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UN arms embargo on Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe)

In December 1966, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 232, which decided that all states shall prevent the ‘sale or shipment of arms, ammunition of all types, military aircraft, military vehicles and equipments and materials for the manufacture and maintenance of arms and ammunition’ to Southern Rhodesia.

The arms embargo was imposed in response to the unilateral declaration of independence by the white Rhodesians in 1965. This was the first mandatory arms embargo agreed by the UN Security Council.

In December 1979, satisfied with the progress towards the establishment of a ‘free and independent Zimbabwe’, the arms embargo was terminated by UN Security Council Resolution 460.

Last updated on
Embargo type: Mandatory UN embargoes
Entry into force:
Lifted: 21 December 1979
Establishing document: UNSCR 232

Documents related to this arms embargo