Another week, another scandal at the United Nations

"The announcement stunned the audience. The head of the World Health Organization had just revealed his decision to honor a well-known tyrant, Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe, by naming him a WHO 'goodwill ambassador.'

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the recently appointed WHO chief, may have thought that his speech during a conference in Uruguay last week would pass without notice. Maybe he assumed that his grotesque praise of a man whose actions show how one can single-handedly destroy a country would disappear into the U.N.'s bulging records of outrageous decisions...

Needless to say, this is not the first time the U.N. has inspired outrage. From the scandalous actions of the U.N.'s human rights body, from the selection of vile conspiracy mongers as special 'rapporteurs,' to the selection of Iran and then Saudi Arabia to the U.N. Commission on the Status of Women, to the choice of repressive, democracy-destroying nations to vital bodies, the U.N. sometimes seems determined to seek precisely the opposite of what it claims. It's hardly a wonder that the United States recently decided to leave UNESCO, the U.N.'s Israel-bashing cultural organization, once again.

But the job of the WHO is not symbolic. Lives depend on it. What was Tedros thinking when he chose to honor Mugabe? This is not a rhetorical question. It demands urgent answers...

Some speculate that Tedros's decision to appoint Mugabe was a pay-off to China, which worked tirelessly behind the scenes to help Tedros defeat the United Kingdom candidate for the WHO job, David Nabarro. Tedros's victory was also a victory for Beijing, whose leader Xi Jinping has made public his goal of flexing China's muscle in the world. Beijing strongly supports Mugabe, and Mugabe has repaid the favor, helping to ease pressure from Africans who criticize China for exploiting Africa's natural resources..."