Oscar Arias Sanchez quotes

Oscar Arias Sánchez is a Costa Rican statesman and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. Widely recognized for his efforts to promote peace and democracy in Central America, he played a key role in the Esquipulas Peace Agreement. He continues to be a leading advocate for human rights and social justice on the global stage. Here are 45 of his quotes:

Peace is a never ending process... It cannot ignore our differences or overlook our common interests. It requires us to work and live together. (Oscar Arias Sanchez)
Nuclear arms kill many people all at once, but other weapons kill many people, little by little, every day, everywhere in the world. View quote
Oscar Arias Sanchez
I like to build bridges... not walls. View quote
Oscar Arias Sanchez
The more freedom we enjoy, the greater the responsibility we bear, toward others as well as ourselves. View quote
Oscar Arias Sanchez
There are too many war museums. View quote
Oscar Arias Sanchez
To demilitarize the country means to make a profound decision. It is not enough to change the name of the armed forces. It is necessary to change the minds of those people who only yesterday wore a military uniform. View quote
Oscar Arias Sanchez
Peace is a never-ending process, the work of many decisions by many people in many countries. It is an attitude, a way of life, a way of solving problems and resolving conflicts. View quote
Oscar Arias Sanchez
Our world is certainly dangerous, but it is made more dangerous, not less, by those who value profits over peace. View quote
Oscar Arias Sanchez
In the United States, resources exist to retrain displaced workers and promote the development of technologies that create new job opportunities for American workers. View quote
Oscar Arias Sanchez
Free trade will go a long way toward alleviating poverty in Central America. Yet trade alone is not enough. View quote
Oscar Arias Sanchez
There is a difference between the typical politician and the statesman. A typical politician is that person who tells people what people want to hear, while the statesman tells people what people need to know. (Oscar Arias Sanchez)
Poverty and lack of education are ruining our planet. View quote
Oscar Arias Sanchez
I think it's in the hands of each head of state: the future of peace in his own country. View quote
Oscar Arias Sanchez
The plight of the terrified Central American children who have flooded across the U.S. border to escape violence and poverty in their homelands has launched a passionate and often bitter debate in Washington. View quote
Oscar Arias Sanchez
Indeed, it is quite sad to see the United States becoming the main exporter of arms. It is quite sad to look at the U.S. government subsidizing arms exports. View quote
Oscar Arias Sanchez
Many developing countries continue to be burdened by high percentages of their population living in poverty. Yet, instead of addressing this root cause of conflict, many states, ironically, increase their military might in order to control increasingly desperate populations. View quote
Oscar Arias Sanchez
The children of the world, what they want and what they need are health clinics and schools, not tanks or armed helicopters or fighter jets. View quote
Oscar Arias Sanchez
It often seems... the human race has twittered away its existence singing an endless song - a song of waste and hatred, where there should be progress and love. View quote
Oscar Arias Sanchez
Costa Rica believes in building bridges, in looking for solutions to problems, and not clinging to positions. View quote
Oscar Arias Sanchez
Latin America has not achieved the development that it deserves... I'm not optimistic for all of Latin America, not only for Central America. View quote
Oscar Arias Sanchez
A nation that mistreats its own citizens is more likely to mistreat its neighbours. (Oscar Arias Sanchez)
India, Pakistan, China, Singapore and South Korea are heavily investing in nuclear arms. Since 21st century is the century of Asia, Asian countries should be the first ones to drop this arms race. View quote
Oscar Arias Sanchez
I shall never accept that the law can be used to justify tragedy, to keep things as they are, to make us abandon our ideas of a different world. Law is the path of liberty, and must as such open the way to progress for everyone. View quote
Oscar Arias Sanchez
The Central American isthmus is a region of great contrasts, but also of heartening unison. Millions of men and women share dreams of freedom and progress. View quote
Oscar Arias Sanchez
Peace is not a matter of prizes or trophies. It is not the product of a victory or command. It has no finishing line, no final deadline, no fixed definition of achievement. View quote
Oscar Arias Sanchez

Oscar Arias Sanchez

Oscar Arias Sanchez - Image
Photo: MadriCR, CC BY-SA 4.0
Occupation: Costa Rican Statesman
Born: September 13, 1941
Quotes count: 45

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