"...let us recognize that extreme poverty anywhere is a threat to human security everywhere. Let us recall that poverty is a denial of human rights. For the first time in history, in this age of unprecedented wealth and technical prowess, we have the power to save humanity from this shameful scourge. Let us summon the will to do it." -- Kofi Annan * "...let us continue to work together to develop and nurture in future generations a culture of human rights, to promote freedom, security and peace in all nations." -- Kofi Annan

The future of peace and prosperity that we seek for all the world's peoples needs a foundation of tolerance, security, equality and justice. That foundation is the family. It is only by protecting families, from famine as well as from fragmentation, that they can prosper and contribute to the family of nations that is the United Nations.
-– Kofi Annan

 

* "The existence of nuclear weapons presents a clear and present danger to life on Earth. Nuclear arms cannot bolster the security of any nation because they represent a threat to the security of the human race. These incredibly destructive weapons are an affront to our common humanity, and the tens of billions of dollars that are dedicated to their development and maintenance should be used instead to alleviate human need and suffering." -- Oscar Arias Sanchez

* "Our work seeks to focus attention on the necessity of developing security for the global village, meeting its need for clean air, water, food and a healthy habitat, as well as fostering clarity of vision on cooperation and development." -- Rosalie Bertell

There can be no real growth without healthy populations. No sustainable development without tackling disease and malnutrition. No international security without assisting crisis-ridden countries. And no hope for the spread of freedom, democracy and human dignity unless we treat health as a basic human right. -- Gro Brundtland

* Peace is no mere matter of men fighting or not fighting. Peace, to have meaning for many who have known only suffering in both peace and war, must be translated into bread or rice, shelter, health, and education, as well as freedom and human dignity - a steadily better life. If peace is to be secure, long-suffering and long-starved, forgotten peoples of the world, the underprivileged and the undernourished, must begin to realize without delay the promise of a new day and a new life. -- Ralph J. Bunche The United Nations exists not merely to preserve the peace but also to make change - even radical change - possible without violent upheaval. The United Nations has no vested interest in the status quo. It seeks a more secure world, a better world, a world of progress for all peoples. In the dynamic world society which is the objective of the United Nations, all peoples must have equality and equal rights. -- Ralph J. Bunche

* "It is my profound conviction that nuclear weapons did not, and will not, of themselves prevent major war. To the contrary, I am persuaded that the presence of these hideous devices unnecessarily prolonged and intensified the Cold War. In today's security environment, threats of their employment have been fully exposed as neither credible nor of any military utility." -- General Lee Butler, head of US Strategic Nuclear Forces 1991-1994. * It is a measure of arrogance to assert that a nuclear weapons-free world is impossible when 95% of the nations of the world are already nuclear-free. I think that the vast majority of people on the face of this earth will endorse the proposition that nuclear weapons have no place among us. There is no security in nuclear weapons. It is a fool’s game.” -- General Lee Butler, head of US Strategic Nuclear Forces 1991-1994

* Non-violence can truly flourish when the world is free of poverty, hunger, discrimination, exclusion, intolerance and hatred - when women and men can realize their highest potential and live a secure and fulfilling life. Until then, each and every one of us would have to contribute - collectively and individually - to build peace through non-violence. -- Anwarul Chowdhury

* "We demand a non-violent world where human security is the basis of our common global security. People have the right to live in a world where the basic needs of all peoples are addressed. No more military attacks. No more war.” -- Shirin Ebadi

Finally not only economists and ecologists are talking together, but people who are interested in peace are beginning to understand that the environment is a big chunk of [international] security, that population is a big chunk of security. -- Paul Ehrlich

* "only world law can assure progress towards a civilized peaceful community." -- Albert Einstein "A world government with powers adequate to guarantee security is not a remote ideal for the distant future. It is an urgent necessity if our civilization is to survive." -- Albert Einstein

“The role of the U.S. in the new world corporate order is going to be to export security. That means endless wars and weapons in space. The Pentagon will send our kids off to foreign lands to suppress opposition to corporate globalization. How will we ever end America’s addiction to war and violence as long as our communities are dependent on military spending for jobs? We must work to convert the military industrial complex to sustainable technologies like windpower, solar, and mass transit.” ~ Bruce Gagnon

The contention that a standing army and navy is the best security of peace is about as logical as the claim that the most peaceful citizen is he who goes about heavily armed. -- Emma Goldman

* Nuclear weapons elimination will make all states and their people safer. It is time to assert our right to live in a nuclear weapons free world. -- Jonathan Granoff

* No treaty, however much it may be to the advantage of all, however tightly it may be worded, can provide absolute security against the risks of deception and evasion. But it can, if it is sufficiently effective in its enforcement and if it is sufficiently in the interests of its signers, offer far more security and far fewer risks than an unabated, uncontrolled, unpredictable arms race. ~ John F. Kennedy * "We must create world-wide law and law enforcement as we outlaw world-wide war and weapons" -- John F. Kennedy

There is no excuse for human rights abuse, whether in the name of security or in the name of liberation.”
-- Irene Khan

"The hope of a secure and livable world lies with disciplined nonconformists who are dedicated to justice, peace and brotherhood." -- Martin Luther King, Jr

The people of my country want the two freedoms that spell security: freedom from want and freedom from fear. -- Aung San Suu Kyi

* Indigenous Peoples have always believed that peace is central to human security and all life forms that exist in a community, a nation, Mother Earth and the universe… -- Hilda Lini

* Even strong as they are today, rich countries should have no illusion: nobody is safe in a world of injustices.War will never bring security.War can only generate monsters: bitterness, intolerance, fundamentalism, and the damaging denial of current hegemonies.The poor must be given reasons to live, not to kill or die. -- Lula

* "Safety and security don't just happen, they are the result of collective consensus and public investment. We owe our children, the most vulnerable citizens in our society, a life free of violence and fear." -- Nelson Mandela

the only true and lasting security is the one that concerns itself with the protection of people, their welfare no less than their opportunity to lead healthy and productive lives in an environment that encourages them to attain their full potential as human beings.
-- Wally N'Dow

For the sake of our security, our economy and our planet, we must have the courage and commitment to change. -- Barack Obama

* "There can be no global security without respect for children. We have to be more than just observers of children's suffering, we have to be partners with them in their struggles." -- Landon Pearson

* Extending social and economic development throughout the world and eliminating nuclear weapons from military arsenals are two fundamental prerequisites to replacing the culture of war with a culture of peace, and building true security for all the world's people. -- Douglas Roche

In the future days which we seek to make secure, we look forward to a world founded upon four essential human freedoms. The first is freedom of speech and expression --everywhere in the world. The second is freedom of every person to worship God in his own way-- everywhere in the world. The third is freedom from want, which, translated into world terms, means economic understandings which will secure to every nation a healthy peacetime life for its inhabitants --everywhere in the world. The fourth is freedom from fear, which, translated into world terms, means a worldwide reduction of armaments to such a point and in such a thorough fashion that no nation will be in a position to commit an act of physical aggression against any neighbor --anywhere in the world. That is no vision of a distant millennium. It is a definite basis for a kind of world attainable in our own time and generation. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt

If the militarily most powerful - and least threatened - states need nuclear weapons for their security, how can one deny such security to countries that are truly insecure? The present nuclear policy is a recipe for proliferation. It is a policy for disaster. -- Joseph Rotblat

* This question of whether violence or law shall prevail between states is the most vital of the problems of our eventful era, and the most serious in its repercussions. The beneficial result of a secure world peace are almost inconceivable, but even more inconceivable are the consequences of the threatening world war which many misguided people are prepared to precipitate. The advocates of pacifism are well aware how meager are their resources of personal influence and power. They know that they are still few in number and weak in authority, but when they realistically consider themselves and the ideal they serve, they see themselves as the servants of the greatest of all causes. -- Bertha von Suttner

 

* In the long run the purpose is to form a new security system in a world when nobody goes hungry because we spend money on armaments. -- Inga Thorsson

Peace will never be entirely secure until men everywhere have learned to conquer poverty without sacrificing liberty or security.
-- Norman Thomas

* “In the last analysis, human security means a child who did not die, a disease that did not spread, an ethnic tension that did not explode, a dissident who was not silenced, a human spirit that was not crushed.” -- Mahbub ul-Haq

* There can be no lasting peace, no security, nor can we as human beings begin to touch our full potential, as long as hunger overwhelms the human spirit around this planet. -- Dennis Weaver

* War and the preparation for war rob resources from human security. As long as we honour war and warriors we maintain fear and hate, always based on ignorance; and fear is the enemy of learning, it gives ignorance its power. As long as we misplace money for weapons – we keep water polluted, we keep far too many women illiterate and unskilled, we prevent health care and education from being universally enjoyed – we promote poverty. These are among the root causes of violent conflict. -- Cora Weiss