REPORT on the WORK of the ELEVENTH SESSION ( G En Eva , a P R I L J T H to 9 Th , 1932.)
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[Distributed to the Council and Official No. ; C. 390. M. 220. 1032. IV. the Members of the League.] [C.T.F.E. 547 (i)-l Geneva, April 30, 1932. LEAGUE OF NATIONS TRAFFIC IN WOMEN AND CHILDREN COMMITTEE REPORT ON THE WORK OF THE ELEVENTH SESSION ( G en eva , A p r i l j t h to 9 th , 1932.) The eleventh session of the Traffic in Women and Children Committee was held at Geneva under the Chairmanship of Mme. H. Gr. Romniciano, delegate of Roumania. Dr. Paulina L u isi, delegate of Uruguay, was Vice-Chairman. The following were present : Government Delegates : Mme. H. Gr. R om niciano (Chairman) Roumania. Dr. P. L uisi (Vice-Chairman) Uruguay. Dr. G. BAum er Germany. Mme. E. Zil l k e n , expert. His Excellency Count H. Carton d e W iart Belgium. M. I. M a u s , expert. Dr. E. H ein Denmark. Mme. M. L. de M artinez S ier ra Spain. M. E. Ma r tin e z-A m a d o r , substitute delegate. Mr. A. Ma x w e l l Great Britain. Miss I. W a l l , assistant delegate. His Excellency M. E. R eg n a u l t France. His Excellency M. S. S a w a d a Japan. M. S. Matsum o to , substitute delegate. His E xcellency M. Chodzko Poland. Assessors : Mme. S. d e Mo nten a c h International Catholic Girls’ Protection Society. Mme. G. A vril d e Sa in t e -C roix Women’s International Organisations. Mme. L. Cu r c h o d -S ec retan International Federation of Girls’ Friendly Societies (Amies de la jeune fille). Mr. F. Se m pk ins International Bureau for the Suppression of Traffic in Women and Children. Mr. S. Cohen Jewish Association for the Protection of Girls and W omen. Mlle. M. L a vielle International Union of Catholic Women's Leagues. Dame Rachel Crovvdy (Nominated in a personal capacity.) Series of League of Nations Publications ‘•°75 (F.) 1.005 (A.) 4/3.2. Imp. Réunies, Chambéry. IV. SOCIAL 1932. IV. 3. Liaison Officer : Mlle. M. M u n d t International Labour Office. Secretariat : M. E. E. Ekstrand Director of the Opium Traffic and Social Questions Sections. * * * At the opening of the session, the Chairman paid a tribute to the memory of the late M. Aristide Briand and M. François Sokal. The Committee learned with regret that Professor Ugo Conti (Italy) and M. Bourgois (France) were unable to attend the session owing to illness. Regrets were also expressed at the absence of Miss Grace Abbott (United States of America). The Chairman welcomed Mme. Maria L. Martinez Sierra, the newly appointed delegate of Spain, replacing the Marquis de Guad-el-Jelu and recalled the contributions of the former Spanish delegate, whose valuable services on the Committee were highly appreciated. With regard to the Minutes of the session, the Committee learned with regret that they would not be printed ; this was due to the financial restrictions imposed on the Secretariat by the last Assembly. The corrections to the roneoed Minutes will only be circulated to the Committee in the form of an addendum sheet. The Committee felt that this procedure was highly unsatisfactory and accepted it only as a temporary measure ; it hoped that it would be possible to adopt a better course next year. I. P rogress R eport b y the S ec retariat. In examining the Secretariat’s report, the Committee noted that, since the last session, the Governments of Lithuania and Monaco had ratified the 1921 Convention, and that the latter country had also acceded to the 1904 Agreement and the 1910 Convention. It recorded with satisfaction the ratification of all three instruments by the following British colonies, protectorates and mandated territories : Gambia Palestine (including Sarawak Uganda Transjordan) Gilbert and Ellice Islands Tanganyika Zanzibar Solomon Islands The Committee has also been informed that the Government of Egypt has decided to accede to the 1921 Convention, and th a t the instrum ent of accession has already been forwarded to the Egyptian Consul at Geneva.1 The Government of Panama has intimated that it will submit the 1921 Convention to the National Assembly of September 1932 for ratification, and the Governments of Peru and Turkey are now considering the possibility of acceding to that Convention. The Committee’s attention was drawn to the fact that, despite repeated representations, the following States Members of the League have not yet acceded to the 1921 Convention : Abyssinia Haiti Nicaragua Argentine Republic Honduras Paraguay Bolivia Irish Free State Salvador Dominican Republic Liberia Venezuela Guatemala Mexico II. Sum m ary o f Annual Reports or Governments for 1930. In examining the annual reports, the Committee noted that a large number of States did not yet report regularly to the Secretariat. It asked the Secretariat to make special efforts to obtain more information from the Governments by reiterated requests for answers to the Committee’s questionnaire. The Secretariat may, if necessary, add explanations to the questionnaire. These annual reports were of the highest importance to the work of the Committee, and the Committee would be obliged if all Governments could give as many details as possible about the cases occurring during the year. In order to discover any lo pholes in the existing laws, the Committee would also be glad to learn why the prosecution of trafficker.' sometimes failed. The Secretariat was requested to study the possibility of presenting the contents of the annual reports in a different manner, in order to make a comparative study possible and to render the summary clearer. The Committee again emphasised the necessity that Governments should make a very clear distinction in their reports between n a tio n a l and international cases of the traffic. The reports for 1930 mention over a thousand cases ; this proves that the su b je c t with which the Committee is dealing continues to deserve the closest attention of the League and of the Governments. 1 Egypt has deposited with the Secretariat, on April 13th, 1932, the instrument of accession to the In te rn a tional Convention of 1921 for the Suppression of Traffic in Women and Children. With regard to employment agencies, it is pointed out that the International Labour Conference of 1932 has on its agenda the question of the abolition of employment agencies charging a fee. The delegate of Spain informed the Committee that her country is at present considering the introduction of a State monopoly for employment agencies. In connection with the migration of young women between Germany and the Netherlands, the Committee learned with interest of th e control exercised by the Governments concerned in co-operation with voluntary organisations at the frontier. Centres for the protection of young girls have been established in the Netherlands, in which any girl to be deported can be received at the request of the Netherlands authorities. It was pointed out that, in consequence of these measures, the numbers of German women deported from the Netherlands had decreased considerably betw een 1924 and 1929. During the discussions on the question of migration, attention was drawn to the fact that the emigration of women and children had greatly decreased, but that a new problem had arisen —the repatriation of necessitous women and girls—probably due to the present world economic crisis. Mme. Avril de Sainte-Croix reported that centres had been opened by the French National Council of Women in France for the protection of migrants, and probably a great number of women and children immigrating into France now came within the Council’s purview. Mr. Cohen reported that the return of necessitous women and children to their country of origin was on the agenda of the Permanent Conference for the Protection of Migrants, and that he hoped after the Conference to be able to place useful information before the Committee. The Committee recommends that the Governments should work in close co-operation with voluntary organisations in order to give the fullest protection to necessitous women and children when repatriated. In the field of legislation, a number of important changes have occurred during 1930, particularly in one or two British colonies. Spain has also reorganised her central authority and is studying the possibility of total abolition of regulation in matters of prostitution. The Committee heard with particular satisfaction a statement by M. Maus that, on February 25th, 1932, a bill had been introduced into the Belgian Parliament aiming at the suppression of licensed houses and the abolition of the regulation of prostitution in Belgium. Lhe Committee congratulated M. Maus on his personal contribution to the successful campaign in Belgium against an evil which the Committee had been fighting for many years. The Committee received valuable information from Dame Rachel Crowdy about the situation in the Far East. She had gathered information about the closing of licensed houses in the International Settlement of Shanghai, and she had been assured by medical men and the authorities that this measure had not led to an increase in venereal disease or to disorder. Mr. Sempkins drew attention to the fact that Egypt had acceded to the Convention of 1921 ; this result was largely due to the work of the International Bureau. He also gave information concerning an experiment that was being made by the Government of Egypt in one area in order to decide on the possibility of suppressing licensed houses in Egypt—an experiment due in great measure to the work of the Association for Moral and Social Hygiene, the British branch of the International Abolitionist Federation.