40 Inspirational Desmond Tutu Quotes About Justice, Peace, And Love

Liputan6.com, Jakarta - Desmond Tutu, a South African Anglican archbishop and social rights activist, is known for his powerful and inspiring words. Throughout his life, Tutu has been a leading voice in the struggle against apartheid in South Africa and a staunch advocate for human rights and justice around the world.

Desmond Tutu quotes have resonated with people from all walks of life, inspiring them to stand up for what is right and to show compassion and understanding to others.

In this article, we will celebrate his legacy by selected some of the most powerful and inspiring Desmond Tutu quotes from various sources, Monday (19/1/2026). Whether you are familiar with his work or are just discovering it for the first time, Tutu's quotes are sure to leave a lasting impression on your heart and mind.

1. "Stability and peace in our land will not come from the barrel of a gun, because peace without justice is an impossibility." - Desmond Tutu

2. "To take a life when a life has been lost is revenge, not justice." - Desmond Tutu

3. "That's the chief lesson I have learned: the texture of our universe is one where there is no question at all but that good and laughter and justice will prevail." - Desmond Tutu

4. "Restorative justice says "No, the offense affected a relationship" and what you are seeking for is to restore the relationship, to heal the relationship." - Desmond Tutu

5. "Retributive justice is one that says clobber him or clobber her because they clobbered me. So it emphasizes punishment." - Desmond Tutu

6. "True peace must be anchored in justice and an unwavering commitment to universal rights for all humans, regardless of ethnicity, religion, gender, national origin or any other identity attribute." - Desmond Tutu

7. "Exclusion is never the way forward on our shared paths to freedom and justice." - Desmond Tutu

8. "We don't want apartheid liberalized. We want it dismantled. You can't improve something that is intrinsically evil." - Desmond Tutu

9. "Making the truth public is a form of justice. This is a moral universe and you've got to take account of the fact that truth and lies and goodness and evil are things that matter." - Desmond Tutu

10. "There are different kinds of justice. Retributive justice is largely Western. The African understanding is far more restorative - not so much to punish as to redress or restore a balance that has been knocked askew." - Desmond Tutu

1. "Do your little bit of good where you are; its those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world." - Desmond Tutu

2. "If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality." - Desmond Tutu

3. "If you want peace, you don't talk to your friends. You talk to your enemies." - Desmond Tutu

4. "Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness." - Desmond Tutu

5. "There comes a point where we need to stop just pulling people out of the river. We need to go upstream and find out why they're falling in." - Desmond Tutu

6. "I can't control what happens to me, but I can control how I respond to it." - Desmond Tutu

7. "Our maturity will be judged by how well we are able to agree to disagree and yet continue to love one another, to care for one another, and cherish one another and seek the greater good of the other." - Desmond Tutu

8. "My father always used to say, 'Don't raise your voice. Improve your argument.'" - Desmond Tutu

9. "To forgive is to abandon your right to pay back the predator in his own coin, but it is the loss that Liberates." - Desmond Tutu

10. "We are each made for goodness, love and compassion. Our lives are transformed as much as the world is when we live with these truths." - Desmond Tutu

11. "It is through weakness and vulnerability that most of us learn empathy and compassion and discover our soul." - Desmond Tutu

12. "Without memory, there is no healing. Without forgiveness, there is no future." - Desmond Tutu

13. "You don't choose your family. They are God's gift to you, as you are to them." - Desmond Tutu

14. "It means a great deal to those who are oppressed to know that they are not alone. And never let anyone tell you that what you are doing is insignificant." - Desmond Tutu

15. "If we have loved well while we were alive, there is life after death here-our love will go on for generations." - Desmond Tutu

1. "Differences are not intended to separate, to alienate. We are different precisely in order to realize our need of one another." - Desmond Tutu

2. "Children are a wonderful gift. They have an extraordinary capacity to see into the heart of things and to expose sham and humbug for what they are." - Desmond Tutu

3. "Give young people a greater voice. They are the future and they are much wiser than we give them credit for." - Desmond Tutu

4. "Religion is like a knife: you can either use it to cut bread, or stick in someone's back." - Desmond Tutu

5. "We have allowed the interests of capital to outweigh the interests of human beings and our Earth." - Desmond Tutu

6. "Without memory, there is no healing. Without forgiveness, there is no future." - Desmond Tutu

7. "Forgiveness is abandoning your right to revenge." - Desmond Tutu

8. "You are either on the side of the oppressed or on the side of the oppressor. You can't be neutral." - Desmond Tutu

9. "Language is very powerful. Language does not just describe reality. Language creates the reality it describes." - Desmond Tutu

10. "All of our humanity is dependent upon recognizing the humanity in others" - Desmond Tutu

11. "Love your enemy; it will ruin his reputation." - Desmond Tutu

12. "We need other human beings in order to be human." - Desmond Tutu

13. "To treat anyone as if they were less than human, less than a brother or a sister, no matter what they have done, is to contravene the very laws of our humanity." - Desmond Tutu

14. "It is our moral obligation to give every child the very best education possible." - Desmond Tutu

15. "We are made for loving. If we don’t love, we will be like plants without water." - Desmond Tutu