HARARE, Oct. 23 (Xinhua) -- The Zimbabwe government has called for an overhaul of the United Nations system following the reversal of President Robert Mugabe's appointment by the World Health Organization as goodwill ambassador in the fight against non-communicable diseases (NCDs).
WHO director-general Tedros Adhainom Ghebreyesus announced Mugabe's appointment as goodwill ambassador last Wednesday during a WHO conference on NCDs in Montevideo, Uruguay.
However, he rescinded the appointment four days later following perceived pressure from Western powers.
Ghebreyesus was quoted in the media Sunday as saying that the reversal was in the best interest of the UN.
"I have listened carefully to all who have expressed their concerns, and heard the different issues that they have raised," he said. "I have also consulted with the government of Zimbabwe and we have concluded that this decision is in the best interests of the World Health Organization."
Zimbabwe's Foreign minister Walter Mzembi, who accompanied Mugabe to the conference, told state media that the UN system needed to be reformed.
He said the appointment had been rescinded following pressure by global powerful heavyweights bent on embarrassing Zimbabwe.
"What has happened is the reason why the UN system has to be reformed and democratized so that it does not pander to the whims of a few powerful nations," Mzembi said.
"It is clear that the UN agencies are not independent and can be rail-roaded into making decisions that please a few nations," he said.
Mzembi believes that he is also a victim of the UN system after failing to land the post of UN World Tourism Organization secretary-general earlier in the year after having led in the first round of polling.
"I am personally a victim of the goings-on in the UN system. You cannot reform it at the top unless you start with its building blocks or pillars, the UN agencies, bottom up," he said.
"My own experiences at the UNWTO are in themselves a global case study on the need for reform," Mzembi said.
Mugabe has also in the past called for reforms at the UN, saying some nations, especially in Africa, were being marginalized under the system which favored a few powerhouses.
