Francois Preziosi (1921/1922 to 1964) was a

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, local integrati ...

official who was killed in the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

by rebel forces in the midst of the

Congo Crisis The Congo Crisis (french: Crise congolaise, link=no) was a period of political upheaval and conflict between 1960 and 1965 in the Republic of the Congo (today the Democratic Republic of the Congo). The crisis began almost immediately after ...

. He was posthumously awarded the

Nansen Refugee Award The Nansen Refugee Award is awarded annually by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to an individual, group, or organization in recognition of outstanding service to the cause of refugees, displaced, or stateless people. Th ...

in 1964.

Career

From 1951 to 1956 Preziosi was the Social Affairs Adviser with the United Nations Korean Reconstruction Agency. In 1964, he was stationed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, working for the

on development projects to support

Tutsi The Tutsi (), or Abatutsi (), are an ethnic group of the African Great Lakes region. They are a Bantu-speaking ethnic group and the second largest of three main ethnic groups in Rwanda and Burundi (the other two being the largest Bantu ethnic gr ...

refugees.

Death

On August 17, 1964, Preziosi travelled to Kalehe to visit Tutsi refugees who had fled Rwanda to Congo, a 33 year old

International Labour Organization The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is the first and o ...

colleague

Jean Plicque Jean Plicque (1931/1932 - 1964) was a French community development specialist who was murdered in the Democratic Republic of Congo by rebel forces in the midst of the Congo Crisis. At the time, Plicque was working for the International Labour O ...

volunteered to join the trip just before departure. Preziosi was on a mission to discourage Tutsi refugees from collaborating with Congolese rebels, in the hope of improving their treatment from local authorities.Congressional Record: Proceedings and Debates of the ... Congress. (1965). United States: U.S. Government Printing Office. p9330 Both men were being driven by George Yogolero, a Congolese driver. They had been discouraged from travelling by the Mwami of nearby Kalonge, who warned the men against the trip and of collaboration between Congolese rebels and the Tutsi refugees. The Mwami's perceptions of collaboration were a factor in the poor treatment of the refugees by the Mwami and the local community. Upon arrival in Kalehe, the car was met by a detachment of Congolese rebels with their commander and a senior officer. Driver Yogolero waved a white handkerchief, and the leader of the detachment ordered Plicque, Preziosi, Yogolero, and the Mwami's representative out of the car. Both Frenchmen were promptly murdered. Yogolero was stabbed in the arm, but escaped along with the Mwami's representative. Initial press reports relied exclusively on the verbal testimony of George Yogolero who stated that both rebels and refugees attacked the men, however subsequent investigations by Warren A. Pinegar of

UNHCR The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, local integrati ...

concluded that the rebels perpetrated the violence, as most refugees unsuccessfully plead for the lives of Plicque and Preziosi to be spared. Unbeknown to Plicque and Preziosi at the time, they arrived just as the rebels were finishing trying to unsuccessfully persuade the Tutsi refugees to collaborate with them. Preziosi was 43 at the time of his death.FROM OUR CORRESPONDENT. "Congo Killing Of U.N. Officials." ''Times'', 19 Aug. 1964, p. 10. ''The Times Digital Archive'', link-gale-com.wikipedialibrary.idm.oclc.org/apps/doc/CS170616595/TTDA?u=wikipedia&sid=bookmark-TTDA&xid=ac36626e. Accessed 4 Aug. 2022.

Family life

Preziosi was married. His wife had been evacuated from the Democratic Republic of the Congo to

Bujumbura Bujumbura (; ), formerly Usumbura, is the economic capital, largest city and main port of Burundi. It ships most of the country's chief export, coffee, as well as cotton and tin ore. Bujumbura was formerly the country's normal capital. In la ...

Burundi Burundi (, ), officially the Republic of Burundi ( rn, Repuburika y’Uburundi ; Swahili: ''Jamuhuri ya Burundi''; French: ''République du Burundi'' ), is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley at the junction between the African Gr ...

just before his death.

Aftermath

United Nations Secretary-General The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or SG) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the six principal organs of the United Nations. The role of the secretary- ...

U Thant Thant (; ; January 22, 1909 – November 25, 1974), known honorifically as U Thant (), was a Burmese diplomat and the third secretary-general of the United Nations from 1961 to 1971, the first non-Scandinavian to hold the position. He held th ...

expressed outrage about the murders. The

Congolese Army Congolese or Kongolese may refer to: African peoples * Congolese people (disambiguation) * Kongo people, a Bantu ethnic group who live along the Atlantic coast of Africa from Pointe-Noire (Republic of Congo) to Luanda, Angola, primarily defined by ...

recovered the men's bodies which were found with wedding rings on their fingers. The presence of valuable wedding rings led the UNHCR officials to believe that they were immediately buried by the Tutsi rebels. A funeral was held for both men on 31 August 1964 in Bukavu cathedral. Preziosi was posthumously awarded the

(for Outstanding service to the cause of refugees) in 1964.

References

External links