Word: kouchner
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...short, slightly built man bounds out of a dark-tinted limousine and up the steps, heading to a tête-à-tête with Sudan's President, Lieut. General Omar Hassan al-Bashir. To the crowd of Sudanese gawking outside, the visitor needs no introduction. Bernard Kouchner is back on familiar turf...
...that was, however, never implemented), before Tuesday's sanctions announcement. Europe has yet to find clear voice on the conflict. (Tuesday also saw France unveil a plan for an international force to open a humanitarian corridor from eastern Chad into Darfur, but when questioned, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner admitted: "It is only an idea so far ... but it might work.") Meanwhile, Africa and the Arab world offer no way forward, while China - whose oil interests and other investments in Sudan give it substantially more leverage than the U.S. has over Khartoum - has used its veto power in the Security...
...While that won't leave Kouchner without anything to do, it does mean the nature of his role will differ from previous foreign ministers, likely becoming a more specialized function that will utilize Kouchner's humanitarian background. "The Foreign Minister is now partly a protocol position, partly a humanitarian aid and development role," says Jean-Christophe Rufin, an award-winning author, former diplomat and one-time vice president of the M?decins Sans Fronti?res. "You're not going to see Kouchner riding herd on Franco-German relations, but that's not what he's interested in anyway...
...veteran of numerous wars, refugee exoduses, natural disasters and the crises they generate, Kouchner champions what he has called the "right of interference": the intervention of states and non-governmental organizations into calamities provoked or neglected by national governments. He's similarly called on foreign policy and development aid to be linked to the observance of human rights and accountability - stances shared by Sarkozy. "If you look at some of the things Kouchner has said about creating co-development programs that benefit the recipient as well as the donor country's interests, you see he's on the same line...
...Those qualities have won Kouchner plaudits from Washington - including former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Holbrooke. Though Kouchner's liberal politics won't thrill the current Administration, the pragmatism and general Atlanticist view he shares with Sarkozy should help improve relations with the U.S. While neither man is the rabid pro-American often depicted, France's new political odd couple do share a similar diplomatic style likely to thaw the recent trans-Atlantic freeze...