Quotes and Sayings about Human rights

"Our strategic dialogue with China can both protect American interests and uphold our principles, provided we are honest about our differences on human rights and other issues and provided we use a mix of targeted incentives and sanctions to narrow these differences."
- Madeleine Albright
(Related: American, Rights, Human rights, Principles)

"We like to engage in a normal publishing effort, which is to act in a responsible manner and make sure the material is not likely to harm anyone, that it is properly investigated by quality news organizations, and by lawyers and human rights groups and so on."
- Julian Assange
(Related: Quality, Act, Effort, Rights, Harm, Human rights, Lawyers, News, Publishing)

"There are significant human rights abuses in China. In some areas, the situation is worse today than in the past. In other areas, there have been improvements. We will recognize the latter, and be critical of the former."
- Max Baucus
(Related: Rights, Human rights, Past, Today, Will)

"You look at the whole Human Rights questions, I happened to be there at just the right time when the country was awakening - this goes to the first question you asked - the whole country was awakening to a hundred years of injustice that hadn't been resolved yet."
- Birch Bayh
(Related: Time, Country, First, Rights, Human rights, Injustice, Question, Questions, Years)

"We must do all we can to help improve the deplorable human rights situation of the North Korean people."
- Evan Bayh
(Related: People, Rights, Help, Human rights)

"America's support for human rights and democracy is our noblest export to the world."
- William Bennett
(Related: America, Democracy, Rights, Human rights, Support, World)

"Iran has a dismal record on human rights."
- Howard Berman
(Related: Rights, Human rights)

"When they favor the access of other people to education and health care, the countries of the North not only demonstrate generosity or solidarity, but also implement the principles of respecting and promoting human rights."
- Omar Bongo
(Related: Education, Health, People, Care, Countries, Rights, Generosity, Human rights, Principles, Solidarity)

"For about ten years now, the struggle for democracy and the respect of human rights has been in the focus point - if not a commodity - of political groups aiming to rise to power."
- Omar Bongo
(Related: Power, Democracy, Focus, Rights, Human rights, Now, Respect, Struggle, Years)

"So what we're talking about here is human rights. The right to live like a human. The right to live, period. And what we're facing in Africa is an unprecedented threat to human dignity and equality."
- Bono
(Related: Equality, Dignity, Rights, Human rights, Talking)

"When you consider what Tony Blair was saying about liberty, human rights and that sort of thing, it would be terribly revolutionary to sell the speeches he and Jack Straw made in 1994."
- Rory Bremner
(Related: Rights, Human rights, Liberty, Saying)

"It may be an extreme example brought about by abnormal circumstances - but the criteria of human rights kick in, surely, precisely when the conditions are extreme and the situation is abnormal."
- Breyten Breytenbach
(Related: Circumstances, Example, Extreme, Rights, Human rights, May)

"The predominant yardstick of your government is not human rights but national interests."
- Breyten Breytenbach
(Related: Government, Rights, Human rights)

"We must take proactive steps to promote democracy and human rights abroad."
- Sam Brownback
(Related: Democracy, Rights, Human rights)

"The E.U. is more than just a trade organization or a common market; it is a guarantee of democracy, freedom, justice, and human rights. Nations cannot stay in the E.U. if they do not respect these guarantees."
- John Bruton
(Related: Democracy, Freedom, Rights, Human rights, Justice, Nations, Respect, Trade)

"As a human rights issue, the effort to end violence against women becomes a government's obligation, not just a good idea."
- Charlotte Bunch
(Related: Women, Idea, Government, Effort, End, Rights, Human rights, Obligation, Violence)

"Relativism should be confronted where it damages fundamental human rights, because we're not relativists if we believe that the human being should be at the centre of society and the rights of every human being should be respected."
- Rocco Buttiglione
(Related: Society, Being, Rights, Human rights)

"America did not invent human rights. In a very real sense human rights invented America."
- Jimmy Carter
(Related: America, Rights, Human rights, Sense)

"For this generation, ours, life is nuclear survival, liberty is human rights, the pursuit of happiness is a planet whose resources are devoted to the physical and spiritual nourishment of its inhabitants."
- Jimmy Carter
(Related: Happiness, Life, Survival, Rights, Human rights, Liberty, Pursuit, Spiritual)

"Human rights is the soul of our foreign policy, because human rights is the very soul of our sense of nationhood."
- Jimmy Carter
(Related: Soul, Policy, Foreign policy, Rights, Human rights, Sense)

"At the Carter Center we work with victims of oppression, and we give support to human rights heroes."
- Jimmy Carter
(Related: Work, Rights, Heroes, Human rights, Oppression, Support, Victims)

"The single outstanding exception was the broad yet precise mandate communicated by the General Assembly in 1946 to prepare as soon as possible the Charter of Human Rights which the San Francisco Conference had not had the time or the courage to draw up."
- Rene Cassin
(Related: Time, Courage, Rights, Human rights)

"As corollaries to the right of every individual to life and to full participation in society, the Declaration incorporated in the list of human rights the right to work and a certain number of economic, social, and cultural rights."
- Rene Cassin
(Related: Life, Work, Society, Rights, Human rights, Participation)

"As a consequence of these hesitations and of the vague character of such innovations, the Commission on Human Rights itself had doubts from the beginning about its role and its functions in general."
- Rene Cassin
(Related: Character, Beginning, Rights, Human rights)

"Their prejudice allowed white Southerners to look the other way when blacks were denied their most basic human rights, and it encouraged the worst of them to engage in unspeakable acts of cruelty and violence."
- Linda Chavez
(Related: Cruelty, Rights, Human rights, Prejudice, Violence)

"Since January 2002, when the United States began detaining at Guantanamo Bay enemy combatants captured in Afghanistan, Iraq, and other fronts in the war on terror, critics have complained of human rights abuses."
- Linda Chavez
(Related: War, Afghanistan, Enemy, Rights, Human rights, Iraq, states, Terror, United)

"But if USA has 1.3 billion people, USA would have the same human rights problem just like China."
- Alex Chiu
(Related: People, Rights, Human rights)

"We have a human rights interest. Then there is the immigration problem. The human-rights violations have caused people to take to boats and flood not only the United States, but other countries in the region, creating great instability."
- Warren Christopher
(Related: People, Boats, Countries, Rights, Human rights, Interest, states, United)

"I am a technological activist. I have a political agenda. I am in favor of basic human rights: to free speech, to use any information and technology, to purchase and use recreational drugs, to enjoy and purchase so-called 'vices', to be free of intruders, and to privacy."
- Bram Cohen
(Related: Technology, Drugs, Free speech, Information, Privacy)

"Bishop Frederick Henry of Calgary is facing at least two official objections to his public statements along with expensive hearings before the Alberta Human Rights Commission for expressing his biblical views on same sex marriage."
- Stockwell Day
(Related: Marriage, Sex, Rights, Human rights, Public)

"If the U.N. were to be successful in its efforts to control the Internet, countries where human rights records range from questionable to criminal could be put in charge of determining what is and is not allowed to appear online."
- John Doolittle
(Related: Successful, Control, Countries, Rights, Human rights, Internet)

"There is no room for legal hair-splitting when it comes to the humane treatment of detainees - not in a nation founded on the rule of law and respect for human rights."
- Dick Durbin
(Related: Legal, Rights, Hair, Human rights, Law, Nation, Respect, Treatment)

"The idea of cultural relativism is nothing but an excuse to violate human rights."
- Shirin Ebadi
(Related: Idea, Rights, Human rights, Nothing)

"When we criticize in Iran the actions of the government, the fundamentalists say that we and the Bush Administration are in the same camp. The funny thing is that human rights activists and Mr. Bush can never be situated in the same group."
- Shirin Ebadi
(Related: Funny, Government, Actions, Rights, Human rights)

"Human rights is a universal standard. It is a component of every religion and every civilization."
- Shirin Ebadi
(Related: Religion, Civilization, Rights, Human rights)

"I hope the example of Saddam Hussein will give a lesson to leaders of other countries where human rights are not respected."
- Shirin Ebadi
(Related: Hope, Countries, Example, Rights, Human rights, Leaders, Will)

"Lawyers should not be charged with the same crimes as their clients. Trials related to political charges are not in accordance with human rights."
- Shirin Ebadi
(Related: Clients, Rights, Human rights, Lawyers, Trials)

"We have in the last two years, we have passed 350 legislation in the parliament, most of which deal with democratization, human rights, and of course, economy."
- Bulent Ecevit
(Related: Economy, Rights, Human rights, Legislation, Parliament, Years)

"We receive reports now on a daily basis from our own people on the ground in Darfur on widespread atrocities and grave violations of human rights against the civilian population."
- Jan Egeland
(Related: People, Rights, Grave, Human rights, Now, Population)

"We all would like to see a brighter future for Haiti, and I hope this conference will serve to explore many views. Respect for human rights, freedom, and the rule of law must be established in the poorest nation in our hemisphere."
- Eliot Engel
(Related: Hope, Freedom, Future, Rights, Human rights, Law, Nation, Respect, Will)

"Paramount is the need to secure human rights. The form of rule should be such that the citizen does not have to fear the State, but gives it direction and confidently participates in its administration."
- Recep Tayyip Erdogan
(Related: Fear, Direction, Rights, Human rights, State)

"The human rights community has focused very narrowly on political and civil rights for many decades, and with reason, but now we have to ask how can we broaden the view."
- Paul Farmer
(Related: Civil rights, Community, Human rights, Now, Reason)

"The only way to do the human rights thing is to do the right thing medically."
- Paul Farmer
(Related: Rights, Human rights)

"My dreams for the future are simple: work, a happy, healthy family, a lovely long motorcycle ride, and continuing the struggle to awaken people to the need for serious human rights reform."
- Mike Farrell
(Related: Dreams, Family, Work, People, Future, Rights, Human rights, Reform, Struggle)

"Since achieving their independence in 1992, the people of Croatia have built a democratic society based on the rule of law, respect for human rights, and a free market economy."
- Elton Gallegly
(Related: Society, People, Economy, Independence, Rights, Human rights, Law, Respect)

"Human rights are not a privilege granted by the few, they are a liberty entitled to all, and human rights, by definition, include the rights of all humans, those in the dawn of life, the dusk of life, or the shadows of life."
- Kay Granger
(Related: Life, Dawn, Rights, Human rights, Liberty, Privilege, Shadows)

"The United Nations has a critical role to play in promoting stability, security, democracy, human rights, and economic development. The UN is as relevant today as at any time in its history, but it needs reform."
- Chuck Hagel
(Related: Time, History, Development, Democracy, Rights, Human rights, Nations, Needs, Play, Reform, Security, Stability, Today, United)

""Freedom from fear" could be said to sum up the whole philosophy of human rights."
- Dag Hammarskjold
(Related: Rights, Human rights, Philosophy)

"Being a humanitarian, supporting animal rights activists, human rights activists, it's all the same."
- Daryl Hannah
(Related: Being, Rights, Human rights)

"The Universal Declaration of Human Rights describes the family as the natural and fundamental unit of society. It follows that any choice and decision with regard to the size of the family must irrevocably rest with the family itself, and cannot be made by anyone else."
- Garrett Hardin
(Related: Family, Society, Decision, Choice, Rights, Human rights, Rest)

"Human rights commissions, as they are evolving, are an attack on our fundamental freedoms and the basic existence of a democratic society... It is in fact totalitarianism. I find this is very scary stuff."
- Stephen Harper
(Related: Society, Existence, Fact, Rights, Human rights)

"There is no contradiction between effective law enforcement and respect for civil and human rights. Dr. King did not stir us to move for our civil rights to have them taken away in these kinds of fashions."
- Dorothy Height
(Related: Civil rights, Contradiction, Human rights, Law, Respect)

"Deny human rights, and however little you may wish to do so, you will find yourself abjectly kneeling at the feet of that old-world god, Force."
- Auberon Herbert
(Related: God, Feet, Force, Rights, Human rights, May, Old, Will)

"I think clearly the United States, as well as other western nations, should stand by their commitments to human rights and democracy and should try to influence other countries to move in that direction."
- Samuel P. Huntington
(Related: Countries, Democracy, Direction, Rights, Human rights, Influence, Nations, states, United)

"Liberty, freedom and democracy are very fuzzy words, but human rights is very specific."
- Joichi Ito
(Related: Democracy, Freedom, Rights, Human rights, Liberty, Words)

"Upholding human rights is not merely compatible with fighting terrorism, it is essential."
- Joichi Ito
(Related: Fighting, Rights, Human rights, Terrorism)

"It would be easy to define terrorism as attacks against human rights and international humanitarian law forbids attacks against innocent non-combatants which is often the definition used for terrorism."
- Joichi Ito
(Related: Rights, Human rights, Law, Terrorism)

"If we destroy human rights and rule of law in the response to terrorism, they have won."
- Joichi Ito
(Related: Rights, Human rights, Law, Terrorism)

"George W. Bush and his administration embarked on a full-scale assault on civil liberties, human rights and the rule of law, walking away from his international obligations, tearing up international treaties, protocols and UN conventions."
- Bianca Jagger
(Related: Civil liberties, Rights, Human rights, Law, Walking)

"The British Red Cross asked me to help them spearhead a fundraising campaign for the victims of the war in Nicaragua. It was a turning point in my life. It began my commitment to justice and human rights issues."
- Bianca Jagger
(Related: War, Life, Commitment, Rights, Help, Human rights, Justice, Victims)

"Those who have been outspoken in advocating human rights during these last forty years, have themselves grabbed the most fundamental of human rights from the people of the Third-World countries."
- Ali Hoseini Khamenei
(Related: People, Countries, Rights, Human rights, Years)

"The idea of human rights as a fundamental principle can be seen to underlie throughout Islamic teachings."
- Ali Hoseini Khamenei
(Related: Idea, Rights, Human rights)

"The issue of human rights is one of the most fundamental human issues and also one of the most sensitive and controversial."
- Ali Hoseini Khamenei
(Related: Rights, Human rights)

"It is not necessary to dwell on the political and social principles of Islam, to underline how close they also are in spirit to the concepts of human rights which govern the political and social systems of the West."
- Aly Khan
(Related: Islam, Rights, Human rights, Principles, Spirit)

"I believe all Americans who believe in freedom, tolerance and human rights have a responsibility to oppose bigotry and prejudice based on sexual orientation."
- Coretta Scott King
(Related: Americans, Bigotry, Freedom, Rights, Human rights, Prejudice, Responsibility, Tolerance)

"In a world of increasing inequality, the legitimacy of institutions that give precedence to the property rights of "the Haves" over the human rights of "the Have Nots" is inevitably called into serious question."
- David Korten
(Related: Rights, Human rights, Inequality, Property, Question, World)

"I'm pretty political when it comes to human rights and things like that."
- Peter Krause
(Related: Rights, Human rights, Pretty)

"However, if the religions in essence merely repeat statements from the United Nations Human Rights Declaration, such a Declaration becomes superfluous; an ethic is more than rights."
- Hans Kung
(Related: Rights, Human rights, Nations, United)

"And I think to be in NATO for the countries of our region, it means more guarantees for us, it means more responsibility for our common security, but it means fulfillment of all standards of civilized world, like protection of human rights and democratic mechanisms."
- Aleksander Kwasniewski
(Related: Countries, Fulfillment, Rights, Human rights, Protection, Responsibility, Security, World)

"The struggle for democracy and human rights in Burma is a struggle for life and dignity. It is a struggle that encompasses our political, social and economic aspirations."
- Aung San Suu Kyi
(Related: Life, Aspirations, Democracy, Dignity, Rights, Human rights, Struggle)

"It is often in the name of cultural integrity as well as social stability and national security that democratic reforms based on human rights are resisted by authoritarian governments."
- Aung San Suu Kyi
(Related: Rights, Human rights, Integrity, Name, National security, Stability)

"Most people, no doubt, when they espouse human rights, make their own mental reservations about the proper application of the word human."
- Suzanne Lafollette
(Related: People, Doubt, Rights, Human rights, Word)

"Moreover, as we live in an era of the ascendancy of democracy and human rights, we must see that Taiwan has been a vibrant democracy with a democratically elected president and legislature."
- Nick Lampson
(Related: Democracy, Rights, Human rights, President)

"There are two things that I put my focus on. One is the fight against AIDS and finding a cure. The other is human rights."
- Judith Light
(Related: Cure, Fight, Focus, Rights, Human rights)

"To me, celebrity doesn't mean a whole lot unless you're willing to use it. So I wanted to use it in a different way, with my AIDS work, the human rights stuff for the gay and lesbian community and the speaking I do."
- Judith Light
(Related: Work, Celebrity, Community, Rights, Gay, Human rights, Lesbian)

"The UN Commission on Human Rights, whose membership in recent years has included countries - such as Libya and Sudan - which have deplorable human rights records, and the recent Oil-for-Food scandal, are just a few examples of why reform is so imperative."
- John Linder
(Related: Countries, Rights, Human rights, Oil, Reform, Scandal, Years)

"Global markets must be balanced by global values such as respect for human rights and international law, democracy, security and sustainable economic and environmental development."
- Anna Lindh
(Related: Environmental, Development, Values, Democracy, Rights, Human rights, Law, Respect, Security)

"Terrorism can never be accepted. We must fight it together, with methods that do not compromise our respect for the rule of law and human rights, or are used as an excuse for others to do so."
- Anna Lindh
(Related: Compromise, Fight, Rights, Human rights, Law, Respect, Terrorism)

"Human rights are praised more than ever - and violated as much as ever."
- Anna Lindh
(Related: Rights, Human rights)

"In a few decades, the relationship between the environment, resources and conflict may seem almost as obvious as the connection we see today between human rights, democracy and peace."
- Wangari Maathai
(Related: Peace, Conflict, Connection, Democracy, Environment, Rights, Human rights, May, Obvious, Today)

"Life is not a matter of place, things or comfort; rather, it concerns the basic human rights of family, country, justice and human dignity."
- Imelda Marcos
(Related: Life, Family, Comfort, Country, Dignity, Rights, Human rights, Justice)

"In Uzbekistan, hundreds of protesters were recently killed under the corrupt regime of President Karimov in what human rights groups are calling a massacre."
- Ed Markey
(Related: Rights, Human rights, President)

"Well, they are critics of the Bush administration generally on the human rights record of the administration, and in particular, they are very, very critical of this use of science."
- Jane Mayer
(Related: Science, Rights, Human rights)

"Additionally, any Human Rights Council reform that allows countries with despicable human rights records to remain as members, such as China and Saudi Arabia, is not real reform."
- Michael McCaul
(Related: Countries, Rights, Human rights, Reform)

"Any Human Rights Council reform that allows countries that sponsor terrorism to remain as members, such as Cuba, is not real reform. And in the past, countries such as Libya, Iran and Syria have participated on this council."
- Michael McCaul
(Related: Countries, Rights, Human rights, Past, Reform, Terrorism)

"Currently, the United States provides 22 percent of the U.N. annual budgets, over $900 million in fiscal year 2007, and some of that funding goes to the Human Rights Council."
- Michael McCaul
(Related: Budgets, Rights, Human rights, states, United)

"Over the past year, several cases of human rights abuses, specifically sexual exploitation and abuse, by individuals involved in U.N. peacekeeping operations have raised the suspicions of many Members of Congress and members of the International Relations Committee."
- Michael McCaul
(Related: Abuse, Committee, Congress, Exploitation, Rights, Human rights, Past)

"While we may be of different faiths, we have a strong sense of faith, family, community. We hold the values of freedom and human rights very high and I think that those are all a part of a very strong quilt that binds us together."
- Robert Menendez
(Related: Faith, Family, Values, Community, Freedom, Rights, Human rights, May, Sense)

"We should seek international support for our mutual objectives abroad, in promoting freedom, democracy, respect for human rights, and also the elimination of weapons of mass destruction."
- Robert Menendez
(Related: Democracy, Destruction, Freedom, Rights, Human rights, Objectives, Respect, Support, Weapons)

"The global response to global terrorism must not endanger fundamental human rights and freedoms."
- Stjepan Mesic
(Related: Rights, Human rights, Terrorism)

"The world must know that America holds to the highest standards of military conduct and human rights protections. Anything less is unacceptable."
- Barbara Mikulski
(Related: America, Rights, Human rights, Military, World)

"Maybe I'm less sensitive to these issues because I see that what people need first is economic security, and only when they have that can they afford to focus on human rights."
- Peter Munk
(Related: People, First, Focus, Rights, Human rights, Security)

"Those religions that are oppressive to women are also against democracy, human rights, and freedom of expression."
- Taslima Nasrin
(Related: Women, Democracy, Expression, Freedom, Rights, Human rights)

"That's Anil's path. She grows up in Sri Lanka, goes and gets educated abroad, and through fate or chance gets brought back by the Human Rights Commission to investigate war crimes."
- Michael Ondaatje
(Related: War, Chance, Fate, Rights, Human rights)

"Few governments in the world, for example, praise human rights more ardently than does the government of France, and few have a worse record of supporting tyrants and killers."
- Richard Perle
(Related: Government, Example, France, Rights, Human rights, Praise, World)

"The respect for human rights, essential if we are to use technology wisely, is not something alien that must be grafted onto science. On the contrary, it is integral to science, as also to scholarship in general."
- John Charles Polanyi
(Related: Technology, Science, Rights, Human rights, Respect)

"Today, Academies of Science use their influence around the world in support of human rights."
- John Charles Polanyi
(Related: Science, Rights, Human rights, Influence, Support, Today, World)

"Instead, in the absence of respect for human rights, science and its offspring technology have been used in this century as brutal instruments for oppression."
- John Charles Polanyi
(Related: Science, Technology, Absence, Rights, Human rights, Oppression, Respect)

"No references to the need to fight terror can be an argument for restricting human rights."
- Vladimir Putin
(Related: Argument, Fight, Rights, Human rights, Terror)

"Nobody and nothing will stop Russia on the road to strengthening democracy and ensuring human rights and freedoms."
- Vladimir Putin
(Related: Democracy, Rights, Human rights, Nothing, Road, Russia, Will)

"No! on Human Rights and Freedom, on a subject that is as self-evident as that two and two make four, there is no need of any written authority."
- Ernestine L. Rose
(Related: Authority, Freedom, Rights, Human rights, Self)

"Emancipation from every kind of bondage is my principle. I go for recognition of human rights, without distinction of sect, party, sex, or color."
- Ernestine L. Rose
(Related: Sex, Rights, Human rights, Party)

"Books and opinions, no matter from whom they came, if they are in opposition to human rights, are nothing but dead letters."
- Ernestine L. Rose
(Related: Books, Rights, Human rights, Letters, Nothing, Opinions, Opposition)

"All that I can tell you is, that I used my humble powers to the uttermost, and raised my voice in behalf of Human Rights in general, and the elevation and Rights of Woman in particular, nearly all my life."
- Ernestine L. Rose
(Related: Life, Rights, Human rights, Voice, Woman)

"Our country, like every modern state, needs profound democratic reforms. It needs political and ideological pluralism, a mixed economy and protection of human rights and the opening up of society."
- Andrei Sakharov
(Related: Society, Country, Economy, Rights, Human rights, Needs, Protection, State)

"Iran's continued pursuit of nuclear weapons, support for international terrorist organizations, and abhorrent human rights practices pose one of the greatest threats to global security."
- Allyson Schwartz
(Related: Rights, Human rights, Pursuit, Security, Support, Weapons)

"I've always been very interested in the struggle for human rights, not just here but abroad, and I wanted to be an inside player in that struggle. I wanted to make the laws reflect our ideals and ideas in this democracy that is America."
- Leah Ward Sears
(Related: Ideas, America, Democracy, Rights, Human rights, Ideals, Laws, Struggle)

"Let me reassure that the Kingdom of Cambodia a country with independence, neutrality, peace, freedom, democracy and human rights as you all have seen, shall be existing with no end."
- Hun Sen
(Related: Peace, Country, Democracy, End, Freedom, Independence, Rights, Human rights, Neutrality)

"And occasionally some of the nations that will be partners in this would probably not be, in terms of passing a pure human rights check, have everything going for them that you would like to have."
- Hugh Shelton
(Related: Rights, Human rights, Nations, Will)

"We also intend to deal with the issue of incorporating basic human rights into our new constitution."
- Chen Shui-bian
(Related: Constitution, Rights, Human rights)

"I have great confidence in the universal value and in basic human rights and I have great confidence that referenda will eventually take root and become part of our daily lives in Taiwan."
- Chen Shui-bian
(Related: Confidence, Rights, Human rights, Value, Will)

"Nothing gets a bigger laugh than when you refer to things like ethics or human rights."
- Ron Silver
(Related: Ethics, Rights, Human rights, Nothing)

"It is time in the West to defend not so much human rights as human obligations."
- Alexander Solzehnitsyn
(Related: Time, Rights, Human rights)

"All governments should be pressured to correct their abuses of human rights."
- Richard Stallman
(Related: Rights, Human rights)

"From the beginning of our history the country has been afflicted with compromise. It is by compromise that human rights have been abandoned."
- Charles Sumner
(Related: History, Beginning, Compromise, Country, Rights, Human rights)

"I stand for simple justice, equal opportunity and human rights. The indispensable elements in a democratic society - and well worth fighting for."
- Helen Suzman
(Related: Society, Opportunity, Fighting, Rights, Human rights, Justice, Worth)

"I don't have any doubts either about the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Perhaps some more should be added to the list, but I don't have the slightest doubt about human rights."
- Antonio Tabucchi
(Related: Doubt, Rights, Human rights)

"If you don't want women to do whatever they need to do then you must provide them with food, you must provide them with shelter and their basic human rights."
- Emma Thompson
(Related: Women, Food, Rights, Human rights, Want)

"The UN declaration on human rights must always be first in line before religion or other cultural habits, in case of any conflict between them."
- Bjorn Ulvaeus
(Related: Religion, Conflict, First, Rights, Habits, Human rights)

"Some values must be universal, like human rights and the equal worth of every human being."
- Bjorn Ulvaeus
(Related: Values, Being, Rights, Human rights, Worth)

"Cultural variety is always worth striving for, but must never precede the declaration of human rights."
- Bjorn Ulvaeus
(Related: Rights, Human rights, Variety, Worth)

"And also a lot of Muslims are no more religious then the average Swede. For them it's natural that human rights come first."
- Bjorn Ulvaeus
(Related: First, Rights, Human rights, Religious)

"To me, a feminist belongs in the same category as a humanist or an advocate for human rights. I don't see why someone who's a feminist should be thought of differently."
- Suzanne Vega
(Related: Thought, Rights, Human rights)

"In situations of military conflict, civil strife, lawlessness, bad governance, and human rights violations, terrorists find it easier to hide, train and prepare their attacks."
- Gijs de Vries
(Related: Conflict, Rights, Human rights, Military)

"Saddam Hussein wrote the book on human rights violations."
- Curt Weldon
(Related: Rights, Human rights)

"I heard an Israeli speaking on Palestinian human rights issues, an interesting guy, and he said "There's no military solution to terrorism. If there were, Israel would be the safest place in the world. But there's no military solution.""
- Bradley Whitford
(Related: Rights, Human rights, Israel, Military, Solution, Terrorism, World)

"Democratic societies can no longer give religious fanatics a free hand to abuse and murder non believers. Such action betrays contempt for the basic human rights which animate any democracy with meaning."
- Armstrong Williams
(Related: Action, Abuse, Contempt, Democracy, Fanatics, Rights, Human rights, Meaning, Murder, Religious)

"At some point we must realize that actively defending against radical Islamic teachings is not a matter of cultural relativity. It is a matter of universally recognized human rights."
- Armstrong Williams
(Related: Rights, Human rights, Radical, Relativity)

"I refer to calls for humanitarian intervention in the affairs of another state - a new idea, this - even when they are made under the pretext of defending human rights and freedoms."
- Boris Yeltsin
(Related: Idea, Rights, Human rights, State)

"The theory of relativity worked out by Mr. Einstein, which is in the domain of natural science, I believe can also be applied to the political field. Both democracy and human rights are relative concepts - and not absolute and general."
- Jiang Zemin
(Related: Science, Democracy, Rights, Human rights, Relativity, Theory)