Urging Respect for Congolese Sovereignty

Abstract

A more or less consistent thread running through British policy towards the United Nations’ role in the Congo was that the sovereign independence of the host state should be respected. This was a rather grand way — and so might have greater acceptability — of saying that the UN Force should keep itself detached from the internal politics of the Congo. Such detachment, in Britain’s view, was a key ingredient in the maintenance of law and order. For, to put the matter in blunter terms than is usual in diplomacy, Britain feared that a close involvement could be to the detriment of her interests.

‘although we avowedly support the United Nations effort, we really do not want it to succeed too well.’ (Britain’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations)¹