United Nations Security Council Resolution 134
Encyclopedia
United Nations
Security Council Resolution
134, adopted on April 1, 1960, was passed after a complaint by twenty-nine Member States regarding "the situation arising out of the large-scale killings of unarmed and peaceful demonstrators against racial discrimination and segregation in the Union of South Africa
". The Council recognized that the situation was brought about by the policies of the government of the Union of South Africa
and that if these policies continued they could endanger international peace and security.
The resolution voiced the Council's anger at the policies and actions of the Government, offered their sympathies to the families of the victims, called upon the Government to initiate measures aimed at bringing about racial harmony based on equality and called upon it to abandon apartheid. The Council then requested that the Secretary-General
Dag Hammarskjöld
consult with the government of the Union of South Africa to make arrangements to help uphold the principles of the Charter and to report to the Council whenever necessary and appropriate.
The resolution was adopted with nine votes; France
and the United Kingdom
abstained.
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
Security Council Resolution
United Nations Security Council Resolution
A United Nations Security Council resolution is a UN resolution adopted by the fifteen members of the Security Council; the UN body charged with "primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security"....
134, adopted on April 1, 1960, was passed after a complaint by twenty-nine Member States regarding "the situation arising out of the large-scale killings of unarmed and peaceful demonstrators against racial discrimination and segregation in the Union of South Africa
Sharpeville massacre
The Sharpeville Massacre occurred on 21 March 1960, at the police station in the South African township of Sharpeville in the Transvaal . After a day of demonstrations, at which a crowd of black protesters far outnumbered the police, the South African police opened fire on the crowd, killing 69...
". The Council recognized that the situation was brought about by the policies of the government of the Union of South Africa
Union of South Africa
The Union of South Africa is the historic predecessor to the present-day Republic of South Africa. It came into being on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the previously separate colonies of the Cape, Natal, Transvaal and the Orange Free State...
and that if these policies continued they could endanger international peace and security.
The resolution voiced the Council's anger at the policies and actions of the Government, offered their sympathies to the families of the victims, called upon the Government to initiate measures aimed at bringing about racial harmony based on equality and called upon it to abandon apartheid. The Council then requested that the Secretary-General
United Nations Secretary-General
The Secretary-General of the United Nations is the head of the Secretariat of the United Nations, one of the principal organs of the United Nations. The Secretary-General also acts as the de facto spokesperson and leader of the United Nations....
Dag Hammarskjöld
Dag Hammarskjöld
Dag Hjalmar Agne Carl Hammarskjöld was a Swedish diplomat, economist, and author. An early Secretary-General of the United Nations, he served from April 1953 until his death in a plane crash in September 1961. He is the only person to have been awarded a posthumous Nobel Peace Prize. Hammarskjöld...
consult with the government of the Union of South Africa to make arrangements to help uphold the principles of the Charter and to report to the Council whenever necessary and appropriate.
The resolution was adopted with nine votes; France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
abstained.
See also
- List of United Nations Security Council Resolutions 101 to 200 (1953 – 1965)
- South Africa under apartheid