Irene Khan Quotations

You don't know what will make it your turn to be detained next and if you are in detention you don't know what it will take to get released.

We feel Australia has a very important role to play in the region, but it cannot do that if it doesn't practise what it preaches in its own territory,

The onus is on (aviation) companies to ensure that they are aware of the end use of any aircraft they lease or operate.

The people of Nepal have lived through far too much violence already. Without urgent action from the international community and all parties in Nepal, a new generation will grow up knowing nothing but bloodshed and conflict.

we resist the manipulation of fear and challenge the narrow focus of the security agenda.

Here you have these soldiers who have committed human rights abuses in Nepal being paid to go somewhere else and prevent abuses.

Over the past 10 years, systematic violations of U.N. arms embargoes have met with almost no successful prosecutions.

Over the past ten years systematic violations of United Nations arms embargoes have met with almost no successful prosecutions. Unscrupulous arms dealers continue to get away with grave human rights abuses and make a mockery of the UN Security Council's efforts.

Over a decade of conflict we have seen the human rights situation steadily worsening, with increasing numbers of civilian killings and injuries and, for a time, the highest number of reported 'disappearances' in the world.

Mexico has taken a very strong and positive stand on human rights issues internationally but there is not the same intensity ... domestically,

The definition of security must be broadened to encompass the security of people, as well as states. That means a commitment to human rights. That means recognizing that insecurity and violence are best tackled by effective, accountable states which uphold, not violate human rights,

The fact that the USA, which was the world's main perpetrator for the execution of juvenile offenders, has now ended the practice should be a clear message to those remaining countries that execute children that this barbaric practice must stop.

U2 have inspired and empowered millions with their music and by speaking out on behalf of the poor, the powerless and the oppressed.

Torture should have been kept where it belonged, in the 16th century, instead of being imported into the 21st.

Finland has been a great supporter in the disarmament campaign. You have a remarkably low number of refugees and the number of cases of violence against women in Finland is extremely high for a European country.

The special prosecutor has done very little in terms of developing a strategy of how to address (impunity).

On top of wide spread abuses of human rights related to the conflict, the government has restricted basic civil liberties over the last year, causing the situation to deteriorate further.

a courageous testament to his visionary commitment to fight injustice around the world.

These people have committed no crime, but there is no supervision of the way they are being held,

The king's strategy seems to be that if he continues the world will forget Nepal.

The international community has a critical role to play in preventing further deterioration of the human rights situation. They need to continue to pressure the government to respect human rights and to meet their obligations under international law - including by restoring basic freedoms such as the right to peacefully demonstrate.

It would be easy for this conflict to slip off the political agenda given how long it has been going on but for the sake of the people of Nepal for whom it is a daily tragic reality, the world must remain engaged and keep up the pressure on the government and the Maoists.

The United States has been ambiguous on the current situation in Nepal. They have not actually come out very strongly in terms of pushing the king to take measures on the detentions or abuses by the army. China continues to provide military equipment.

Guantanamo has become the gulag of our time.

As the world continues to turn away from the use of the death penalty, it is a glaring anomaly that China, Saudi Arabia, Iran and the USA stand out for their extreme use of this form of punishment as the 'top' executioners in the world.

I hate to call it crossfire, what the rapid action battalion attributes for the custodial deaths, as there must be two parties in any such incident. But the reality is the just found body of the victim.

No cause can justify the abuse of human rights.

Poverty is not only about income poverty, it is about the deprivation of economic and social rights, insecurity, discrimination, exclusion and powerlessness. That is why human rights must not be ignored but given even greater prominence in times of economic crisis.

There is no excuse for human rights abuse, whether in the name of security or in the name of liberation.

Human security comes only with human rights and the rule of law. Human rights are the basis for creating strong and accountable states without which there can be no political stability or social progress.

Racism is an attack on the very notion of the universality of human rights. It systematically denies certain people the enjoyment of their full human rights because of their colour, race, ethnicity, descent or national origin.

The world does not need a war against 'terrorism', it needs a culture of peace based on human rights for all.

There can be no peace without justice and respect for human rights.

The major human rights concern that we continue to have is the endemic human rights problems at the level of the state, ... That is the level at which the majority of the population come into contact with abuses by authorities.

The latest evidence shows how the US administration is manipulating commercial arrangements in order to be able to transfer people in violation of international law.