Human Rights Day is praised throughout the world consistently on 10 December.
The date was picked to respect the United Nations General Assembly’s appropriation and decree, on 10 December 1948, of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the principal worldwide articulation of human rights and one of the main real accomplishments of the new United Nations.
Human rights are the foundation of a just and equitable society, serving as a beacon of hope and a reminder of our shared responsibility to protect and uplift every individual.
Throughout history, remarkable leaders, thinkers, and advocates have articulated the essence of these fundamental rights through powerful and inspiring Human Rights quotes.
In this article, we will explore a selection of thought-provoking human rights quotes that have shaped our understanding of equality, dignity, and justice, offering wisdom and motivation to continue the ongoing struggle for a world where these rights are universally upheld and respected.
Human Rights Quotes
“Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same.” – Ronald Reagan
“To deny people their human rights is to challenge their very humanity.” – Nelson Mandela
“Human rights are women’s rights, and women’s rights are human rights.” – Hillary Clinton
“The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt
“The first principle of non-violent action is that of non-cooperation with everything humiliating.” – Cesar Chavez
“Peace can only last where human rights are respected, where people are fed, and where individuals and nations are free.” – Dalai Lama
“Human rights are not a privilege granted by the few; they are a liberty entitled to all, and human rights, by definition, include the rights of all humans, those in the dawn of life, the dusk of life, or the shadows of life.” – Kay Granger
“To live without freedom is to live in a state of constant fear.” – Aung San Suu Kyi
“In the face of technology’s power to shape our world, it is up to all of us to ensure it is developed and used for the benefit of all humanity, not just the privileged few.” – Ban Ki-moon
“Human rights are not only violated by terrorism, repression or assassination, but also by unfair economic structures that creates huge inequalities.” – Pope Francis
“Freedom is the open window through which pours the sunlight of the human spirit and human dignity.” – Herbert Hoover
“We can never obtain peace in the outer world until we make peace with ourselves.” – Dalai Lama
“The more we sweat in peace, the less we bleed in war.” – Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit
“I prefer liberty with danger to peace with slavery.” – Jean-Jacques Rousseau
“Human rights are not a fixed commodity. We must be ever vigilant, ever struggling, ever striving to make freedom a reality for all.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
“The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.” – Nelson Mandela
“The rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened.” – John F. Kennedy
“We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” – Elie Wiesel
“It is not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognize, accept, and celebrate those differences.” – Audre Lorde
“The rights of every individual are the greatest threat to tyranny.” – Albert Einstein
“If you want peace, work for justice.” – Pope Paul VI
“We know too well that our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians.” – Nelson Mandela
“We must be the change we wish to see in the world.” – Mahatma Gandhi
“There can be no peace without development, no development without peace, and neither can be sustained without human rights.” – Kofi Annan
“Freedom is the oxygen of the soul.” – Moshe Dayan
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
“The rights of individuals are so sacred, that no excuse for violating them, whether by laws made by a majority or by an individual or a ruler, can be admitted.” – John Quincy Adams
“The struggle for human rights should be practiced not only between states but between individuals.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
“The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good people.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
“To deny people their human rights is to challenge their very humanity.” – Desmond Tutu
Civil Rights Quotes
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
“The only way to deal with this life meaningfully is to find one’s passion and live for it.” – John Lewis
“Change is never easy, but always possible.” – Barack Obama
“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
“Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
“I am no longer accepting the things I cannot change. I am changing the things I cannot accept.” – Angela Davis
“The time is always right to do what is right.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
“We may have all come on different ships, but we’re in the same boat now.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
“The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.” – Nelson Mandela
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
“You are your best thing.” – Toni Morrison
“Racism is man’s gravest threat to man – the maximum of hatred for a minimum of reason.” – Abraham Joshua Heschel
“To deny people their human rights is to challenge their very humanity.” – Nelson Mandela
“Prejudice is a burden that confuses the past, threatens the future and renders the present inaccessible.” – Maya Angelou
“I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation.” – Elie Wiesel
“Freedom is not something that one people can bestow on another as a gift. Thy claim it as their own and none can keep it from them.” – Kwame Nkrumah
“We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
“Our lives matter more than our mistakes.” – Marian Wright Edelman
“You don’t make progress by standing on the sidelines, whimpering and complaining. You make progress by implementing ideas.” – Shirley Chisholm
“The future belongs to those who prepare for it today.” – Malcolm X
“It is not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognize, accept, and celebrate those differences.” – Audre Lorde
“We must build dikes of courage to hold back the flood of fear.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
“In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
“Our unity is our strength, and our diversity is our power.” – Coretta Scott King
“I would like to be remembered as a person who wanted to be free… so other people would be also free.” – Rosa Parks
“The function of freedom is to free someone else.” – Toni Morrison
“The oppressor must be liberated just as the oppressed.” – Desmond Tutu
“I have learned over the years that when one’s mind is made up, this diminishes fear.” – Rosa Parks
“You can kill a man, but you can’t kill an idea.” – Medgar Evers
“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
Short Human Rights Quotes
“Human rights are universal and indivisible. They are not to be determined by political ideology.” – Jimmy Carter
“To deny people their human rights is to challenge their very humanity.” – Nelson Mandela
“The rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened.” – John F. Kennedy
“Human rights are not a privilege conferred by government. They are every human being’s entitlement by virtue of his humanity.” – Mother Teresa
“Freedom means the supremacy of human rights everywhere.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt
“Human rights rest on human dignity. The dignity of man is an ideal worth fighting for and worth dying for.” – Robert C. Maynard
“To be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.” – Nelson Mandela
“All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.” – Universal Declaration of Human Rights
“The first duty of society is justice.” – Alexander Hamilton
“The struggle for human rights is more than the fight against tyrants; it is also the fight against indifference.” – Irene Khan
“Human rights are not only violated by terrorism, repression, or assassination but also by unfair economic structures that create huge inequalities.” – Pope Francis
“Equality is the soul of liberty; there is, in fact, no liberty without it.” – Frances Wright
“Human rights mean that a man must be able to work, to educate his children, to participate in the government, and to benefit from his culture.” – Willem Duisenberg
“The real test of our commitment to human rights is whether we are willing to defend the rights of those we don’t like.” – Jack Donnelly
“Human rights are women’s rights, and women’s rights are human rights.” – Hillary Clinton
“Freedom, justice, and human dignity have always guided our journey for a better world.” – Kofi Annan
“We can and must do better in ensuring human rights for all.” – Mary Robinson
“Human rights are not a privilege granted by the few; they are a liberty entitled to all, and human rights, by definition, include the rights of all humans.” – Jackie Goldberg
“Silence never won rights. They are not handed down from above; pressures from below force them.” – Roger Nash Baldwin
“Peace can only last where human rights are respected, where people are fed, and where individuals and nations are free.” – Dalai Lama
“The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.” – Nelson Mandela
“Human rights are about the curtailment of the abstract and superfluous powers governments wield against people.” – Václav Havel
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
“The more laws, the less justice.” – Marcus Tullius Cicero
“Human rights are not only violated by the actions of government; the inaction of individuals and communities also violates them.” – Amartya Sen
“The rights of every person are diminished when the rights of one person are threatened.” – John F. Kennedy
“No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion.” – Nelson Mandela
“Justice means minding your own business and not meddling with other men’s concerns.” – Plato
“Human rights are not a luxury or an academic exercise; they are the very foundation of peace and security.” – Louise Arbour
“The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt
Individual Rights Quotes
“The right to be let alone is the most comprehensive of rights, and the right most valued by a free people.” – Louis D. Brandeis
“Freedom is the open window through which pours the sunlight of the human spirit and human dignity.” – Herbert Hoover
“The first principle of a free society is an untrammeled flow of words in an open forum.” – Adlai Stevenson
“To deny people their human rights is to challenge their very humanity.” – Nelson Mandela
“Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
“The liberties of a people never were, nor ever will be, secure, when the transactions of their rulers may be concealed from them.” – Patrick Henry
“The more you can increase fear of drugs and crime, welfare mothers, immigrants and aliens, the more you control all the people.” – Noam Chomsky
“Our greatest happiness does not depend on the condition of life in which chance has placed us, but is always the result of a good conscience, good health, occupation, and freedom in all just pursuits.” – Thomas Jefferson
“Liberty means responsibility. That is why most men dread it.” – George Bernard Shaw
“Civilization is the progress toward a society of privacy. The savage’s whole existence is public, ruled by the laws of his tribe. Civilization is the process of setting man free from men.” – Ayn Rand
“No man has a natural right to commit aggression on the equal rights of another, and this is all from which the laws ought to restrain him.” – Thomas Jefferson
“A right delayed is a right denied.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
“The right to be heard does not automatically include the right to be taken seriously.” – Hubert H. Humphrey
“Freedom is the sure possession of those alone who have the courage to defend it.” – Pericles
“The first duty of a man is the seeking after and the investigation of truth.” – Marcus Tullius Cicero
“Liberty is the breath of life to nations.” – George Bernard Shaw
“The right to do something does not mean that doing it is right.” – William Safire
“To live in a state of liberty is not to live apart from law. It is, on the contrary, to live under the highest law, the only law that can really profit a man, the law which is consciously and deliberately imposed by himself on himself.” – James Russell Lowell
“Man’s capacity for justice makes democracy possible, but man’s inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary.” – Reinhold Niebuhr
“If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.” – John F. Kennedy
“Freedom is the open window through which pours the sunlight of the human spirit and human dignity.” – Herbert Hoover
“Liberty is the right to do what I like; license, the right to do what you like.” – Bertrand Russell
“I prefer liberty with danger to peace with slavery.” – Jean-Jacques Rousseau
“The greatest glory of a free-born people is to transmit that freedom to their children.” – William Havard
“Freedom is the will to be responsible to ourselves.” – Friedrich Nietzsche
“Liberty is the breath of life to nations.” – George Bernard Shaw
“Freedom is the oxygen of the soul.” – Moshe Dayan
“Liberty means responsibility. That is why most men dread it.” – George Bernard Shaw
“Freedom is not worth having if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes.” – Mahatma Gandhi
“The essence of a free government consists in an effectual control of rivalries.” – John Adams
Best Human Rights Quotes
“To deny people their human rights is to challenge their very humanity.” – Nelson Mandela
“Human rights are not a privilege granted by the few, they are a liberty entitled to all, and human rights, by definition, include the rights of all humans.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
“Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home—so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
“The more we sweat in peace, the less we bleed in war.” – Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit
“Human rights are women’s rights, and women’s rights are human rights.” – Hillary Clinton
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
“To be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.” – Nelson Mandela
“We can choose to alleviate suffering. We can choose to work together for peace. We can make these changes – and we must.” – Jimmy Carter
“The first duty of a man is to think for himself.” – José Martí
“Peace can only last where human rights are respected, where people are fed, and where individuals and nations are free.” – Dalai Lama
“The rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened.” – John F. Kennedy
“Human rights are not a luxury; they are a necessity.” – John F. Kennedy
“Silence never won rights. They are not handed down from above; they are forced by pressures from below.” – Roger Baldwin
“To live is to choose. But to choose well, you must know who you are and what you stand for, where you want to go, and why you want to get there.” – Kofi Annan
“The only tired I was, was tired of giving in.” – Rosa Parks
“All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.” – Universal Declaration of Human Rights
“In the end, we will remember not our enemies’ words, but our friends’ silence.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
“Freedom means the supremacy of human rights everywhere.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt
“We must reject the idea that every time a law’s broken, society is guilty rather than the lawbreaker. It is time to restore the American precept that each individual is accountable for his actions.” – Ronald Reagan
“To deny people their rights is to challenge their very humanity.” – Nelson Mandela
“Human rights are our common heritage and their realization depends on the contributions that each and all of us are willing to make, individually and collectively, now and in the future.” – Kofi Annan
“Human rights are not things that are put on the table for people to enjoy. These are things you fight for and then you protect.” – Wangari Maathai
“The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.” – Nelson Mandela
“We must be free not because we claim freedom, but because we practice it.” – William Faulkner
“We must not only speak about peace but must work for it.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
“Without peace, there is little hope for human rights.” – Amartya Sen
“We declare that human rights are for all of us, all the time, whoever we are and wherever we are from, no matter our class, our opinions, our sexual orientation.” – Archbishop Desmond Tutu
“In the face of impossible odds, people who love this country can change it.” – Barack Obama
“Human rights are not only violated by terrorism, repression, or assassination, but also by unfair economic structures that create huge inequalities.” – Pope Francis
“Human rights, democracy, and peace are interlinked; they are not choices in any ideology or policy; they are the only way.” – Oscar Arias Sánchez
Human Rights Activist Quotes
“Human rights are not a privilege conferred by government. They are every human being’s entitlement by virtue of his humanity.” – Mother Teresa
“To deny people their human rights is to challenge their very humanity.” – Nelson Mandela
“Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home—so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
“We declare our right on this earth… to be a human being, to be respected as a human being, to be given the rights of a human being in this society, on this earth, in this day, which we intend to bring into existence by any means necessary.” – Malcolm X
“Human rights are about the curtailment of the abstract and super state power, barring its intrusion into the lives of ordinary people. The birth of human rights was the people’s rebellion against this overreach of power.” – Azar Nafisi
“The rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened.” – John F. Kennedy
“To be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.” – Nelson Mandela
“All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.” – Universal Declaration of Human Rights
“Human rights are women’s rights, and women’s rights are human rights.” – Hillary Clinton
“We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim.” – Elie Wiesel
“Human rights is the soul of our foreign policy, because human rights is the very soul of our sense of nationhood.” – Jimmy Carter
“To deny people their human rights is to challenge their very humanity.” – Nelson Mandela
“The rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened.” – John F. Kennedy
“Freedom means the supremacy of human rights everywhere.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt
“We will not enjoy security without development, we will not enjoy development without security, and we will not enjoy either without respect for human rights.” – Kofi Annan
“Human rights are not only violated by terrorism, repression or assassination, but also by unfair economic structures that create huge inequalities.” – Pope Francis
“In the face of impossible odds, people who love this country can change it.” – Barack Obama
“Human rights, democracy, and economic reform are inseparable.” – Oscar Arias
“The more we sweat in peace, the less we bleed in war.” – Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit
“The rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened.” – John F. Kennedy
“I am not a liberator. Liberators do not exist. The people liberate themselves.” – Che Guevara
“Silence never won rights. They are not handed down from above; they are forced by pressures from below.” – Roger Baldwin
“Human rights are not a privilege conferred by government. They are every human being’s entitlement by virtue of his humanity.” – Mother Teresa
“Human rights are not only violated by terrorism, repression or assassination but also by unfair economic structures that create huge inequalities.” – Pope Francis
“We declare our right on this earth… to be a human being, to be respected as a human being, to be given the rights of a human being in this society, on this earth, in this day, which we intend to bring into existence by any means necessary.” – Malcolm X
“The history of freedom is a history of resistance.” – Woodrow Wilson
“Human rights are about the curtailment of the abstract and super state power, barring its intrusion into the lives of ordinary people. The birth of human rights was the people’s rebellion against this overreach of power.” – Azar Nafisi
“The only way to deal with this life meaningfully is to find one’s passion, one’s calling, to be fully engaged with the world and to discover one’s gift.” – Archbishop Desmond Tutu
“There can be no peace without development, no development without peace, and neither can be sustained without human rights.” – Kofi Annan
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