Human rights do not challenge social stability and development. On the contrary, [human rights] promote these ideals by recognising the value and importance of each and every individual in society. What human rights do challenge, by definition, is authoritarianism."

"Human rights are not and have never been a luxury wish list; they are not about promoting the rights of the individual without regard to the rights of the community. They are not about promoting selfish individualism as some would have us believe. They are about treating people with respect, with due regard to the due process of the law. If we have no capacity to respect the dignity and the rights of one individual, then be assured that we will also have no capacity to respect the dignity and the rights of many."
~ Zaid Ibrahim (keynote speech delivered on International Human Rights Day, 11 December 2008)
