The welcome releases of 62 detainees then (in June), with a further 22 – including journalist Braulio Jatar and judge (Maria) Lourdes Afiuni – set free yesterday and the authorities' acceptance of two human rights officers in the country, signify the beginning of positive engagement on the country's many human rights issues.

Michelle Bachelet

Categorized in : World

Gender equality must become a lived reality.

Michelle Bachelet

gender-equality gender reality

When I'm speaking of love, when I'm speaking of reversing hate, I'm speaking not only of reconciliation - even I don't use that word - I use another word in Spanish, that's called 'reencuentro' - it's not reconciliation.

Michelle Bachelet

reconciliation hate use

The change of the binominal system is without a doubt, a great advancement, it will allow us to be better represented and have better ideas.

Michelle Bachelet

change doubt ideas

When women earn the money for the family, everyone in the family benefits. We also know that when women have an income, everyone wins because women dedicate 90% of the income to health, education, to food security, to the children, to the family, or to the community, so when women have an income, everybody wins.

Michelle Bachelet

health-education winning children

The respect for human rights is nowadays not so much a matter of having international standards, but rather questions of compliance with those standards.

Michelle Bachelet

standards rights matter

Violence against women in all its forms is a human rights violation. It's not something that any culture, religion or tradition propagates.

Michelle Bachelet

culture-religion violence rights

There is no city or country in the world where women and girls live free of the fear of violence. No leader can claim: this is not happening in my backyard.

Michelle Bachelet

girl cities country

My top priority for 2012 will be to make a renewed push for women's economic empowerment and political participation.

Michelle Bachelet

priorities empowerment political

The priority for my government is that there will be development for everyone, equally.

Michelle Bachelet

priorities government development

People see I am a mother and head of a household. Today in Chile, one-third of households are run by women. They wake up, take the children to school, go to work. To them I am hope.

Michelle Bachelet

mother running children

Having more women in company boards, in senior management, supervisory positions and workers in the formal sector is not only the right thing to do, but the smart thing to do. It's good for the bottom line.

Michelle Bachelet

senior smart boards

During my lifetime, I realized that discrimination was not accidental, that there were structural roots and causes to it. So if we wanted to change women's lives, we need to deal with those root causes.

Michelle Bachelet

causes roots needs

You all want to know what is my dream? Very simple. To walk along the beach, holding the hand of my lover.

Michelle Bachelet

simple dream beach

Having been a head of state gives you the possibility of getting into places others can't go.

Michelle Bachelet

possibility states giving

In artillery exercises, women always win because they're more accurate.

Michelle Bachelet

artillery winning exercise

The challenge is for us to reinvigorate the relationship with the Chilean people and to give state institutions new legitimacy. But this is also a universal phenomenon. There's also disenchantment with politics in Europe.

Michelle Bachelet

challenges giving people

Chile has changed. The people have become more mature and they are more conscious of their rights. They want to participate and have a say about things such as if and where a power plant can be built.

Michelle Bachelet

mature plant people

In the eyes of many business leaders, there is never an opportune moment for tax reform. Yes, the economy is losing momentum, but that is not because a handful of people are losing their privileges. Slow growth did not first begin during my term in office; the market downturn is making itself felt around the world. My government has responded with an agenda aimed at raising productivity. We are also investing substantially in infrastructure - the plan calls for €20.5 billion or $26.3 billion by 2021.

Michelle Bachelet

office eye people

We need to reform the constitution in Chile. The current one was written and passed in 1980 during the dictatorship. Some changes were made after the return of democracy, but its origins remain illegitimate. Instead of continuing to make fixes here and there, we need to undertake fundamental changes to our constitution to make it reflect the reality of our democratic society.

Michelle Bachelet

constitution democracy reality

We need to have a broad debate so that the new Chilean constitution is representative of everyone. I am convinced that it cannot just be developed by an expert group. First, people at all levels will be given an opportunity to provide input. They should be allowed to express their opinions about the kind of society they would like to live in. That's the kind of open process I would like to see. The issue at hand here is finding unity on the greater rules. Afterwards, a text will be developed and presented to parliament.

Michelle Bachelet

opinion opportunity people