Quotes About Justice and Taking Action

When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty.
- ‘Che’ Guevara

You think you're too small to make a difference? Then you've obviously never slept in the same room as a mosquito.
- African Proverb

It is not the kings and generals that make history, but the masses of the people.
- Nelson Mandela

Like slavery and apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is man-made and it can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings. And overcoming poverty is not a gesture of charity. It is an act of justice. It is the protection of a fundamental human right, the right to dignity and a decent life.
- Nelson Mandela
For the full transcript of Mandela's speech in Trafalgar Square in early 2005, and links to video and audio, click here.

You must be the change you want to see in the world.
- Mohandas 'Mahatma' Gandhi

Tell me what kind of young people you have, and I will tell you the future of your country.
- President Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal

I do not believe in the doctrine of the greatest good of the greatest number. The only real, dignified, human doctrine is the greatest good of all.
- Mohandas 'Mahatma' Gandhi

Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness.
- The Bible, James 3:18

When people tell me that the Bible has nothing to do with politics, I ask them, ‘Which Bible are you talking about?’
- Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Create a society where people matter more than things.
- Archbishop Desmond Tutu

...above all, the prophets remind us of the moral state of a people: Few are guilty, but all are responsible.
- Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel

He who sleeps on a full stomach whilst his neighbour goes hungry is not one of us.
- Saying of the Prophet Muhammad

If anyone sees a wrong let him change it with his hands, if he cannot then let him change it with his voice, if he cannot let him hate it (the wrong) in his heart, and beyond that there is no faith.
- Saying of the Prophet Muhammad

The eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) – which range from halving extreme poverty to halting the spread of HIV/AIDS and providing universal primary education, all by the target date of 2015 – form a blueprint agreed to by all the world’s countries and all the world’s leading development institutions. They have galvanised unprecedented efforts to meet the needs of the world’s poorest, but much still remains to be done if we are to have any hope of meeting the goals by the agreed date of 2015. Click here for a simple PowerPoint presentation of the MDGs.

We will not enjoy development without security, we will not enjoy security without development, and we will not enjoy either without respect for human rights. Unless all these causes are advanced, none will succeed.
- Kofi Annan, March 2005

We have the means at hand to ensure that nearly every country can make good on the promises of the Goals. Our challenge is to deploy those means.
- Kofi Annan, June 2005

Let us be clear about the costs of missing this opportunity: millions of lives that could have been saved will be lost, many freedoms that could have been secured will be denied, and we shall inhabit a more dangerous and unstable world.
-Kofi Annan, March 2005

That declaration [the Millennium Development Goals] promised to halve extreme poverty. But at the moment, the promise is falling tragically behind. Those leaders must now honour their promises to the world's poorest citizens.
- Nelson Mandela