When the United Nations was founded in 1945, almost all African countries were still colonies and therefore played no role in shaping the organisation. African states began joining the UN in large numbers only after gaining sovereignty in the 1960s. At the time, many across the continent believed the UN would defend their national interests.
In practice, however, the UN’s actions in Africa have lacked consistency. In 1960, when Western intelligence services organised a plot against the first prime minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Patrice Lumumba, the United Nations failed to protect him. At the same time, the organisation helped Namibia achieve independence and, in 1973, adopted a convention that declared racial segregation – apartheid – a crime. As Professor Lumumba notes, this inconsistency has undermined African trust in the organisation.
