Congo Operation
In 1908, Belgium established the Belgian Congo colony in central Africa. Belgium relinquished their control over Congo, acknowledging their independence in June 1960. In September 1960, Congo – later called, Zaire – became a member of the United Nations. All seemed to be going well, but there was dissent in the military leading to public disorder and violent demonstrations. Because there were still many Belgians living in Congo, the Belgian military returned to protect them and to restore order. This was not appreciated as the Congo sought to maintain their independence from Belgium. As an alternative, the government of Congo asked the Belgian military to leave and for the United Nations to provide peacekeeping troops until order could be solidified.
Chapter VII of U.N. Charter allows for the U.N. Security Council to deploy troops to keep peace in member states. They approved in July 1960. From that, the U.N. started the U.N. Operations in Congo – commemorated by the firs two stamps on the second row of this album page. It was the first time the U.N. deployed peacekeeping troops. More than twenty thousand troops from over twenty countries were sent to Congo. They remained in the country for four years before they were no longer needed.
Note
These stamps are well designed, contain good colors. More importantly, they represent important and interesting activities by the United Nations. The Congo Operation is fascinating and exciting. It was the start of a new world, one in which may lead to one day a U.N. that orders the world and an end of wars.
Contains 10 spots: own 10 – 10 unused, 0 used.
Page is finished.
Album or Web Page Last changed Jun 10, 2025
Stamp Details
The table below lists information about the stamps shown on this page of Lighthouse’s stamp album. For more details about a particular stamp, click on its description. That will take you to the related web page of Colnect.
spot |
own |
catalog |
subject |
description |
comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
✓ |
108 |
5c (sep 1962) |
|||
✓ |
109 |
15c (sep 1962) |
|||
✓ |
110 |
4c (oct 1962) |
|||
✓ |
111 |
11c (oct 1962) |
|||
✓ |
116 |
5c (mar 1963) |
|||
✓ |
117 |
11c (mar 1963) |
|||
✓ |
112 |
4c (dec 1962) |
|||
✓ |
113 |
11c (dec 1962) |
|||
✓ |
114 |
5c (feb 1963) |
|||
✓ |
115 |
11c (feb 1963) |
Footnotes
Spot refers to the postion of the stamp on the album page (e.g., 3.2 indicates row 3, position 2).
Amt. is an abbreviation for the face amount of the stamp.
Own indicates the stamp status: ✓ for unused; ✗ for used or canceled; ⭑ signifies I ordered one; ; ✨ indicates it was bought recently; ✠ means an auction bid is pending; and ◎ is used, and it costs too much for unused.
To search by catalog number, go to the search box and enter it in the catalog number box. However, it’s a bit broken; I need to fix it.
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