David Cameron has welcomed the work of the Conservative Party Human Rights Commission and emphasised the link between oppression and poverty.

In a speech on “Fighting Global Poverty”, the Conservative Party Leader said:

“I welcome the establishment of the Conservative Human Rights Commission which will focus on regimes that violate the rights of their citizens.”

“Freedom and prosperity go hand in hand,” he added. “… Democratic countries with a free press are less prone to suffer from major famines. It is in closed societies, where the leaders are insulated from scrutiny, feedback and criticism, that situations are likely to spiral out of control. Countries in the past like China under Mao and the Soviet Union under Stalin … and countries in the present like North Korea, Zimbabwe and Burma.”