United Nations Security Council Resolution 161
Encyclopedia
United Nations
Security Council Resolution
161, adopted on February 21, 1961, after noting the killings of Patrice Lumumba
, Maurice Mpolo and Joseph Okito and a report of the Secretary-General's
Special Representative the Council urged the UN to immediately take measures to prevent the occurrence of civil war in the Congo, even the use of force is necessary. The Council further urged the withdrawal of all Belgian and other foreign military, paramilitary
personnel and mercenaries not with the UN and called upon all states to take measures to deny transport and other facilities to such personnel moving into the Congo. The Council also decided that it would launch an investigation into the death of Mr. Lumumba and his colleagues promising punishment to the perpetrators.
The resolution was approved by nine votes to none; France
and the Soviet Union
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"....
161, adopted on February 21, 1961, after noting the killings of Patrice Lumumba
Patrice Lumumba
Patrice Émery Lumumba was a Congolese independence leader and the first legally elected Prime Minister of the Republic of the Congo after he helped win its independence from Belgium in June 1960. Only ten weeks later, Lumumba's government was deposed in a coup during the Congo Crisis...
, Maurice Mpolo and Joseph Okito and a report of the Secretary-General's
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....
Special Representative the Council urged the UN to immediately take measures to prevent the occurrence of civil war in the Congo, even the use of force is necessary. The Council further urged the withdrawal of all Belgian and other foreign military, paramilitary
Paramilitary
A paramilitary is a force whose function and organization are similar to those of a professional military, but which is not considered part of a state's formal armed forces....
personnel and mercenaries not with the UN and called upon all states to take measures to deny transport and other facilities to such personnel moving into the Congo. The Council also decided that it would launch an investigation into the death of Mr. Lumumba and his colleagues promising punishment to the perpetrators.
The resolution was approved by nine votes to none; 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 Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
abstained.
See also
- List of United Nations Security Council Resolutions 101 to 200 (1953 – 1965)
- Resolutions 143United Nations Security Council Resolution 143United Nations Security Council Resolution 143 was adopted on July 17, 1960. After a report by the Secretary-General, acting under Article 99 of the Charter and a request for military assistance by the President and Prime Minister of the Republic of the Congo to protect its territory, the Council...
, 145United Nations Security Council Resolution 145United Nations Security Council Resolution 145, adopted unanimously on July 22, 1960, after considering a report by the Secretary-General regarding the implementation of resolution 143, the Council called upon Belgium to withdrawal its troops from the Congo and authorized the Secretary-General to...
, 146United Nations Security Council Resolution 146United Nations Security Council Resolution 146, adopted on August 9, 1960, after a report by the Secretary-General regarding the implementation of resolutions 143 and 145 the Council confirmed his authority to carry out the responsibility placed on him thereby and called upon Belgium to withdraw...
, 157United Nations Security Council Resolution 157United Nations Security Council Resolution 157, adopted on September 14, 1960, after a discussion of the Congo Crisis lead to a lack of unanimity of its permanent members and thus prevented it from exercising its primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security, the...
, and 169United Nations Security Council Resolution 169United Nations Security Council Resolution 169, adopted on November 24, 1961, deprecated the secessionist activities in Katanga as well as armed action against United Nations forces and insisted that those activities cease... - The Congo CrisisCongo CrisisThe Congo Crisis was a period of turmoil in the First Republic of the Congo that began with national independence from Belgium and ended with the seizing of power by Joseph Mobutu...