President Robert Mugabe was up for debate in the House of Lords yesterday after Lord Pendry asked the government what representations they had made to the United Nations World Tourism Organisation over their promotion of Mugabe as “Leader for tourism”.
Mugabe was “appointed” a United Nations tourism “ambassador” because Zimbabwe and Zambia are hosting the World Tourism Organisation conference next year.
Britain’s Minister of State in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Lord Howell of Guildford told the House yesterday that Mugabe had not been appointed to any such position.
He said the UNWTO said that they had no ambassadors’ programme and that the open letter Mugabe received was in relation to Zimbabwe and Zambia co-hosting the UNWTO General Assembly in August 2013.
The letter does not imply any legal commitments or official titles to the country or recipient.
Canada withdrew from the UNWTO over the issue.
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