Fatih Birol Quotes

Oversight was not meant to be comfortable.

Who watches the watchmen?

There is a fine line between constructive oversight and unconstructive meddling.

The only way we can do oversight is if people tell the truth.

Surveillance of power is one of the most important ways to ensure that power does not abuse its status. But, of course, power does not like to be watched.

Gotta watch out for directors.

Gandalf is in Middle-earth to keep an eye on everybody, and that can be a rather serious matter.

Now where people are - at least the people I talk to - they are focused on issues of trust. Accountability also comes up, to make sure that this doesn't happen again.

You always hear about delegation, but people make the mistake of delegating and not following up. I give authority, but I stay in touch. Otherwise it doesn't work.

No organization, whether it's police or physicians or whatever, wants to have its errors held up to the light of day, but it's wrong, as is coming out so well.

Tasmania needs a watchdog, not a lap dog.

Who will observe the observers?

I just think we need more accountability and more transparency.

I can't be left unsupervised.

You get blamed for whatever happens on your watch.

All bureaucracies have to be weeded and watched.

The lesson is the importance of never becoming untethered to oversight and accountability.

My role is that of the watchdog.

It's part of the captain's job to keep people on their toes.

Agencies must know who they are accountable to. If the agencies know who they are accountable to but we cannot say who they are accountable to, then really it is a very sad situation that is bound to be misused. It is bound to affect human rights.

The most important thing is there is a foundation and an accountability to a system.

Adam Szalai and Kerem Demirbay always keep an eye on me and make sure I'm doing the right things.

Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? - Who will watch the watchers?

Quis costodiet ipsos custodies? (Who will watch the watchers?)

ACCOUNTABILITY, n. The mother of caution.