Launch of the 2006 Annual Report on Human Rights: Margaret Beckett speech

Launch of the 2006 Annual Report on Human Rights: Margaret Beckett speech; Prime among those insecurities are injustice and the abuse of power, simply, a government that is accountable to its people, that protects human rights and respects the rule of law is more prosperous and secure at home and more stable and predictable as an international partner / Let me give three specific examples - development in Africa is the first, last year, the Prime Minister made it– along with climate change – one of the two key themes for our G8 Presidency, but if Africa is to lift itself out of poverty it will have to do so on the back also of good governance and respect for human rights, in other words effective human rights means effective development and the DFID White Paper Making Governance Work for the Poor puts it very well: 'Whether states are effective or not – whether they are capable of helping business to grow, and of delivering services to their citizens, and are accountable and responsive to them – is the single most important factor that determines whether or not successful development takes place', I share that point of view / Better government means less corruption, more investment, greater stability, it gives individuals the chance as well as the freedom to realise their own potential and to make a better life for themselves and for their families / Look at two examples in Africa, Tanzania has effective, democratic government, it has a stable and growing economy, infant mortality rates are down by a third since 1999, Zimbabwe, I'm afraid, suffers under a regime that is a byword for human rights abuse and a country that once exported grain very widely now does not have enough food to feed even its own people, last month inflation set a new record of over 1200 per cent, unemployment is 70 per cent and life expectancy at 34 years, is among the lowest in the world