| UN Security Council Resolution 439 | |
|---|---|
Namibia | |
| Date | 13 November 1978 |
| Meeting no. | 2,098 |
| Code | S/RES/439 (Document) |
| Subject | Namibia |
Voting summary | 10 voted for None voted against 5 abstained |
| Result | Adopted |
| Security Council composition | |
Permanent members | |
Non-permanent members | |
United Nations Security Council Resolution 439, adopted on November 13, 1978, after recalling resolutions 385 (1976), 431 (1978), 432 (1978) and 435 (1978), the Council condemned South Africa for its decision to proceed unilaterally with elections in Namibia in contravention of previous resolutions. The Council considered this a clear defiance of the authority of the United Nations.
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization that was tasked to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international co-operation and be a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations. The headquarters of the UN is in Manhattan, New York City, and is subject to extraterritoriality. Further main offices are situated in Geneva, Nairobi, and Vienna. 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. In 24 October 1945, at the end of World War II, the organization was established with the aim of preventing future wars. At its founding, the UN had 51 member states; there are now 193. The UN is the successor of the ineffective League of Nations.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 385, adopted unanimously on January 30, 1976, recalled previous resolutions on the topic as well as an advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice that South Africa was under obligation to withdraw its presence from the Territory of Namibia. The Resolution reaffirmed the United Nations' legal responsibility over Namibia, expressed its concern over the continued illegal actions of South Africa and deplored the militarization of Namibia.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 431, adopted on July 27, 1978, after recalling resolution 385 (1976), the Council took note of a proposal of a solution to the situation in Namibia and asked the Secretary-General to appoint a Special Representative for Namibia to ensure the independence of Namibia from South Africa as soon as possible. It also called on all concerned to exert their best efforts to resolve the issue, so that free and fair elections could be held.
Resolution 439 continued by stating that the results of elections held in South West Africa will be declared null and void and will not be recognised by the United Nations or any of its Member States. The Council demanded that South Africa cooperate with it and if not, will consider further action under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter so as to ensure South Africa's compliance with the Security Council. The resolution also required the Secretary-General to report on the progress of the implementation of the resolution by November 25, 1978.
South West Africa was the name for modern-day Namibia when it was under South African administration, from 1915 to 1990.
Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter sets out the UN Security Council's powers to maintain peace. It allows the Council to "determine the existence of any threat to the peace, breach of the peace, or act of aggression" and to take military and nonmilitary action to "restore international peace and security".
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.
The resolution passed with 10 votes to none, while Canada, France, West Germany, the United Kingdom and United States abstained from voting.
Canada is a country in the northern part of North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic to the Pacific and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering 9.98 million square kilometres, making it the world's second-largest country by total area. Canada's southern border with the United States is the world's longest bi-national land border. Its capital is Ottawa, and its three largest metropolitan areas are Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver. As a whole, Canada is sparsely populated, the majority of its land area being dominated by forest and tundra. Consequently, its population is highly urbanized, with over 80 percent of its inhabitants concentrated in large and medium-sized cities, many near the southern border. Canada's climate varies widely across its vast area, ranging from arctic weather in the north, to hot summers in the southern regions, with four distinct seasons.
France, officially the French Republic, is a country whose territory consists of metropolitan France in Western Europe and several overseas regions and territories. The metropolitan area of France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean. It is bordered by Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany to the northeast, Switzerland and Italy to the east, and Andorra and Spain to the south. The overseas territories include French Guiana in South America and several islands in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. The country's 18 integral regions span a combined area of 643,801 square kilometres (248,573 sq mi) and a total population of 67.3 million. France, a sovereign state, is a unitary semi-presidential republic with its capital in Paris, the country's largest city and main cultural and commercial centre. Other major urban areas include Lyon, Marseille, Toulouse, Bordeaux, Lille and Nice.
West Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, and referred to by historians as the Bonn Republic, was a country in Central Europe that existed from 1949 to 1990, when the western portion of Germany was part of the Western bloc during the Cold War. It was created during the Allied occupation of Germany in 1949 after World War II, established from eleven states formed in the three Allied zones of occupation held by the United States, the United Kingdom and France. Its capital was the city of Bonn.
