46 Quotes by Kenneth Roth

There is an enormous problem that when a government as influential as the United States flouts basic human rights standards, it undermines the standards and gives green light to other governments to do the same.

I think the effect of this will be to revive concern about the government's mistreatment of detainees and to get people to take another look at the legal basis. There are lots of lingering questions about how do you justify holding these people.

States like Nepal, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, or Zimbabwe, which are members of the old Commission, cannot be allowed onto the new Council.

The proposed new council is a major improvement over the old Commission on Human Rights. It would be reckless for the United States to force a vote because that will invite amendments from spoiler states to weaken the council. The time has come to accept the overwhelming consensus behind the council and to work to make it function effectively.

We call on all countries to pledge not to vote for governments that systematically repress their people.

There has been a significant backsliding on human rights and we are seeing that principally in terms of increasing restrictions on what it's possible to say in the press -- certainly what it's possible to say on the Internet.

When Western governments try to use economic pressure to secure human rights improvements, China's no-strings rule gives dictators the means to resist.

We welcome Libya's first steps toward reform. But the government has a long road to travel before it meets the international standards of human rights.

The reason highly abusive governments flock to the commission is to prevent condemnation of themselves and their kind, and most of the time they succeed. If you're a thug, you want to be on the committee that tries to condemn thugs.