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Sharing experience and building public support for the full range of rights is more powerful than legal cases.

Mary Robinson

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Mary Robinson
Age: 80
Born: 1944
Born: May 21
Barrister
Feminist
Former President Of Ireland
Jurist
Politician
University Teacher
Ballina
County Mayo
Máire Bean Mhic Róibín
Mary Bourke
Mary Therese Winifred Robinson
Mary Therese Winifred Bourke
Maire Bean Mhic Roibin
Máire Mhic Róibín
Máire Treasa Úna Mhic Róibín
Her Excellency Mary Robinson
Cases
Building
Full
Public
Support
Rights
Sharing
Powerful
Legal
Experience
Range

More quotes by Mary Robinson

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The question now is how best to help the Iraqi people build a democratic and free Iraqi society that ensures respect for the rights of all Iraqis.
Mary Robinson
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In human rights theory it is very important that governments still have the primary responsibility for the standards and provision of such services even if they no longer deliver them. They must insist that the private sector delivers without discrimination. So governments still have responsibility, including the need to influence business.
Mary Robinson
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I was elected by the women of Ireland, who instead of rocking the cradle, rocked the system.
Mary Robinson
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Christian fundamentalists seek to roll back women's right to choose in the United States, and then also insist that money against Aids must not go to organisations that help people obtain their reproductive rights. These are extremely worrying trends.
Mary Robinson
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Many people today in the developed countries are so far removed from poverty and suffering and starvation that they lack empathy for the sufferings of others.
Mary Robinson
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I agree with those who argue that it is possible to distil from the religions of the world their common values and relevance. As far as I'm concerned I am involved in a complementary process with people who have a moral or spiritual commitment to human rights.
Mary Robinson
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Democracy is about constant vigilance. It's not straightforward, there will always be setbacks and you get particular be it religious fundamentalists, Christian fundamentalism - a partly conservative approach and actually trying to put women in a more traditional role. And we have to resist that.
Mary Robinson
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Today's human rights violations are the causes of tomorrow's conflicts.
Mary Robinson
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A culture is not an abstract thing. It is a living, evolving process. The aim is to push beyond standard-setting and asserting human rights to make those standards a living reality for people everywhere.
Mary Robinson
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The structures of the WTO need to be reformed to increase participation. There must be a greater sense of shared ownership of the substance of the trade negotiation agenda. Decisions about issues to be negotiated, and in which sequence they should be taken, should rest with all WTO members, not only the most powerful.
Mary Robinson
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You can convene a wider cross-section if you have no turf to defend, because then you don't cut across anyone else's agenda and you can achieve a great deal.
Mary Robinson
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The changing climate is a threat to human rights.
Mary Robinson
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When I am asked, What, in your view, is the worst human rights problem in the world today? I reply: Absolute poverty. This is not the answer most journalists expect. It is neither sexy nor legalistic. But it is true.
Mary Robinson
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Symbols give us our identity, our self image, our way of explaining ourselves to ourselves and to others. Symbols in turn determine the kinds of stories we tell, and the stories we tell determine the kind of history we make and remake.
Mary Robinson
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I'm struck by how very few people outside a rarefied world of true believers understand what you mean when you say human rights - that includes development experts and economists who are very keen to implement the UN Millennium Development Goals. They've told me quite frankly, that they don't know exactly what a human rights approach is.
Mary Robinson
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An endless war against terrorism can tend to inflate the terrorists, because being at war is attractive to some angry, unemployed, disaffected youth.
Mary Robinson
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Young persons, because of their immaturity, may not fully comprehend the consequences of their actions and should therefore benefit from less severe sanctions than adults. More importantly, it reflects the firm belief that young persons are more susceptible to change, and thus have a greater potential for rehabilitation than adults.
Mary Robinson
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Ethical globalization is possible if only we can hold governments and business accountable for respecting human rights, not just in the traditional political and legal realms, but in everything - health, education and the other social determinants of health - rights to food, safe water, sanitation and so on.
Mary Robinson
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One of the richest countries in the world - the United States of America - is facing a real ethical dilemma in terms of providing equitable access to health care.
Mary Robinson
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A lot of young people are very cynical about the political framework because they see the countries that preach democracy and human rights being countries largely responsible for the problems in their region.
Mary Robinson