United Nations Operation in the Congo

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Organisation des Nations Unies au Congo, abbreviated ONUC, (English: The United Nations Organization in the Congo) was a United Nations peacekeeping force in Congo that was established after United Nations Security Council Resolution 143 of July 14, 1960. From 1963 the name changed to Opération des Nations Unies au Congo, keeping the same abbreviation.

Congo became independent in 30 June 1960, but the Belgian commander refused to "Africanize" the officers' corps of the Force Publique (the army), and because of that disorder and mutinies broke out. While the President and the Prime Minister were trying to negotiate with the mutineers, the Belgian government decided to intervene in order to protect the Belgians that remained in the country at the request of Moïse Tshombé, who advocated independence for Katanga, one of the richest provinces in the country.

On July 10, Belgian troops were sent to Elisabethville, the capital of Katanga, to control the situation and protect Belgian civilians. With the help of the Belgians, Tshombé proclaimed the independence of the province. On 12 July, the President and the Prime Minister asked for help of the UN. The Secretary-General addressed the Security Council at a night meeting on 13 July and asked the Council to act "with utmost speed" on the request.

At the same meeting, the Security Council adopted resolution 143 (1960), by which it called upon the Government of Belgium to withdraw its troops from the territory of the Congo. The resolution authorized the United Nations Secretary-General to take the necessary steps, in consultation with the Congolese government, to provide that government with the necessary military assistance until it felt that, through its efforts with the technical assistance of the United Nations, the national security forces were able to meet their tasks fully. Following Security Council actions, the United Nations Force in the Congo (ONUC) was established. In order to carry out these tasks, the Secretary-General set up a United Nations Force, which at its peak strength numbered nearly 20,000.^[1] The Force stayed in the Congo between 1960 and 1964, and was a peacekeeping force, not a military force. The blue helmets could use their arms only in self-defense. However, they eventually became actively involved in suppressing the attempted secession of Katanga.

The first troops reached Congo on 15 July, many airlifted in by the United States Air Force. This caused an immediate calming impact. The troops began to occupy the area and the withdrawal of Belgian troops was completed by September. Dag Hammarskjöld was successful when he tried to negotiate a pacific interference of the ONUC in Katanga.

Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba, dissatisfied with Dag Hammarskjöld's refusal to use UN troops to subdue the insurrection in Katanga, decided to attempt an invasion of Katanga on his own and turned to the Soviet Union for help. The invasion attempt never reached Katanga but led to dissension within the Central Government, the collapse of the Central Government, and eventually to Patrice Lumumba's arrest in December. After the withdrawal of the Belgians, the troops remained until 1964, to help the government to maintain the peace and consolidate the independence of the country. In the end, Katanga remained a province.