Credit: britannica.com /   Dag Hammarskjöld , Swedish Statesman and Secretary-General of the UNITED NATIONS

By Gary Raynaldo   /   DIPLOMATIC  TIMES

UNITED NATIONS –  NEW YORK –  The 1961 death of United Nations Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld in a plane crash in the African Congo remains a mystery.  It is a Cold Case extraordinaire.  What is know is that shortly after midnight on September 18, 1961, a chartered DC-6 airplane carrying Hammarskjold on a peacekeeping mission to the newly independent African nation of the Congo crashed in a forest near Ndola, in the British protectorate of Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia). Hammarskjold and 14 other people aboard, including U.N. staffers and the plane’s crew, were killed; a single survivor died of his injuries six days later. 

U.N. Continues to Pursue to the Facts of the Plane crash.  On Friday December 27, the  General Assembly passed a Resolution to extend the  probe into mysterious death of Hammarskjold.

“Recognizing that a further inquiry or investigation would be necessary to finally establish the facts of the matter; Noting, in particular, the conclusion drawn by the Eminent Person that it appears plausible that an external attack or threat may have been the cause of the crash, whether by way of a direct attack causing flight SE-BDY to crash or by causing a momentary distraction of the pilots.”

-U.N. General Assembly Resolution Dec. 27, 2019  on:

Investigation into the conditions and circumstances resulting in the tragic death of Dag Hammarskjöld and of the members of the party accompanying him.

SWEDEN  Sponsored The Resolution 

The resolution on the #DagHammarskjöld investigation, initiated by🇸🇪, was just adopted by consensus & the record high number of 128 cosponsors. We 🙏 all cosponsors for their support & look forward to the continuation of the investigation!
Read resolution👉https://t.co/lGtCfct0AJ pic.twitter.com/U4sb6bi2KH

— SwedenUN 🇸🇪 (@SwedenUN) December 27, 2019

SWEDEN initiated the Draft Resolution  A/74/L.20  to the UN General Assembly asking for continued support from UN members for the Eminent Person appointed by the UN to investigate the death of Hammarskjöld.   The Swedish Delegate pointed out  that the Secretary‑General’s “Eminent Person”, [the former Chief Justice of Tanzania, Chande Othman in his latest report, had concluded that “it remains plausible that an external attack or threat was a cause of the Hammarskjöld crash. ”  

The SWEDEN  Resolution was co-sponsored by more than 100 countries, and was adopted by consensus without a vote.  The Resolution also calls for re-appointment of the Secretary-General’s Eminent Person  Chande  Othman, to continue to review the information received and possible new information made available by Member States, including by individuals and private entities, to assess its probative value and to draw conclusions from the investigations already conducted. Two investigations concluded the crash was caused by pilot error.  However, new investigations launched in  2014, suggest a theory of  a possible plot that has been  advanced by Othman’s  latest report.  Background of Othman 2017 Report  

In his last report, published in October,  the Eminent Person Othman accused the United States and Britain of withholding information regarding Hammarskjold’s death.  The Othman report also cited the presence of foreign forces, including pilots and intelligence agents, on the ground at the time of the crash.

U.N Clashes With Foreign Powers in Congo

Credit: Historycom. /Getty Images /   Dag Hammarskjold pictured on September 13 1961, just five days before his death, in Leopoldville as part of a peace mission in the region.  AFP/Getty Images

In mid-1960, Hammarskjold’s attention turned toward central Africa, where the Belgian Congo had recently become the independent Republic of the Congo (now Democratic Republic of the Congo). Shortly after independence was declared, the mineral-rich southern province of Katanga seceded, sparking a violent conflict that would pit U.N. peacekeeping troops supporting the republic’s new central government against Katanga’s separatist forces. The separatists, in turn, were backed by Belgian mining companies seeking control of Katanga’s resources (including uranium).