| UN Security Council Resolution 406 | |
|---|---|
 Location of Botswana | |
| Date | 25 May 1977 |
| Meeting no. | 2,008 |
| Code | S/RES/406 (Document) |
| Subject | Botswana-Southern Rhodesia |
| Result | Adopted |
| Security Council composition | |
Permanent members | |
Non-permanent members | |
United Nations Security Council Resolution 406, adopted on May 25, 1977, after reaffirming resolutions 403 (1977), 232 (1966) and 258 (1965) and reading a report from the Mission in Botswana, the Council expressed its full support to the Government of Botswana against continued attacks and provocations by the "illegal racist regime" in Southern Rhodesia.
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization tasked with maintaining international peace and security, developing friendly relations among nations, achieving international co-operation, and being a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations. It was established after World War II, with the aim of preventing future wars, and succeeded the ineffective League of Nations. Its headquarters, which are subject to extraterritoriality, are in Manhattan, New York City, and it has other main offices in Geneva, Nairobi, Vienna and The Hague. The organization is financed by assessed and voluntary contributions from its member states. Its objectives include maintaining international peace and security, protecting human rights, delivering humanitarian aid, promoting sustainable development, and upholding international law. The UN is the largest, most familiar, most internationally represented and most powerful intergovernmental organization in the world. At its founding, the UN had 51 member states; there are now 193.
A United Nations Security Council resolution is a UN resolution adopted by the fifteen members of the Security Council; the UN body charged with "primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security".
United Nations Security Council Resolution 403, adopted on January 14, 1977, after hearing representations from the Minister of External Affairs of Botswana, condemned attacks by the "illegal minority regime" in Southern Rhodesia. The resolution recalled previous resolutions on the topic, including the right to self-determination of the people of Southern Rhodesia.
Contents
The Council fully endorsed the report presented by the Mission to Botswana and called for international assistance by all relevant agencies of the United Nations and other Member States in various projects in Botswana. Resolution 406 also asked for the Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim to continue to monitor the situation and report back any developments.
The secretary-general of the United Nations is the head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the six principal organs of the United Nations. The secretary-general serves as the chief administrative officer of the United Nations. The role of the United Nations Secretariat, and of the secretary-general in particular, is laid out by Chapter XV of the United Nations Charter.
Kurt Josef Waldheim was an Austrian diplomat and politician. Waldheim was the fourth Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1972 to 1981, and President of Austria from 1986 to 1992. While he was running for the latter office in the 1986 election, the revelation of his service in Thessaloniki, Greece and in Yugoslavia, as an intelligence officer in Nazi Germany's Wehrmacht during World War II raised international controversy.
The resolution was adopted without a vote.
