Tourism UN-style
Washington,
May 31, 2012 -
Situated on the Zimbabwe-Zambia border, Victoria Falls was the site this week of an agreement signed by the leaders of Zimbabwe, Zambia and something called the United Nations World Tourism Organization. Yes, the UNWTO actually exists.
And yes, Robert Mugabe, president of Zimbabwe - responsible for countless murders, a few stolen elections and driving his country off an economic cliff - was asked by this U.N. organization to be a "leader for tourism." The three signed an agreement to have the next U.N. tourism meeting co-hosted by Zambia and Zimbabwe.
I guess it was lost that Mugabe is under a travel ban – and couldn’t visit the Eiffel Tower if he wanted to? One Zimbabwe opposition leaders asked, "Do they want tourists to see [Mugabe’s] bloody hands?"
This incident would be easy to pass off as another U.N. joke. But for those who want to learn, it's a revealing lesson. The U.N. way is that all countries – repressive or free, democracy or dictatorship – are on equal footing. No one is right or wrong – indeed, everyone is right, except whipping boy Israel. There is no moral compass. If there were, one would encourage tourism in a country where the people would benefit, not just the murderous leaders.
This is the recipe that gets you North Korea leading disarmament talks and Syria on the human rights body. When every country is treated the same, it doesn’t create order, just moral anarchy. Mugabe couldn't have a better friend than the U.N.
