African securityUN releases follow-up to report on the mysterious death of former UN chief Hammarskjöld

Published 25 August 2016

UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon the other day released a follow-up note to the 2015 report of an Independent Panel of Experts that was established to examine and assess new information regarding the 1961 death of former UN secretary-general Dag Hammarskjöld. Hammarskjöld’s plane crashed in September 1961 near Ndola, in what was then the British colony of Northern Rhodesia, and is now Zambia. He was on his way t negotiate an end to the war between Congo, which was supported by the Soviet Union, and the breakaway, mining-rich region of Katanga, which was supported by Belgium (openly) and the United States (covertly).The UN is especially frustrated with the United Kingdom for not releasing more intelligence documents which would shed light on the question of whether Hammarskjöld’s plane was brought down by Western intelligence services who wanted Katanga to remain independent of Congo.

UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon the other day released a follow-up note to the 2015 report of an Independent Panel of Experts that was established to examine and assess new information regarding the 1961 death of former UN secretary-general Dag Hammarskjöld.

The panel was appointed by Ban at the request of the UN General Assembly, which also requested its member states to release any relevant records in their possession as well as to provide the UN chief any relevant information related to the death of the former Secretary-General and of the members of his party.

Hammarskjöld served as the top UN official from April 1953 until his death at the age of 56 in a plane crash in Northern Rhodesia, now Zambia, along with fifteen others in September 1961 (see “UN to investigate 1961 plane crash that killed UN secretary general Dag Hammarskjold,” HSNW, 18 March 2015; and “Who killed Dag Hammarskjold? Sweden calls for new inquiry into 1961 death of UN chief,” HSNW, 22 December 2014).

According to a statement issued by Ban’s spokesperson, the follow-up note includes responses from Belgium, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States to the requests made by Ban, following up on the pending questions of the panel to the countries and as mandated by the 193-member General Assembly.

“I would again urge all Member States to continue their search for relevant documents and information, and to review for potential disclosure information which remains classified or undisclosed for other reasons,” said Ban in the follow-up note.

“I have declassified those archives of the UN for which I am responsible under the relevant rules and regulations, some of which were, at the time of the report of the Panel, still classified at a confidential or strictly confidential level,” he added.

The UN notes that the General Assembly also requested that the secretary-general explore the feasibility of establishing a central archival holding or other arrangement that would enable access to relevant records with a view to ensuring their preservation and access.

According to the statement issued the other day, the UN chief reached out to individuals and institutions that may hold relevant information to request that they provide an inventory of such information. It noted that responses continue to be received.