The failures of international organizations: the case of Zimbabwe

This week Zimbabwe, the country with the world's largest inflation rate, was elected to lead the Commission on Sustainable Economic Development (CSD) at the United Nations. This represents the failure of the international community on a number of levels.

First, giving a leadership position at the United Nations to a dictatorial, repressive, floundering government only gives international legitimacy to that government, and says the world doesn't care if governments harm their own people - they're still fit to help lead the rest of the world on an incredibly important issue.

Second, the CSD is the body charged with ensuring global "Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs," according to its own mission statement. When Zimbabwe currently "has the world's fastest shrinking economy outside a war zone... inflation is running at 2,200 percent...and the nation, once a regional breadbasket, faces acute shortages of food, hard currency, gasoline and most basic goods" (IHT) promoting Zimbabwe to head a sustainable development institution just makes no sense. It says that the international community doesn't really care about sustainable development, it just wants to pour a bunch of money into an office and some programs to pretend it does.

Why did this happen?
"It seems developing countries voted for Zimbabwe in a direct show of defiance against developed ones... Many observers believe the result was an overwhelming snub to the US and the EU by developing nations, especially those in South America, who respected both the African block's decision and their refusal to be pushed around by former colonial masters."

When countries like Zimbabwe are elected to chair the CSD, and Sudan sat on the old Human Rights Commission despite the North-South civil war and Darfur, how can we expect the UN to act effectively to protect people around the world?