United Nations/ International Courts
October 16, 2013 Law 12 (2-4)

Since its inception, the United Nations, an organization that was created to promote peace, security, and universal cooperation, has played a large role in international affairs that have resulted in both success and failure. One of the United Nation’s affairs involved the country of Congo dubbed the “Congo Crisis.” During 1960-1966, the Congo Crisis was a potential civil war that had erupted when Congo began to strive for national independence from Belgium. On July 14, 1960, in an attempt to bring peace, the U.N. Security Council ratified Resolution 143. Under this resolution, Belgium was required to remove its troops. The U.N. would then team with the Congolese. Prime Minister Lumumba ordered Belgium troops gone immediately at the consequence that help from the Soviet Union would be sought. It was then that the United Nations Operation in Congo was established. When United Nations troops were sent in, there was immediate disagreement over what the forces could and could not do. P.M. Lumumba wanted the army to overpower the enemy, Katanga, by force. But under U.N. law, intervention was not possible. Eventually, on the 9th of October, Resolution 146 gave the U.N. permission to enter Katanga, although they were not able to ‘intervene in or influence the outcome of any internal conflict’ (Security Council Resolutions 1960). When Lumumba was murder, it was then that the Security Council decided it was appropriate for the U.N. to ‘prevent the occurrence of civil war...including...the use of force, if necessary’ (Security Council Resolutions 1961). Instead, the U.N. opted to politically negotiate. The secession of Katanga was ended when the U.N. implemented “Operation Grand Slam” on Katanga’s military and political support. The Congo Crisis ended with the deaths of about 100,000 people. The United Nations is very well known for their actions in Rwanda in 1994. This African country was separated by the Belgians into two groups, the Tutsi and Hutu. Belgium empowered the Tutsi, but when they had left, Belgians decided they would turn their favoritism and bring power to the once second class Hutu. This generated many tensions in the country which eventually lead to the Rwandan Genocide and Civil War. Hutu rebels murdered 500,000-1,000,000 Tutsi and Hutu people. While countries around the world watched the horrors of this genocide, very few actually attempted to help stop it. The United Nations sent troops to Rwanda, although, like many of their missions, they were not allowed to fire or use force. The U.N.’s presence in the war proved helpful, but not powerful enough to end an unforgotten genocide. In the Somalia Civil War in 1991, when the central government dissolved, United Nations efforts were deemed as successful. There, Resolution 794 was passed. United Nations peacekeepers were ordered to use “all necessary means” to bring humanitarian