NATO Speech – Rheindalen, Germany. 8 December 2009.

Christophe Fournier, International President of Médecins Sans Frontières, delivered a speech to a Conference in Rheindahlen 7-8 December 2009 organised by NATO's Allied Rapid Reaction Corps (ARRC). ARRC led NATO’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) for Afghanistan from May 2006 to February 2007 and has also been involved in IFOR and KFOR operations in Bosnia Herzegovina and Kosovo as well as in operations in Iraq. The stated purpose of the conference - which beside NATO and the UK Armed Forces brought together representatives from the diplomatic world, the UN and NGOs, the media, academia and the EU - was to examine best working practices on the integration of civilian and military efforts to achieve Unity of Purpose in Hybrid Operations.

In his speech, Christophe Fournier explains why Médecins Sans Frontières can never be part of a "military-humanitarian coalition", the importance to make a clear distinction between impartial humanitarian actors such as Médecins Sans Frontières and other more partisan aid actors, and finally the harmful consequences on the local population when this distinction is blurred. This conference was an opportunity to clarify that we, Médecins Sans Frontières, don’t believe in a unity of purpose, we believe in a mutual understanding with all warring parties that allows for the deployment of impartial aid operations in order to contain the devastations of war.

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