✅ What it could do
Take over from Belgian troops, protect civilians, and help keep the country running with experts and aid.
Setting Up the United Nations Organisation and Its Work to 1964 » The UN in the Congo, 1960-64
What you'll learn this session
Study time: 30 minutes
Edexcel spec: Paper 2 Section B, Breadth study B5, Key topic 3
- Why the Congo asked the UN for help in 1960
- What the UN force was told to do, and what it could not do
- How Katanga's breakaway ended, and what Hammarskjold's death meant
- How successful the UN was in its first twenty years
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Unlock This CourseCrisis at independence, 1960
The Congo became independent from Belgium on 30 June 1960. Patrice Lumumba was prime minister and Joseph Kasavubu was president. The country was huge, had very few trained Congolese officials, and Belgium still controlled much of its mining wealth. Within days, soldiers in the Congolese army mutinied. Belgium sent troops to protect its citizens, and on 11 July the rich mining province of Katanga, led by Moise Tshombe, announced that it had broken away from the Congo.
The Congolese government asked the UN for help against the Belgian troops. The Cold War made the crisis dangerous: when the Belgians were slow to leave, Lumumba turned to the USSR for help, which alarmed the USA.
Key terms:
- Katanga: the Congolese province rich in copper and other minerals that declared itself independent in July 1960.
- Secession (breakaway): when part of a country declares that it is no longer part of it.
- Mercenary: a soldier who fights for pay, not for his own country.
The UN force
On 14 July 1960 the Security Council voted to send help and told Belgium to withdraw. The secretary-general, Dag Hammarskjold, organised the force quickly, using troops from many countries, mostly African and Asian, and not from the Great Powers. It grew to about 20,000 men at its peak. Its job was to keep order and protect people, and to help the Congo until its own army could do this.
❌ What it was told not to do
Take sides in the Congo's own quarrels. It could fire only in self-defence, so at first it did not force Katanga to rejoin.
This rule soon became a problem, because staying neutral meant the UN would not use force to protect Lumumba's government against its rivals. Kasavubu dismissed Lumumba in September 1960 and army leader Mobutu took power. Lumumba was arrested, and he was killed in Katanga in January 1961. The USSR blamed the UN for failing to protect him and attacked Hammarskjold, while the USA and Belgium feared Soviet influence in a country so rich in minerals.
Katanga and the death of Hammarskjold
In February 1961 the Security Council allowed the force to use arms as a last resort to prevent civil war. Katanga still held out, backed by Belgian officers and mercenaries. In September 1961 the UN tried to arrest the foreign officers there, but its troops were beaten back.
On 17 September 1961 Hammarskjold flew to Ndola, in Northern Rhodesia, to meet Tshombe and arrange a ceasefire. His plane crashed and he was killed. The cause has never been settled. An early Rhodesian inquiry blamed pilot error, but later UN reviews could not rule out an attack. U Thant became the new secretary-general.
The UN force took stronger action in December 1962 and January 1963. Tshombe gave in, and Katanga rejoined the Congo. The last UN troops left in June 1964.
What did the Congo cost?
The UN kept the Congo united, which was what it had aimed for. But many peacekeepers died, and the operation cost far more than members were willing to pay. The USSR and France refused to help pay for it, which left the UN in debt. Peace was not lasting either: the Congo stayed unstable, and Mobutu later ruled for over thirty years.
The UN's first twenty years
🏆 Successes
It sent a force to Korea, helped by the USSR's boycott of the Council, so there was no veto. Its mediator Ralph Bunche won armistices in Palestine in 1949. It held the Congo together. Its agencies carried on the work of the League's.
⚠️ Weaknesses
Action needed the Great Powers to agree, the USA and USSR often pulled in opposite ways, and money and troops depended on members.
Changed: unlike the League, the UN used armed forces and had a powerful secretary-general. Stayed the same: it still relied on its members' support.
Common mistakes
- Saying the UN was sent to fight Lumumba. It was sent at the Congo's own request.
- Saying the UN won in Korea but lost in the Congo. Both were partial successes, with limits.
- Writing about the Congo without a judgement on how far the UN succeeded.
Exam-style question
How far was the UN a success in keeping international peace in the years 1947-64? [16 marks]
You may use the following in your answer:
- the Korean War (1950-53)
- the Congo (1960-64)
You must also use information of your own.
Model answer
The UN had real successes in keeping peace, but they were limited, so it was only partly a success.
In Korea, the UN did what the League never did. After North Korea invaded in June 1950, the Security Council acted the same day, and sixteen countries sent troops under a US commander. South Korea was not conquered, so by the test of stopping fighting this was a clear success. Yet it worked only because the USSR was boycotting the Council, so it could not use its veto, and the USA dominated the command. The war ended in 1953 with an armistice and Korea stayed divided, so the quarrel was not settled.
In the Congo, the UN sent a force of up to 20,000 in 1960 at the government's request and pressed the Belgian troops to leave. By January 1963 it had ended Katanga's breakaway, which was backed by Belgian officers and mercenaries, so the Congo stayed one country. This became possible only after the Council allowed arms as a last resort in February 1961. But the UN began with orders not to take sides, could not save Lumumba, and lost its secretary-general, Hammarskjold, in 1961. It cost so much that the USSR and France refused to pay their share, which weakened the UN's finances for years.
Elsewhere, the UN had other results. In Palestine in 1949 the mediator Ralph Bunche arranged armistices that stopped the fighting, though the underlying quarrel remained. Meanwhile the UN's agencies, such as WHO and UNICEF, worked successfully on health and children, though they were not about stopping wars.
Overall, the UN was a success in a limited way. It did stop some wars and prevent others spreading, which the League could not. But it depended on the Great Powers agreeing and on members paying, and it never solved the causes of the conflicts. Judged by whether it stopped fighting, the UN did well in Korea, Palestine and the Congo. Judged by whether it settled the quarrels, it did not, since Korea stayed divided, Palestine's quarrel went on and the Congo stayed unstable. It was a success at containing conflicts, but not at settling them.
What lifts it to the top level: it covers several cases beyond the bullets, weighs success against limits, and reaches a judgement based on a clear criterion.
Exam tip
For "how far", pick a criterion before you write, such as "stopping fighting" against "settling the quarrel", and use it to reach your final judgement.