Mark Gibney

“[...]what we are talking about are negative obligations--the duty not to cause harm.”

“The entire premise behind the Bush administration's policy of holding 'enemy combatants' in foreign military bases such as Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, was so that neither U.S. domestic law nor American obligations under international law would be applicable.”

“Whether we are willing to acknowledge it or not, the Western conception of human rights is really about the practices of other states--but never our own. One reason Western people have adopted this worldview is that it tends to make us look good. But another possible reason might be that our 'wrongs' might not be 'international wrongs' after all.”

“[...]if Nazi Germany had not invaded other countries but had simply sought to eliminate the entire Jewish population within its own territorial borders, this would not have constituted a violation of international law, as incredible as this now seems.”