John Baird, the Canadian foreign minister, said the correspondence by the UN world tourism office (UNWTO), in which its secretary general reportedly praised Mugabe and the president of Zambia, Michael Sata, on Tuesday for their role in tourism at Victoria Falls, was the “last straw” in the country’s participation.
“After [Baird] heard that Mugabe was honoured at an event, after he was invited to join this global leaders group, he signed the order in council almost immediately,” said Joseph Lavoie, spokesman for Baird, referring to the mechanism needed to formalise Canada’s notice period.
“They were legitimising him by enlisting Mugabe to promote tourism,” he added.
The UNWTO disputed Canada’s reasoning, pointing out that Mugabe had not, as had been claimed, been appointed as a special ambassador for tourism or given any special title.
The body said it did not have an ambassadorial programme and the event at Victoria Falls had been held in order for an agreement to be signed by the UNWTO, Zimbabwe and Zambia to permit the hosting of the general assembly at the waterfall, which straddles the borders of both countries.
It added that the letter sent to the Zimbabwean president had also been sent to the leaders of other countries as part of the UNWTO’s “global leaders for tourism” campaign. “This letter was sent to all heads of state and government worldwide and aims to raise awareness of the potential of tourism for development, job creation and economic growth,” it said.