WHO rescinds ‘goodwill ambassador’
The World Health Organization has withdrawn its appointment of Robert Mugabe, the longtime president of Zimbabwe, to a “goodwill ambassador” role after widespread criticism.
QWHY WAS MUGABE’S APPOINTMENT RESCINDED?
AWHO Director General Tedros Ghebreyesus said Sunday that he had “listened carefully to all who have expressed their concerns” in making his decision. The appointment had provoked global head-scratching and outrage because of Mugabe’s track record of human-rights abuses, including violent crackdowns on political dissent, which had earned Zimbabwe international sanctions.
QWHAT EXACTLY SAYING? WERE PEOPLE
A“Quite frankly I thought it was a bad April Fool’s joke,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said. “It is absolutely unacceptable, absolutely inconceivable that this individual would have a role as a goodwill ambassador.” The U.S. State Department said “this appointment clearly contradicts the United Nations ideals of respect for human rights and human dignity.” Hillel Neuer, the executive director of United Nations Watch and a human rights activist, wrote: “Shame on you, @WHO, for legitimizing brutal tyrant Mugabe, who devastated the health system of Zimbabwe & flies abroad for his health care.” The unofficial response on Twitter was just as strong: “Who next, Kim Jong-un?” quipped one person.
QJUST HOW BAD IS IT IN ZIMBABWE?
As the New York Times wrote in 2009, a delegation from Physicians for Human Rights “found that the Mugabe regime destroyed the country’s health-care system and pursued policies that ruined what had been a vibrant agriculture, depriving all but a tiny elite of proper nutrition, water, and a sustainable livelihood. One result has been a cholera epidemic and the spread of other diseases.” The hospitals in Zimbabwe have gotten so bad, many have said, that Mugabe flies to other countries for medical treatment.
QIS HE THE FIRST TO BE HEAVED ASIDE?
Some goodwill ambassadors have sparked controversy before — and been fired. Wonder Woman was fired as a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations, for example, after a large outcry that a white woman in skimpy clothing who solves most of her problems with violence wasn’t a good role model for girls.