We must never relinquish the vision of a humane society and a humane world.

A person's worth is quite independent of their usefulness to society.

Human dignity is independent of national borders. We must always defend the interests of the poor and the persecuted in other countries.

We must remember that politics is more than a power game. The core of politics in my view is to serve our citizens, to serve our fellow human beings.

It can perhaps seem that this area is plagued by an endless string of crises and that it's impossible to do anything. Then I say that a human life is a human life... and we're obligated to help.

He urged for international pressure on [Israeli] Prime Minister [Ariel] Sharon to end the attacks.