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The United Nations is the best hope to spare humanity from the barbarity of war, from the senseless death, destruction and dislocation it brings about.

Alfred-Maurice de Zayas

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Alfred-Maurice de Zayas
Age: 77
Born: 1947
Born: May 31
Historian
Historian Of The Modern Age
Jurist
Lawyer
Peace Activist
Poet Lawyer
Translator
Havana
Cuba
War
Spare
Death
Spares
Best
Brings
Destruction
Humanity
Nations
Dislocation
United
Barbarity
Hope
Senseless

More quotes by Alfred-Maurice de Zayas

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Peace is not the silence of cemeteries, but the song of social justice.
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If we want world peace, we must break the vicious circle of violence and reprisal, of an eye for an eye, of endless hate.
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Respect for human rights requires transparent and accountable institutions and governance as well as the effective participation of all individuals and civil society, who are an essential part of realizing social and people-centred sustainable development.
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The unfair composition of the Security Council is largely acknowledged. The principal defects are the anachronistic privileges of the five permanent members of the Council and the Council's insufficient representativeness.
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Representative democracy betrays the electorate when laws have no roots in the people but in oligarchies. Studies on the concept and modalities of direct democracy are therefore becoming more topical
Alfred-Maurice de Zayas
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The diagnosis is clear, but changing the status quo has proven difficult, because often those who are elected do not govern, and those who do govern are not elected.
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You should not be subjected to the pressures, the intimidation, whether by Government or by the private sector, which would force you into self-censorship.
Alfred-Maurice de Zayas
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Attention must be given to the penal consequences of violations of the right to peace, including the punishment by domestic courts or in due time by the International Criminal Court of those who have engaged in aggression and propaganda for war.
Alfred-Maurice de Zayas
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Global military spending levels constitute an unconscionable use of resources and remain at an all-time high, reaching a total of USD 1.75 trillion in 2012, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
Alfred-Maurice de Zayas
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The families of the killed and disappeared are entitled to the right to know what happened to their loved ones, and to adequate reparation for the suffering endured.
Alfred-Maurice de Zayas
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Democracy is not the end product, but the means to the end, which is the enjoyment of human rights by all.
Alfred-Maurice de Zayas
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Self-censorship as a result of intimidation or social pressures, sometimes referred to as political correctness, constitutes a serious obstacle to the proper functioning of democracy. It is important to hear the views of all persons,including the silent majority, and to give heed to the weaker voices.
Alfred-Maurice de Zayas
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If you censor yourself, if you cannot articulate your needs, if you cannot articulate your priorities, then whatever you do, putting a little cross in a ballot box, etc, does not represent your view. It is an act of desperation.
Alfred-Maurice de Zayas
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I condemn the lack of proper investigation of the massacres and the impunity of those responsible for them.
Alfred-Maurice de Zayas
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As far as domestic democracy, all here present know that democracy means government of the people by the people. While we agree that consultation and participation are essential to every democracy, this is seldom achieved in practice.
Alfred-Maurice de Zayas
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When negotiations are at an impasse, when States dig their heels in, it is time to 'undig' them in a spirit of compromise. We all need to unlearn the predator in us, unlearn discrimination, unlearn privilege.
Alfred-Maurice de Zayas
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It is the responsibility of all of us to remind governments of their commitments to settle disputes by peaceful means and to negotiate in good faith under the UN Charter, and to denounce war agitation particularly by the media.
Alfred-Maurice de Zayas
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Education is necessary to unlearn privilege, unlearn exclusion, unlearn discrimination, unlearn prejudice, unlearn war.
Alfred-Maurice de Zayas
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Without peace and the rule of law, civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights cannot be enjoyed, when killing, maiming and mutual poisoning prevail.
Alfred-Maurice de Zayas
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Specific protection must be granted to human rights defenders and whistleblowers who have in some contexts been accused of being unpatriotic, whereas they perform, in reality, a democratic service to their countries and to the enjoyment of human rights of their compatriots.
Alfred-Maurice de Zayas