Canada, the Congo crisis, and United Nations peacekeeping, 1960--1964

The Belgian Congo, now the Democratic Republic of Congo, gained independence in June 1960. Within days, the new country's armed forces mutinied. During the ensuing civil disorder, Belgium invaded to secure the safety of nationals who had decided to remain. Many in the international community condemned Belgium, and the Congolese leadership formally requested assistance from the United Nations. In response, the UN established the Operation des Nations Unies au Congo [ONUC or UNOC], initially to restore order and to supervise the withdrawal of all foreign nationals from Congolese territory.;This dissertation, the first thorough examination of Canada's foreign policy during the Congo crisis and its participation in ONUC, uses primary sources to recount and assess significant issues and events. A number of themes are addressed: the politics of decolonisation in the Canadian and international responses to the collapse of 'order' within the Congo, and Canadian efforts to bridge political differences between developed and developing nations; the impact of the Cold War on Canadian and UN involvement in the Congo; the increasingly interventionist nature of ONUC's mandate and official views on the use of force; the inter- and intra-departmental dynamics of Canada's peacekeeping policy development; and the motivations and objectives behind Canadian participation in ONUC.;Canada's Congo policy, under the Conservative government of John Diefenbaker and then Lester Pearson's Liberal government, attempted to balance a number of, sometimes competing, considerations. As a NATO ally, Canada's allegiance to the West was clear; yet officials attempted to maintain an overall impression of objectivity. Canadian policy attempted to avoid any positions that could alienate the growing number of Afro-Asian members of the UN. The views of many of the non-aligned states differed from that of Canada on one significant issue: ONUC's use of force. Ottawa consistently opposed any attempt by the UN to use ONUC to force a political settlement in the Congo. This opposition was voiced quietly to the Secretary-General and senior members of the Secretariat. Canadian policy with respect to ONUC and the Congo crisis was driven by a number of pragmatic factors, the paramount of which was support of the United Nations and its peacekeeping role.