Cook: human rights form the basis for prosperity

Cook's Stand on Human Rights Fails to Impress Malaysia

In an uncompromising speech the Foreign Secretary insisted there was no room for debate on the principle of human rights. "Promotion of personal freedom is central to the goals we all share," he told an invited audience in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur.

But Mr Cook, on a six-day tour of south-east Asia, faces a tough task convincing local governments of the validity of the Labour's decision to place human rights at the heart of UK foreign policy.

The Malaysian Foreign Minister, Abdullah Badawi, set the tone with a warning that the region had different cultural values and had to be left to deal with the situation in its own way.

He firmly rejected the concept of total political freedom, explaining civil rights groups could upset the political stability necessary for economic progress.

The Malaysian premier Dr Mahathir Mohamed, who is highly critical of the West for "imposing" its values on the region, is calling for a review of the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights agreed 50 years ago.

Dr Mahathir, who earlier this week claimed democracy was not as important as education, is supported in his call for a review by Chinese Premier Li Peng.

However, Mr Cook pulled no punches in his speech to the Institute for Diplomacy and Foreign Relations arguing that the human rights declaration was fundamental to British foreign policy.

Freedom and Duty

"The most prosperous economies of the next century will be those which have liberated the energy and creativity of their people," he said.

"In the modern age, more than ever before, civil liberty and open government are not the enemies of economic success but the conditions for economic competitiveness."

Mr Cook faces an even tougher reception in Indonesia, the next stop on his tour.