The U.K. public deems the promotion of human rights a key factor in determining how and where British aid should be used, results of a new survey reveal.
A survey by the Institute of Development Studies finds that most respondents ascribed more importance to human rights than influence over security, economy and climate change in providing foreign aid, the Guardian reports.
“This research suggests that people in the UK want aid money to safeguard civil and political freedoms as much as they want it to promote more material outcomes such as economic development and national security,” said Lawrence Haddad, director of IDS.
“The Government would do well to factor this into its review of the Department for International Development’s (DFID) priorities and ways of working, if it wants to maintain public support for aid spending. For example DFID may wish to put more emphasis on a country’s performance in protecting, respecting and facilitating rights in deciding who to engage with and how to do it,” he added.
