OT: Political and Preposterous - Zimbabwe to Head Key U.N. Body

[Guest guest]

Lucky we are that the DisUnited Nations is not in a position to

appoint a Minister of Alternative/Complementary Treatment .. if that

were the case, they might appoint Mr. Gary Young and his cohorts to

the post. As I stated in a previous post .. sometimes even with

so-called Democratic elections .. those elected are not fit to rule.

 

In the late 70s, when I was in training as a political/military

observer/analyst it was already determined by the West that Africa

below the Sahara was a Basket Case and not likely to be otherwise

regardless of any aid/assistance rendered by the West. The reasons

for this determination had nothing to do with race .. it had to do

with an unfortunate political history coupled with tribal, religious

and logistics issues that are even today too great to overcome. In

time (but not our time) the governments in Africa might sort things

out but its doubtful if that sorting will be a result of actions that

would be considered as acceptable by most Western countries.

 

See the polls at bottom of this post. Butch

 

 

Zimbabwe to Head Key U.N. Body

 

POSTED: 1220 GMT (2020 HKT), May 12, 2007

 

http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/africa/05/12/un.zimbabwe.ap/index.html

 

Story Highlights

• Zimbabwe to head body to promote economic progress, environmental

protection

• Zimbabwe's government has been criticized for repression, corruption

• U.S. and European nations have called Zimbabwe's candidacy inappropriate

• Human rights group said it was " preposterous " for Zimbabwe to lead

U.N. body

 

 

UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- Zimbabwe won approval on Friday to head a key

U.N. body charged with promoting economic progress and environmental

protection despite protests from the U.S., European nations and human

rights organizations.

 

The 53-member Commission on Sustainable Development voted 26-21 with

three abstentions on the new chair, said Luiz Alberto Figueiredo

Machado, vice chair of the commission. The chair traditionally rotates

among regions of the world and it is Africa's choice this year. The

government of Zimbabwe has nominated Francis Nhema, the minister of

environment and tourism, to chair the commission.

 

President Robert Mugabe, an 83-year-old who has ruled Zimbabwe since

it gained independence from Britain in 1980, has been criticized by

the West and domestic opponents for repression, corruption, acute food

shortages and gross economic mismanagement that has driven inflation

above 2,000 percent -- the highest in the world. Mugabe has

acknowledged that police used violent methods against opposition

supporters.

 

" We're very disappointed in the election of Zimbabwe as chair, " said

the U.S. representative to the commission Dan Reifsnyder, deputy

assistant secretary for environment and science at the State Department.

 

" We really think it calls into question the credibility of this

organization to have a representative from a country that has

decimated its agriculture, that used to be the breadbasket of Africa

and can't now feed itself, " said Reifsnyder.

 

U.S. officials said the commission deals with rural development and

sustainable agriculture and Zimbabwe is no role model on those themes.

 

Mugabe's government disrupted the agriculture-based economy in 2000

with violent seizures of white-owned commercial farms, part of a

program to redistribute land to poor blacks.

 

The newly elected chairman dismissed questions Friday night about his

country's international standing and the appropriateness of Zimbabwe

holding such a position in a global body.

 

" I think it's not time to point fingers, " said Nhema. " There is never

a perfect method, it's always a method which is appropriate to each

country. So it's important not only to look at Zimbabwe but to look at

each other and see what we can learn. "

 

Several European nations have also called Zimbabwe's candidacy

inappropriate.

 

On Friday, the Pan African Parliament, a body of the African Union,

voted to send a mission to Zimbabwe to investigate alleged human

rights abuses " relating to the arrests and detention, assault and

murder of political activists and members of the media. "

 

" Zimbabwe is hardly a model of good governance or sustainable

development or even responsible leadership, " Benjamin Chang, deputy

spokesman for the U.S. Mission to the United Nations, said before the

vote. " Our concern is that it's potential chairmanship would undermine

the commission's credibility. "

 

Jennifer Windsor, executive director of the human rights group Freedom

House, said before the vote that it was " preposterous " for Zimbabwe to

lead any U.N. body. Freedom House is an independent non-governmental

organization that has monitored political rights and civil liberties

in Zimbabwe since 1980.

 

Windsor said Mugabe's government " clearly has nothing but scorn for

the U.N.'s founding principles of human rights, security and

international law. "

 

The Commission on Sustainable Development was established by the

General Assembly in December 1992 to ensure effective follow-up of the

Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro in June that year and

implementation of key environmental and development agreements.

 

The commission meets annually in New York, and its current session,

which opened Wednesday, is focusing on energy for sustainable

development, industrial development, air pollution and climate change.

 

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

 

Created: Saturday, May 12, 2007, at 08:19:15 EDT

Has the United Nations been undermined by the choice of Zimbabwe to

head an environmental commission?

 

Yes ........... 86% .................. 2,214 votes

No ............ 14% .................. 375 votes

Total: .............................. 2,589 votes