By: Noah Fishman

This morning, the United Nations Historical Security Council of 1961 was informed of Patrice Lumumba’s escape alongside two other prisoners. The three escapees are being pursued by Katangan authorities and are thought to be headed toward Manono.

In response, a consultative session was called and the United States explained their opinion: that as of right now the Council should take a wait and see approach, letting Lumumba’s escape and journey play out.

China moved to discuss the Presidential Letter in a suspension of the meeting for 20 minutes, which passed unanimously. During this suspension, Representatives on the Security Council continued crafting their letter to the Representatives who spoke from Belgium and the various regions of the Republic of the Congo, including Katanga.

“All of them are in agreement that they are willing to come to the table,” said Representative Claire Guenther of China. “There are some different pre-conditions between them but none of them were strict enough that we think there can’t be a potential negotiation at this time. There were some concerns about the location, but we figured that nothing is super ideal at this time, it is neutral territory, it is close enough that it could be reached without plane travel.”

Representatives of Liberia are excited to begin peace talks, and are also excited to resubmit draft resolution HSC1: A Resolution to Provide Humanitarian Aid to the Congolese People, looking forward to continuing the removal of European powers from sovereign African countries. Representative Rashida Lan of Liberia stated “Our main priority is for the sovereignty of African states without European influence. If we have a ceasefire and enforcement to get Belgium out then we are happy.” 

The Ecuadorian and Liberian Delegations stood in agreement, also reading over draft resolution HSC1 shared their thoughts. “Our big goal today is to get the draft res[olution] through and to get negotiations started and get that ceasefire in place,” said Representative Samuel Schweier of Ecuador.

Looking ahead, Representative Schweier mentioned an upcoming goal of many of the smaller nations represented. “A goal for Ecuador and many of the smaller nations at the table is to get started on an agreement for a non-aligned movement,” said Representative Schweier. “That will be crucial in the implementation of the resolution and in facilitating those peace negotiations.”