Liu Xiaobo Quotes

We must take proactive steps to promote democracy and human rights abroad.

The free world should not wait for dictatorial regimes to consent to reform.

Defending human rights should be an important objective of foreign policy, and that, too, will sometimes be hard to reconcile with an economic agenda, especially when it comes to dealing with rich but repressive players like China and Russia.

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.

The Czech Republic is a dynamic United Nations Member State, active on the Human Rights Council, contributing to the peaceful settlement of disputes, and helping other countries to achieve a democratic transition.

That should be a goal of U. S. policy—not to get along with dictators.

The promotion and preservation of human rights can and should be the driving force for world affairs.

That's one of the things that I'm going to talk about, is the need for the Human Rights Council to actually deal with human rights. We've got countries on the Human Rights Council right now like Venezuela and Cuba.

We, as Turkey, call on Europe to respect human rights and democracy.

The only situation that I can't be in favour of is the lack of respect to human rights in Venezuela.

Human rights in China should absolutely play a role in broader U.S. policy toward China. When we look the other way on fundamental issues of human rights, we are also responsible.

I hope the example of Saddam Hussein will give a lesson to leaders of other countries where human rights are not respected.

There is no doubt that, with the exception of a very small number of people close to a vicious regime, the people of Iraq have been liberated and they understand that they've been liberated.

Governments that block the aspirations of their people, that steal or are corrupt, that oppress and torture or that deny freedom of expression and human rights should bear in mind that they will find it increasingly hard to escape the judgement of their own people, or where warranted, the reach of international law.

If the president of the United States says that attacks on civilians, starvation, and denial of religious freedom in Sudan are important international issues, they become so.

America is a friend to the people of Iraq. Our demands are directed only at the regime that enslaves them and threatens us. When these demands are met, the first and greatest benefit will come to Iraqi men, women and children.

On one hand, it is very important that democracy and human rights be defended across borders. But it is also very important to respect the right of each country to choose its own path.

The United Nations should become a proactive agent in the dissemination of democratic principles.

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.

I believe that the United States has a moral obligation to stand up for those citizens of the world who cannot stand up for themselves, and I am proud to have authored the bill signed into law today that continues to put significant pressure on the brutal Burmese military junta.

In the '90s, there was scant presidential leadership and insufficient domestic political mobilization for foreign policy grounded in human rights.

Stability is a reasonable foreign policy goal, but not at the expense of human rights.

I am waiting for the day when the German Bundestag debates the violation of human rights in Saudi Arabia.

Big global players like China need to do a better job of respecting human rights.

I do think that every super power on the globe has a very poor record on human rights.