Saturday, December 13, 2008

Kouchner, remarks on human rights

Humans rights can rule foreign policy. A question, a statement. "There's a permanent contradiction between human rights and the foreign policy of a country, even of France," Bernard Kouchner, former president of human rights organization "Medecins sans frontieres" and current minister of Foreign Affairs of France told French daily Le Parisien. His colleagues from the government introduced some nuances.
« Diriger un pays éloigne évidemment d’un certain angélisme » said Kouchner, in the context of celebration of 60 years of Human Rights Declaration.
This is available not only for foreign policy, but for politics in general. In the last 60 years, human rights were an issue rarely addresses and the direct interest of a state in dealing on various reasons with another state were at stake, more than the human rights concerns. Just remember Kissinger playing ping-pong with Chinese leaders in Beijing. On the other side, foreign policy have to deal almost daily with an international structure based on treaties and international documents focusing on human rights. So, even we are not and cannot be angels, at least we have to play them. And, well, I don't think that the daily contradiction between human rights and foreign policy is so huge, for a Western European country. But, for sure, too much philosophy is for real incompatible with foreign policy, as any policy is dealing with daily practical decisions. If not, we can remember Bosnia, Croatia and Kosovo, or Rwanda.

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