UN Security Council resolution 142
 UN Security
Council Resolution 142 |
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| Date: | July 7, 1960 |
| Meeting: | 872 |
| Identifier: | S / RES / 142 ( document ) |
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| Poll: | Pro: 11 Ent. : 0 Cons: 0 |
| Object: | Admission of the Republic of the Congo as a new member to the United Nations |
| Result: | Accepted |
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| Composition of the Security Council in 1960: | |
| Permanent members: | |
| Non-permanent members: | |
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| Flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo | |
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The Resolution 142 of the UN Security Council is a resolution that the United Nations Security Council voted unanimously in the 872nd session on 7 July 1960th It dealt with the admission of the Republic of the Congo ( Congo-Kinshasa , today the Democratic Republic of the Congo ) as a new member of the United Nations .
background
To counter an anti-Belgian movement, the Belgians initiated a series of reforms to take the lead from the resistance. On December 8, 1957, the Congolese took part in local elections for the first time and won 130 of the 170 seats. From 1958 Belgium allowed the establishment of the first political parties.
A congress of these as well as various ethnic-regional parties and national movements in 1959 demanded the immediate full independence of the Congo. The result was unrest to which the Belgian government reacted harshly. In October 1959, Patrice Lumumba was also arrested and tortured. It was only after the Belgian government realized that it could not maintain control of the huge country that he was released on January 25, 1960 after around three months. Two days later, on January 27, 1960, Belgium announced elections and self-government and declared that it would withdraw from the Congo within six months and on June 30, 1960, the Congo gained independence after just under a month earlier on June 25 May 1960 the MNC received the most votes in the first free elections in the Congo.
"Congo turmoil"
The hasty withdrawal of Belgium posed great problems for the independence movement, because the country was in an extremely unstable state. Regional and ethnic leaders sometimes had more power than the central government in Kinshasa.
The election result had made Lumumba's Mouvement National Congolais the strongest faction in the fragmented parliament. This result was not wanted by Belgium and the USA, which suspected Lumumba as communists and wanted to prevent the most resource-rich and largest black African country from turning to the communist camp at all costs. At the same time, the alliance, which had previously only been held together by the independence movement, broke up and internal conflicts broke out.
Patrice Lumumba became the first Prime Minister and Joseph Kasavubu became the first President of the Congo. They represented politically different ideas. Both tried to rule the country despite mutinies, insurrections and violence, which turned out to be difficult. This development had been foreseen by Belgium, and it was hoped and expected in Brussels to be “called for help” and to be able to reappropriate the Congo. The Belgian troops still stationed in the Congo were supposed to help with this endeavor .
On July 5th, the Belgian general of the Force Publique , Émile Janssens , told the Congolese soldiers in Kinshasa that “after independence = before independence”. This was understood to mean that their status and role would not improve, but it should possibly only emphasize the need to maintain discipline and order. This resulted in a mutiny that spread across the country over the next few days and led to riots among civilians. As a result of negotiations with the mutineers, Lumumba and Kasavubu decided to fire the Belgian commander in chief and his staff. They appointed Victor Lundula as the new commander in chief and Joseph Mobutu as chief of staff , which promoted Mobutu , who was already in contact with the Belgian and US intelligence services, to an extremely powerful position alongside the weak Lundula. The unrest, the Africanization of the officer corps and the offer of a job in Belgium by the Belgian government led to a mass exodus of the Belgians, which resulted in the complete collapse of the civil administration.
Civil War
Moïse Tschombé proclaimed the independence of the Katanga province on June 29, 1960, the day before the Congo became independent , and only revoked this declaration under threat of arrest. Only a few days later, on July 10th, Belgian troops intervened at his request in Elisabethville, now Lubumbashi , the capital of Katanga. The next day, Katanga declared itself independent and was supported by Belgium.
Kasavubu and Lumumba asked the United Nations for help in the "war with Belgium". The UN did not refuse, and in its first African mission, the ONUC, also sent blue helmet soldiers to relieve the Belgian troops in the Congo. At the same time, however, they worked to the USA, which avoided direct involvement in the conflict out of concerns about an escalation with the USSR, but were not prepared to tolerate a Congo under Lumumba. For example, the UN prevented Kinshasa from attempting rearmament against Katanga, passed on confidential information to the USA and declared itself neutral in the critical war of secession between the Congo and Katanga.
content
The Security Council announced that it had examined the admission of the Republic of the Congo with the capital Leopoldville (today Kinshasa ) as a new member of the United Nations and recommended that the UN General Assembly approve the admission.
accession
The (Democratic) Republic of the Congo joined the United Nations on September 20, 1960.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ The 193 member states in alphabetical order. (No longer available online.) In: crp-infotec.de. July 20, 2011, archived from the original on March 24, 2013 ; Retrieved July 30, 2012 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
