"The primary purpose of the Declaration was not to declare independence, but to proclaim to the world the reasons for declaring independence. It was intended as a formal justification of an act already accomplished."

"The Declaration was essentially an attempt to prove that rebellion was not the proper word for what they were doing."

"What they needed, in addition to many specific grievances against their particular king, was a fundamental presupposition against kings in general. What they needed was a theory of government that provided a place for rebellion, that made it respectable, and even meritorious under certain circumstances."

"To ask whether the natural rights philosophy of the Declaration of Independence is true or false is essentially a meaningless question."

"Great as our differences are, all of us—professors, politicians, preachers—would no doubt find that we had much in common after all if it were possible to meet in the flesh some distinguished representatives from a former age."

"Professor Whitehead has recently restored a seventeenth century phrase—"climate of opinion." The phrase is much needed. Whether arguments command assent or not depends less upon the logic that conveys them than upon the climate of opinion in which they are sustained."

"Since eighteenth century writers employed reason to discredit Christian dogma, a "rationalist" in common parlance came to mean an "unbeliever"… But this use of the word is unfortunate since it obscures the fact that reason may be employed to support faith as well as to destroy it."

"We have, among innumerable other works, the Summa theologica, surely one of the most amazing and stupendous products of the human mind. ...never before or since has the wide world been so neatly boxed and compassed, so completely and confidently understood, every detail of it fitted, with such subtle and loving precision, into a consistent and convincing whole."

"Unilateralism is one of the most serious obstacles to achieving a just world order."

"The principle of territorial integrity is not sufficient justification to perpetuate situations of internal conflict that may erupt in civil war and threaten regional and international peace and security"

"Guarantees of equality and non-discrimination are necessary for the internal stability of States, but non-discrimination alone may not be enough to keep peoples together."

"A democratic and equitable international order can only flourish in a peaceful environment. With conflict prevention being the overarching raison d’être of the United Nations, the hundreds of wars since 1945 indicate that the Organization must reform in order to live up to its purposes and principles."

"Human dignity is the source of all human rights, which, since 1945, have expanded into an international human rights treaty regime, many aspects of which have become customary international law."

"A democratic and equitable international order necessarily functions on the basis of multilateralism and international solidarity. It aims at promoting a culture of peace and dialogue among nations and peoples, fully respecting the sovereignty of States and ensuring that civil society in all countries has ample space to express itself and to enjoy its individual and collective rights and pursue its traditions, culture and identity."

"The rules of the game must be changed so that loans are not granted on purely economic considerations and that the loan “conditionalities” henceforth aim at advancing the wellbeing of the populations concerned."

"The media should objectively inform about abuses associated with loan agreements when they occur, particularly instances of evictions, destruction of the environment, child labour and corruption."

"Countries that benefit from World Bank financing should ensure that all loans they request and all foreign direct investment they receive are used in a manner that advances the enjoyment of human rights and does not result in the enrichment of a few at the expense of the many."

"If the Bank really has development at heart, it will change the conditionalities away from privatization, deregulation and lower corporate taxation and put the emphasis on reducing military expenditures, ensuring that progressive tax legislation is enacted and enforced, that tax havens are outlawed, and that a financial transactions tax is adopted and the revenues used to build “A World Free of Poverty” through international solidarity."

"The Independent Expert believes that a fundamental rethink is necessary and should result in an explicit definition of new priorities that puts the interests of billions of human beings who are deprived of the necessities of life ahead of those of foreign investors."

"Whistleblowers are human rights defenders whose contribution to democracy and the rule of law cannot be overestimated. They serve democracy and human rights by revealing information that all persons are entitled to receive. A culture of secrecy is frequently also a culture of impunity. Because the right to know proclaimed in article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights is absolutely crucial to every democracy, whistleblowers should be protected, not persecuted."

"I call on Governments worldwide to put an end to multiple campaigns of defamation, mobbing and even prosecution of whistleblowers like Julian Assange, Edward Snowden, the Luxleakers Antoine Deltour and Raphael Halet and the tax corruption leaker Rafi Rotem, who have acted in good faith and who have given meaning to article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights on freedom of expression. Whistleblowers who are serving prison sentence in many countries should be pardoned."

"The strengthening of the human rights enforcement system is necessary to counter the prevalent architecture of corporate impunity."

"No State will consent to a treaty when negative consequences are likely to outweigh potential benefits."

"The State has the obligation to prohibit certain business activities in order to protect the lives and welfare of the population."

"Although the human rights dimension of trade is obvious, investors and corporations think that they can continue working in a human-rights-free zone."

"Governments have an obligation to preserve their populations’ cultures as world heritage in accordance with the aim of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization to promote diversity and oppose cultural imperialism."

"Competition without solidarity is predator behaviour, especially when competition is rigged in favour of mega-corporations and monopolies."

"Never must the courts become instruments of injustice. Never should they lend themselves to the execution of manifestly unjust investor-State dispute settlement awards."

"The regulatory chill caused by the mere existence of investor-State dispute settlements has effectively dissuaded many States from adopting much-needed health and environmental protection measures."

"There is no need to adopt more “free trade agreements”, which are asymmetrical agreements providing privileges to investors but no enforceable obligations."

"The role of parliaments is crucial in ensuring human rights protection while promoting trade."

"Surely the Council did not intend to convene an assembly of Cassandras when it established the Special Procedures."

"The path to a democratic and equitable order is through the expansion of public courts, not the creation of private courts with questionable transparency, accountability or independence."

"A just, peaceful, equitable and democratic world order must not be undermined by the activities of investors, speculators and transnational enterprises avid for immediate profit at the expense of social and economic progress."

"It is high time to mainstream human rights into all trade agreements and World Trade Organization (WTO) rules and regulations, so that trade representatives and dispute-settlers know that trade is neither a “stand alone” regime not an end in itself."

"Investors and transnational enterprises have invented new rules to suit their needs, rules that impinge on the regulatory space of States and disenfranchise the public."

"Parliaments that do not genuinely represent, but act as if they had a blank check for x number of years lose their legitimacy."

"Direct democracy is undoubtedly one of the most efficient, reliable and transparent methods to determine the will of the people."

"Direct, participatory and responsive democracy has been shown to be conducive to achieving a more just world order. Only such an approach will allow progressing from predator societies to human rights oriented societies."

"Democracy means a genuine correlation between the will of the people and legislation and policies that affect them, be it domestic or international."

"Democracy must be lived and practiced every day. It entails much more than periodic voting, which in many cases is only pro forma, in the absence of public influence on the choice of candidates and scarce possibility of policy change."

"States have the sacred duty to ensure peace, while individuals and peoples have the right to peace."

"Neither the right of self-determination nor the principle of territorial integrity is absolute."

"Decolonization was not only just and consistent with the Charter; it was necessary to end violence."

"Self-determination is an expression of the individual and collective right to democracy."

"A violation of the right of self-determination gives rise to a legitimate human rights claim by individuals and groups and triggers State responsibility to make reparation."

"Self-determination is now recognized as a principle of legitimacy underlying modern international law."

"The bearers of the right of self-determination possess justiciable rights, not mere promises."

"The right of self-determination must be implemented through specific measures."

"All peoples have the right of self-determination."