AmericanNative American EarthIndian WisdomBeing EqualNative WisdomAmerican SpiritNative American Indian InspirationalEquality Of PeopleNative American SpiritualNative American DreamSpiritual IndianNative American ProverbsEveryone Is Equal Author:Chief Joseph
“The product supply chain, from source material to store, is an organizing map for delivering human rights.” HumansRightsMaterialsProductsSourceHuman RightsStoresChainsMapsDeliveringSupply Chain Author:Julia Ormond
“People say, "Oh, we ought to fight for animal rights." We fought for human rights, but even if humans have rights, they can still be horribly abused and are every day. You don't have to go to some far off land, far away place; we have a lot of child abuse in our own society.” PeopleIfsHumansChildrenStillsFightingAnimalRightsLandOughtAbuseHuman RightsAnimal RightsChild AbuseFar Away Author:Jane Goodall
“We can and must ensure the human rights of the displaced. That begins by making their voices heard.” HumansVoiceRightsHeardHuman Rights Author:Queen Noor of Jordan
“America should be leading the world in green and clean solutions, and human rights. We shouldn't be leading the world in wars and incarceration rates and pollution. We can be a better country. I think we're going to be a better country.” ThinkingWorldShouldHumansWarCountryAmericaRightsSolutionsGreenCleanRateHuman RightsPollutionIncarceration Author:Van Jones
“I learned from the Macarturos. I had never been at a table with a labor organizer and a playwright and a performance artist and an anthropologist and a human rights lawyer. Usually at most gatherings, it's all writers. But suddenly I was at a table with all these different people and I learned from each of them, learned from the work they're doing, learned new ways to solve my problems.” PeopleWayHumansDifferentProblemArtistRightsLaborPerformancesTablesHuman RightsSolveLawyerNew WaysGatheringDifferent PeoplesPlaywrightOrganizerAnthropologists Author:Sandra Cisneros
“The changing climate is a threat to human rights.” HumansRightsThreatClimateHuman Rights Author:Mary Robinson
“The biggest obstacle in interacting with China is the difference in perspectives about basic values. These include issues such as human rights, the concept of law and constitution.” HumansLawValuesDifferencesIssuesRightsPerspectiveConceptsConstitutionHuman RightsObstaclesChinaInteractingBiggest Obstacles Author:Ai Weiwei
“The connection between toxicity and cancer and safe air and water and food, all of that was important all along, as were women's and human rights issues, but the nuke issue and the safe energy movement became really important to me in the mid-'70s.” HumansImportantEnergyWaterIssuesRightsAirMovementSafeConnectionsHuman RightsCancerToxicityAir And WaterNukes Author:Bonnie Raitt
“It is no longer acceptable to discuss women's rights as separate from human rights.” HumansRightsHuman RightsAcceptableWomens Rights Author:Hillary Clinton