C. 226Tl)M. 166. 1923 Iv

AMCEIVE8

C. 226tl)M. 166. 1923 iv. ( c . T. F. E. 1 5 5 (2).) [Distributed to th e Council J d Members ot the League.]

G e n e v a , March 31st, 1923. LEAGUE OF NATIONS

ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON TRAFFIC IN WOMEN AND CHILDREN

REPORT ON THE WORK OF THE COMMITTEE DURING ITS SECOND SESSION held at Geneva March 22nd * 27th, 1923. (approved by the Council on April 19th, 1923.

The Advisory Committee on Traffic in Women and Children, which met for the first time in June 1922, held its second session at Geneva from March 22nd to 27th, 1923. The following members of the Committee were present :

Delegates appointed by Governments :

Mr. S. W. H a r r is (C hairm an)...... British Empire. Dr. Estrid H e i n (Vice-Chairman)...... Denmark. M. B o u r g o is (substitute for M. R e g n a u l t ) France. M. le Marquis Paulucci d e ’ Ca l b o l i ... Italy. M. O k u y a m a (with M. U s a m i as substitute) Japan. M. Stanislas P o s n e r ...... Poland. M. Margaritesco G r e c ia n o ...... Roumania. M. Avelino Montero Rios y V il l e g a s ... Spain. Miss Grace A b b o t t ...... United States of America. Dr. Paulina L u is i ...... Uruguay.

Assessors appointed by the Voluntary Associations

Miss B a k e r International Bureau for the' Suppression of the Traffic in Women and Children. Mme. Avril d e S a in t e -C r o ix International Women’s Organisations. Mlle. T h u r l e r (substitute for Association catholique internationale des Mme. de M o n t e n a c h ) oeuvres de protection de la jeune fille. Mme. St u d e r -S teinhauslin ... Fédération des Unions nationales des amies de la jeune fille. Mr. S. C o h e n Jewish Association for the Protection of Girls and Women. Secretary .. Dame Rachel C r o w d y .

M. Bourgois again acted as substitute for M. Regnault, the delegate appointed by the French Government. The Japanese delegate (M. Okuyama) was represented by M. Usami, except at the final meeting, and Mile. Thurler took the place of Mme. de Montenach, who was unavoidably prevented from attending the meetings of the Committee. The delegates from Poland (M. Stanislas Posner) and from Uruguay (Dr. Paulina Luisi), who were unable to attend the first session, were present at this session. In its first report, which was adopted by the third Assembly of the League in September 1922, the Advisory Committee recommended that both Germany and the United States of America should be invited by the Council of the League to appoint members to serve on the Advisory Committee. Invitations were accordingly sent by the Council to the Governments pf both these countries. The German Government has not yet notified officially to the League acceptance of this invitation, but the Government of the Ünited States of America nominated Ilss Grace Abbott, Director of the Children’s Bureau at Washington, who was cordially wel comed by the Committee as one of its members.

S' a' N' 300 ex. (F-). + 250 ex. (A.). 4/23 + 350 ex. (F) + 300 ex. (A) 5/23. Imp. Réunies S. A. Lausanne. E l e c t io n o f Ch a ir m a n .

At its first session the Committee decided that each member of the Committee s h o u ld in turn as Chairman, following the alphabetical order adopted by the Assembly of t h e Sh '6 by which they were appointed. es The following Rule (Rule 2) was accordingly inserted in the Rules of Procedure :

“ The members of the Committee shall serve in turn as Chairman of the C o m m itt The Chairman, shall remain in office for one session of the Committee and forth' subsequent period until the Committee next meets. The order of rotation i n v h i h the members shall serve as Chairman shall be the alphabetical order adopted by th Assembly of the League of the States which they respectively represent. ” ~

Under this arrangement the Danish delegate was invited to take the Chair a t th e first session, but as she preferred to postpone this duty until a later occasion, it was agreed that the British delegate should be Chairman and that the Danish delegate should be Vice-Chairman When the decision referred to above was arrived at, it was contemplated that the C o m m itte e would only hold one session during a period of twelve months, but experience has shown that it may sometimes be necessary for the Committee to sit more often. As it seemed undesirable to interfere unduly with the continuity of the work of the Committee by too frequent a change of Chairman, a proposal was placed on the agenda of the second session to amend t h e Rules of Procedure so as to provide that :

“ The Chairman shall hold office for one year from the date of his appointment and for the subsequent period until the Committee next meets.”

This amendment to the Rules of Procedure was adopted by the Committee, and the British delegate continued to act as Chairman during the present session.

A g e n d a .

Two subjects were added, with the approval of the Committee, to the provisional agenda, which had been distributed to all members of the Committee, namely, the consideration of the Budget for the next financial year and a proposal by the delegate of the United S ta te s of America that an investigation should be made into the traffic in women and children.

P u b l ic it y o f M e e t in g s .

The Committee discussed the question whether its meetings should be held in private or whether the public should be admitted. It was decided that for the present session th e dis cussion of the draft report only should take place in public. It was also decided to a s k the Council to express an opinion whether it wished full publicity to be given, in future, to t h e meet ings of the Committee, subject to its discretion.

P r o g r e s s R e p o r t .

The Secretary submitted to the Advisory Committee a report of the progress made since its last session, which dealt with the following matters :

(a) Annual Report. At its first session the Committee recommended that each Member of the League should be invited to furnish an annual report of its work connected with the traffic and a form o report was drafted. It was arranged that these reports should reach the Secretariat b e ta April 1st in the case of Western States and before July 1st for Far Eastern States. It hat been contemplated that the next session of the Committee would not take place until May or June 1923, when the majority of the annual reports would have been received and could be submitted to the Committee. It has been found necessary, however, to hold the present session earlier than was anticipated, in consequence of the resolution on the subject of the employment of foreign women in licensed houses, which was referred to the Committee by the Assembly. As the time for the receipt of any of the annual reports has not yet arrived, and as the next session of the Committee will probably not be held until next year, the Committee decided that the Council should be asked to instruct the Secretariat to prepare a summary of the annual reports for 1922 when they are received, and to arrange for the distribution of this summary.

(b) Laws and Regulations. The Committee decided that it would be sufficient if a list of laws and regulations relatin to the traffic in women and children were distributed annually to all Governments instead o twice a year as recommended in its first report. The Secretary reported that the list is st 3 —

far from complete, and it was decided to recommend that the attention of Governments should gffain be drawn to this request. The Committee also recommended that the Secretariat should S instructed to prepare a digest of the laws of all countries on this subject. It would then jjy be necessary to circulate each year any additional laws w hich may have been passed during the year. The digest could be periodically revised so as to bring it up to date.

In pursuance of the resolution passed at its first session dealing with the signature and rati fic a tio n of the International Convention of 1921, a letter was sent in August 1922 to all Govern m e n ts requesting those who were not already parties to the Convention of 1921 to take the neces sary action without delay. Since that date, only Denmark, Finland, Panama and twenty B ritish Colonies have adhered, while Bulgaria and Greece are taking steps respectively to sign and ratify the Convention. The position therefore is far from satisfactory. The following M e m b e r s of the League at present remain outside the Convention : Argentine, Bolivia, Bulgaria, France, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Liberia, Luxemburg, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Peru, Salvador, Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, Spain, Uruguay and Venezuela. The following States have signed the Convention, but have not yet presented their rati fications : Albania, Brazil, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, Esthonia, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Persia, Poland and Danzig, Portugal, Roumania, Switzerland and Sweden. It was pointed out that, of the nine Governments officially represented on the Committee last year, three have not yet adhered to the Convention and four who signed it have not yet ratified, and that it is embarrassing for the delegates of those Governments to recommend to other Governments action which their own Governments have so far failed to take. The Italian delegate read a telegram from his Government, which was received with satis faction by the Committee, to the effect that the Italian Cabinet has approved a draft decree which would fulfil its engagements under the new Convention. The Polish delegate explained the difficulties which faced his Government from the fact that the Polish State had only been in existence since the end of the war and the country was at present subject to three different criminal codes. The time of the Polish Constituent Assembly had been fully occupied with legislative work of all kinds, but a bill to give effect to the Conven tion was now before it. New legal and administrative measures had been taken and a National Committee affiliated with the International Bureau had been established. The Committee expressed its keen appreciation of the steps taken by the Polish Government. The French delegate informed the Committee that, although the French Government had not yet signed the Convention, it had given full effect to all its stipulations. Under the law promulgated on December 20th last, an attempt to commit the offence was assimilated to the offence itself from the point of view of punishment ; the “ statement of reasons ” included a list of certain preliminary acts capable of being construed as an attempt to commit the offence. The Roumanian delegate said that a bill was now before the Roumanian Parliament to provide for the ratification of the Convention. The delegate of Uruguay stated that the question of ratifying was being examined by the Uruguayan Parliament, and with this object in view certain amendments to the Penal Code were being proposed. On behalf of the Japanese Government, M. Usami expressed the hope that certain diffi culties which confronted it would shortly be overcome ; and the Spanish delegate said that a bill for ratifying the Convention would shortly be placed before the Spanish Chamber. The Committee therefore has good ground for hope that before long all the Governments represented on the Committee will become parties to the Convention. As regards other Mem bers of the League, it was decided to recommend the Council again to draw the attention of all Governments which have not yet taken the necessary action to the importance of their doing so without further delay.

(d) Central Authorities. A list of Central Authorities appointed by Governments in pursuance of the International A g r e e m e n t of 1904 has been drawn up by the Secretariat and circulated. It was noted that s e v e ra l new Central Authorities have been appointed since the first session of the Committee.

(e) Theatrical Employment Abroad. The Committee dealt with this question in its first report and its recommendations on the subject have been communicated by the Secretariat to all Members of the League, with a request tor information as to the action which is being taken to give effect to these recommendations. °me of the replies have already been received and distributed. — 4 —

The question was discussed whether more definite advice could be offered by the C o m m 'tt as to the measures to be adopted in protecting women who seek employment abroad in th e a t music-halls, etc. In its first report the Committee suggested that protection could be d res> either by requiring a special licence (as is done by Great Britain in the case of young g ir ls ur rf’ 16), or by precautions taken in consultation with professional associations before a p a s s p o rt- granted. It was pointed out that the passport system was not applicable to all c o u n t ,1S and that in some cases the requirement in regard to passports is being abandoned. T h e Corn8 mittee finds difficulty in making further recommendations at present, and prefers t h a t ea h country should adopt the method best suited to its circumstances. Further light will, no doubt* be thrown on the matter when the replies on this subject have been received from all G o v e rn ’ ments.

( f ) Emigration and Immigration.

Last year the Committee had before it the report of the International Emigration Com mission, which deals with the question of emigration generally. The Committee drew a tte n tio n to some of the matters dealt with in the report which have a special interest for it in connection with the traffic, and suggested that they should be considered by the next International L a b o u r Conference. This Conference was held in October-November 1922, and, though it did n o t deal generally with the question of emigration, it recommended a continuance of the collaboration between the International Labour Office and the Advisory Committee on the subject so far as it concerns the traffic in women and children. The Governing Body of the International Labour Office, which met at Geneva in January-February 1923, decided that a representative of the International Labour Office should attend the meetings of the Advisory Committee, and, in accordance with this decision, M. Variez, of the Emigration Section of the International Labour Office, was in attendance during the present session. Proposals were adopted by the International Labour Conference with a view to o b ta in in g from all Governments statistical information, including the sex, age and occupation of e m ig ra n ts and immigrants. In asking for this information, it was proposed to adopt an age classification according to three groups — under fifteen ; fifteen to fifty-five ; over fifty-five ; b u t , on the recommendation of Dr. Paulina Luisi, a member of this Committee who was also a m e m b e r of the International Labour Conference, it was decided to divide the second group i n t o tw o , namely : fifteen to twenty-five ; twenty-five to fifty-five. This further subdivision m a y result in useful information being obtained in connection with the traffic in women. The Committee again considered the question of emigration in relation to the traffic in women and children. As it seems improbable that a general Convention on the subject of emigration w i l l be proposed in the near future, the Committee considered the possibility of making some p r a c tic a l suggestions for the protection of women which could be recommended for immediate adoption by Governments or by voluntary associations. It came to the conclusion that it was n o t in a position to make precise recommendations without further investigation, and decided to appoint a sub-committee to meet representatives of the Emigration Section of the International Labour Office and to discuss the lines on which enquiries could best be made to enable the Committee to make definite recommendations at its next session. A meeting was accordingly arranged and, after considering a report of the sub-committee, the Advisory Committee a d o p te d the following resolution :

“ The Advisory Committee recommends that the Council should be asked to o b ta in , with the collaboration of the International Labour Office, information on the fo llo w in g matters relating to the emigration of women and children in so far as they are connected with the traffic : “ (a) Arrangements for the protection of emigrants and transmigrants before departure. “ (b) Regulations providing for their protection during the voyage. “ (c) Measures taken to accommodate and to find employment for them on arrival. “ (d) Treatment of undesirables.

“ The voluntary associations should be asked to supply such information on these matters as they can furnish from their own experience or enquiries.”

R e p o r t s o f t h e V o l u n t a r y O rganisations .

Following the practice adopted last year, the Committee received a report from each of the five assessors giving the results of the work done during the previous year by the voluntary organisations which they represent. (a) Miss Baker presented a report on behalf of the International Bureau, in which she stated that National Committees affiliated with the International Bureau had been established in Czechoslovakia and Greece, and that eighteen such Committees now existed, although some — 5

f the countries represented on the Advisory Committee still had no National Committee. She °t te(j, however, that the activities of the National Committees had received considerable g lU]’us as a result of the action taken by the League of Nations. Miss Baker informed the Committee that the arrangements for holding an International C o n g r e s s at Milan in 1923 had broken down, but a preliminary conference was to be held in i ondon in October 1923, to consider what arrangements could be made for holding a Congress in 1924. She stated that the question of emigration would be placed on the agenda of this Congress. Attention was also drawn to the importance of education in sex hygiene —- a question which jjjss Baker said was prominently before the International Bureau. (b) Mme. Avril de Sainte-Croix, in presenting a report on behalf of International Women’s Organisations, stated that active interest is being taken in the question of the traffic in women by the International Council of Women, on which thirty-six national councils a r e represented, and by the Young Women’s Christian Association. (c) Mile. Thurler, in the absence of Mme. de Montenach, presented a report of the Association catholique internationale des œuvres de protection de la jeune fille, in which she sta te d that new National Committees had been formed in Austria and Mexico, and that a N a t io n a l Committee is being formed in Czechoslovakia. Mile. Thurler gave a useful account of t h e valuable work being done by her Association at railway stations. (d) Mme. Studer-Steinhâuslin presented a report on behalf of the Fédération des Unions nationales des amies de la jeune fille, in which she described the extensive work done by this Federation at railway stations —- work in which a large number of paid as well as volun tary agents are employed. The homes and registry offices established by the Federation are also doing good work. (e) Mr. Cohen presented a report on behalf of the Jewish Association for the Protection of G irls and Women, in which he dealt with the international side of the work and with pre ve n tive and after-care work. The Jewish Association attaches special importance to the protection of women emigrants and, by means of close contact between its branches in different parts o f the world, secures a large amount of protection to Jewish women who pass from one c o u n try to another. The Committee expressed its appreciation of the work done by the voluntary associations. The suggestion made last year that the voluntary associations should try to avoid overlapping as far as possible appears to have been acted upon. It was pointed out, however, that there is still ample room for the development of the work on its voluntary side, as only about a third of the countries which are Members of the League of Nations have any share in the activities of the voluntary associations. A recommendation was accordingly made to the assessors on the Committee that they should take the opportunity of meeting together and discussing how best new spheres of influence could be developed. All the associations represented on the Committee find their work hampered by lack of funds. The Committee desires to draw special attention to this disability under which the associations suffer, in the hope that public opinion in all countries may realise that these asso ciations are doing work of great social importance, which cannot be done effectively by Gov e rn m e n ts and that a more liberal response from private subscriptions may be forthcoming.

E m p l o y m e n t o f F o r e ig n W o m e n in L ic e n s e d H o u s e s .

When the first report of the Advisory Committee was brought before the Fifth Committee of the third Assembly of the League of Nations in September 1922, M. Sokal, the Polish dele gate, raised the question of the employment of foreign women in licensed houses. He informed the Fifth Committee that Poland had decided to abandon the system of licensing houses of ill-fame, and he explained that he thought it necessary to raise the question in view of the large number of Polish girls who found their way into licensed houses abroad. Accordingly he moved a resolution which was unanimously adopted by the Fifth Committee and the As sembly, which decided that it should be referred to the Advisory Committee. The resolution of the Assembly was as follows : “ That, in view of the fact that the system of State regulation which exists in certain countries is thought in many quarters to encourage the traffic in women, the Advisory Committee should be asked by the Council to consider whether, pending the abolition of the system, it could be agreed that no foreign woman should be employed or carry on her profession as a prostitute in any hcensed houses, and that the recommendations of the Advisory Committee on the subject should be included in its next report to the Council.” By the courtesy of M. Stanislas Posner, the Polish delegate on the Advisory Committee, Was arranged that M. Sokal should be present during the consideration of the resolution. 1 he proposal made in the resolution was very fully debated by the Committee, and every member contributed to the discussion. It became apparent, from the considerations urged y different members, that they viewed the matter from different angles. The majority consi- ered that the existence of licensed houses is a direct incentive to the traffic in women, and laid stress on the words contained in the resolution: “ pending the abolition of the system ” ; they — 6 —

thought that the appropriate remedy is the abandonment of the licensed-house system h failing a definite recommendation to this effect, which did not appear to come within the view of the Committee at present, they were willing to accept the proposal of M. S o k a l a^Ur" immediate compromise. Other members thought that, by agreeing to a resolution o f tv* kind, they would appear to be acquiescing in a system to which they were opposed, a n d th some measure of legal sanction would thereby be given to the continuance of State regulaf and of licensed houses. Others, again, expressed agreement with the principle underlying tiT resolution, but considered that in itself the prohibition, even if effect could be given to f would be illusory, or that the object could best be attained by application of the immigrate laws. Finally, a minority objected altogether to the resolution 1. n

The question was raised whether it was within the competence of the Committee t o con sider a resolution dealing with regulation in any form. It was argued that the International Conference which met at Paris by invitation of the French Government in 1902 was ca re fu l to exclude this topic from discussion, and that it did not seem to be covered by Article 23 of the Covenant, in pursuance of which the question of traffic in women came within t h e cogni zance of the League of Nations.

In reply to this objection, it was pointed out that the Advisory Committee had been speci fically asked by the Council, on the recommendation of the Assembly, to advise on this parti cular matter, and the question of competence had really been settled before the resolution was referred to the Committee. Further, experts who have studied the question of the traffic in women have drawn attention to the close connection between the traffic and the existence of licensed houses, and it was felt by certain members that, if such a matter were w ith d r a w n from discussion by the Committee, its work might largely be rendered nugatory.

A resolution was finally passed by the Committee by four votes (Denmark, Italy, J a p a n , Poland) to two (France and Uruguay), with two abstentions (Roumania and United States).’ In accordance with the Rules of Procedure the Chairman did not vote, but expressed a n opi nion in favour of the resolution. The Spanish delegate was absent when the vote was ta k e n , but had previously spoken against the resolution. The resolution reads as follows :

“ The Advisory Committee, having, at the request of the third Assembly o f the League, examined the question of the employment of foreign women in licensed houses, recommends that, pending the abolition of the system of State regulation, no foreign woman should be employed or carry on her profession as a prostitute in any licensed houses. ”

In connection with the question of the employment of foreign women in licensed houses, a suggestion was made that it would be very useful to the Advisory Committee, in considering the traffic in women and children, if information could be obtained from Governments as to the experience gained by them in the matter of State regulation. The following resolution was passed by the Committee by six votes to one, with two abstentions 2 :

“ The Advisory Committee requests the Council of the League to a u th o ris e the issue of a questionnaire to the Members of the League, asking those States w hich have a system of regulation for a full report of its working and results, to g e th e r with a statement of the grounds on which it is advocated, and those States w h ic h pre viously had a system of regulation but have abandoned it, for a report of the reasons that led them to take this course and of the results which have followed their a c t io n . ”

In view of the wide powers exercised by the police in dealing with prostitution, the fol lowing resolution was passed, with one abstention : “ The Advisory Committee having regard to the useful work done by women police in countries where they have been employed, recommends that women as well as men should be employed among the police engaged in dealing with prostitution. ”

E x t e n t o f t h e T r a f f ic a n d A d e q u a c y o f M e a s u r e s t o s u p p r e s s i t .

A memorandum was submitted to the Committee by the delegate of the United States of America suggesting that, for the purpose of the work entrusted to the Committee, it would be a great advantage if an investigation could be undertaken by the League of Nations to ascertain the extent of the traffic in women in different countries, and the effectiveness of the measures hitherto undertaken to suppress it. The Committee realises that the a m o u n t of information which it has at present on these matters is inadequate, and it would be of great assistance if further information could be obtained. As the traffic is international, and agents conduct their operations in several countries, the information which any particular Government can supply may be incomplete and the work of Governments might be facilitated by enquines made on the spot in several countries by some experienced observer.

1 See Minutes of the Fourth Meeting. » See Minutes of the Fourth and Fifth Meetings. The valuable research work undertaken by Mr. Abraham Flexner on behalf of the African Bureau of Social Hygiene was mentioned as an illustration of the light thrown nn the question of prostitution by independent enquiry. The Committee decided to adopt the following resolution by five votes to three : “ (a) The Advisory Committee recognises the great value of the proposal made by the delegate of the United States of America. A general study of the conditions under which the traffic in women and children is carried on would form a valuable source of information for the work of the Advisory Com mittee. “ (b) The Advisory Committee suggests that the Council might appoint an expert or experts to undertake a study on the spot with the collaboration of the Governments of the countries concerned and in consultation with any expert whom they may desire to nominate ; and if the principle of such a study com mends itself to the Council, the Committee would like to see the work undertaken without delay. “ (c) If the expenses of such a study cannot be met by the League, the Council should consider whether the cost can be met from some other source.”

S u m m a r y o f R e p l ie s t o t h e Q uestionnaire o f 1921.

At its session last year, the Committee received a summary made by the French delegate of the replies made by Governments to the questionnaire issued in 1921. Many further replies were received after this summary was prepared and the French delegate kindly consented to embody these in an additional report. The Committee wishes to place on record an expression of its appreciation of the beneficial results which have been produced by the International Agreement of 1904 and the International Convention of 1910.

R e f u g e e C a m p s i n G r e e c e .

In consequence of certain allegations which were made as to the activities of traffickers among the refugees from Asia Minor in Greece, the Greek Government invited the International Bureau to appoint a representative to make an enquiry on the spot. The International Bureau accepted the invitation and, at its own expense, sent Miss Baker, the Director and Secretary of the Bureau, to Athens. Miss Baker gave the Committee an account of her enquiries. The conclusion to which she had come after full investigation was that, while there was evidence of a certain amount of clandestine prostitution due partly to the distressing circumstances in which these refugees were placed, she could find no confirmation of the rumours as to the activity of traffickers. While in Athens, Miss Baker was able to assist in the formation of a National Committee affiliated with the International Bureau. M. Politis, the representative of the Greek Government at Geneva, who was present at the request of the Advisory Com mittee, expressed the grateful thanks of the Greek Government for Miss Baker’s assistance.

B u d g e t .

The Committee considered and approved the budget proposed for the financial year 1924 for the work of the Advisory Committee on the Traffic in Women and Children. It notes with satisfaction that, as compared with the budget for the current financial year adopted by the Committee at its last session, the proposed budget for 1924 shows considerable reduc tions.

C o n c l u s io n .

The Committee desires to present the result of its second session’s work for the conside ration of the Council. It regrets that its conclusions were not all unanimous, but, although several of the mattersunder discussion proved to be controversial, the proceedings were marked by a spirit of goodwill and a uniform desire to find a satisfactory solution of a very difficult social problem.

R e s o l u t io n s .

1- The Advisory Committee, having decided that, during the present session, only the discussion of the draft report to be presented to the Council should be taken in public, requests t h e Council to state whether it desires full publicity to be given in future to the meetings of t h e Advisory Committee, subject to its discretion. 2. The Advisory Committee recommends that the Council should instruct the Secretariat t° prepare a summary of the annual reports received from Governments and to distribute it to all Members of the League and of the Advisory Committee. 3. The Advisory Committee recommends that the Council should invite e a c h Go - ment which has not already furnished a full statement of the laws and regulations in f0rVer!'" its country relative to the Traffic in Women and Children to do so ; that the Secret^111 should cause a digest of these laws and regulations to be prepared and distributed to t l f Members of the League and of the Advisory Committee, and that information regarding laws and regulations should be distributed annually. new 4. The Advisory Committee recommends that the Council should again draw t h e a tt tion of all Governments to the desirability of adhering to or ratifying the Convention o f iq o i without delay. 5. The Advisory Committee recommends that the Council should be asked to o b t a in win the collaboration of the International Labour Office, information on the following m a tte rs relating to the emigration of women and children in so far as they are connected w it h the traffic :

(a) Arrangements for the protection of emigrants and transmigrants b e fo re de parture. (b) Regulations providing for their protection during the voyage. (c) Measures taken to accommodate and to find employment for them o n a rriv a l (d) Treatment of undesirables.

The voluntary associations should be asked to supply such information on these matters as they can furnish from their own experience or enquiries. 6. The Advisory Committee, having, at the request of the third Assemblv of the League, examined the question of the employment of foreign women in licensed houses, recommends that, pending the abolition of the system of State regulation, no foreign woman s h o u ld be employed or carry on her profession as a prostitute in any licensed houses. 7. The Advisory Committee requests the Council of the League to authorise th e issue of a questionnaire to the Members of the League, asldng those States which have a s y s te m of regulation for a full report of its workings and results, together with a statement of the grounds on which it is advocated, and those States which previously had a system of regulation b u t have abandoned it, for a report of the reasons that led them to take this course and of the results which have followed their action. 8. The Advisory Committee, having regard to the useful work done by women po lice in countries where they have been employed, recommends that women as well as men sh o u ld be employed among the police engaged in dealing with prostitution. 9. (a) The Advisory Committee recognises the great value of the proposal made b y the delegate of the United States of America. A general study of the conditions under w h ic h the traffic in women and children is carried on would form a valuable source of inform ation for the Advisory Committee. (b) The Advisory Committee suggests that the Council might appoint an e x p e r t or experts to undertake a study on the spot, with the collaboration of the Governments o f the countries concerned and in consultation with any expert whom they may desire to n o m in a te ; and if the principle of such a study commends itself to the Council, the Committee would lik e to see the work undertaken without delay. (c) If the expenses of such a study cannot be met by the League, the Council s h o u ld consider whether the cost can be met from some other source. 10. The Advisory Committee adopts the budget for the financial year 1924 for the work of the Advisory Committee on the Traffic in Women and Children. It notes with satisfaction that, as compared with the budget for the current financial year adopted by the Committee at its last session, the proposed budget for 1924 shows considerable reductions.