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HISTORICAL COMMITTEE BOOKLET 2020

1920 – The League of Nations

INDEX

Part 1 - Work in the Historical Committee…………………………………………………..…page 3

Part 2 - Historical Background…………………………………………………………………page 6

Part 2.1 Historical Background - Aftermath of the world……………………………………...page 6

Part 2.2 Historical Background - Paris Conference………………………………….…..page 9

Part 2.3 Historical Background - The League of Nations………………………………….….page 15

Part 2.4 Historical Background - First session of the League of Nations……………………..page 20

Part 3 - Chronology……………………………………………………………………………page 22

Part 4 - Nations and characters represented……………………………………………….…..page 23

Part 5 - Historical documents……………………………………………………….…………page 24

Sources……………………………………………………………………………….………..page 32

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Historical Committee Booklet

Part 1- Work in the Historical Committee

A Historical Committee is a specialised committee that will be part of CFMUNESCO 2020.

Its rules of procedure are slightly different from those of other MUN committees and so this Booklet is necessary to future delegates to understand them well.

1. How will the Historical committee work?

A Historical Committee is a committee focused on historical events, which occurred in past times. For this reason, throughout the conference, delegates will have to pretend they are taking a step back into the past.

The discussion will cover the period after the end of the Great , from the Paris Peace Conference in 1919 until the approval of the Locarno Pact on the 1st .

Delegates will discuss about real crises that endangered the stability of our world in the above mentioned period. The crises discussed occurred in different years and, during the debate, they will be discussed following their chronological order.

Each delegate will not represent a country in general, as it happens in other MUN committees, but a character, a sovereign or a prime minister, that guided a state during the period of time which the assembly will work on. Delegates will have to imitate the behaviour of that person and to operate always keeping in mind the real decisions (or plausible ones, if finding the real decisions is impossible) taken by their countries in a precise occasion.

Delegates have to follow the reality of facts that occurred and their speeches and actions must reflect the policy of their countries in those years. Every initiative of delegates to rewrite the history with fantastic and personal proposals will be stopped by Chairs.

2. Rules of procedure

The work of the Assembly will be slightly different from the one of other UN committees.

The purpose of the Assembly is to create, at the end of the conference, a final , a big document that will chronologically trace the work of the assembly during the three days of the conference and so the progress of history during the period discussed, from 1919 to 1925.

As delegates do not know exactly which events will be taken into consideration, they will not arrive at the committee with already written resolutions or clauses.

During the debate, some crises will be presented to delegates and they will try to face them the way their Countries did in past times. They will send the Chairs some drafts containing proposals that will be discussed and voted by the Assembly. If the drafts are passed, they will become part of the final treaty. Then, some amendments can be proposed by delegates to change, strike or add some information to the clauses of the treaty.

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During the time of debate a form of Moderated Caucus will be used together with short periods of Unmoderated Caucus.

During a Moderated Caucus each delegate can speak in front of the Assembly. Unlike in the formal debate, delegates will not speak from the podium, but they will just need to stand and speak from their seats. Moreover, they will not need to begin their speeches with the expression: “Honourable Chairs, fellow Delegates...”, in order to have a smoother debate. Unlike in the usual Moderated Caucus, a short time for points of information (questions) will be granted after every speech.

During an Unmoderated Caucus delegates can leave their seats, speak, share ideas and write drafts in groups with other delegates.

To move from a Moderated to an Unmoderated Caucus or viceversa, a delegate can raise his/her placard and propose a “Motion for a Moderated/Unmoderated Caucus” and state the total time of the Caucus. The motion will be voted and, if it passes, the Committee will move to the new form of Caucus. The shift to a different form of Caucus can also be decided by Chairs if needed.

Every decision taken in the Committee must be voted. As the assembly will recreate the League of Nations in which some states were present just for a short time, these states will be able to vote just for the period of time in which they were part of this organisation. For this reason, at the beginning of every session, Chairs will clarify which countries are just “present” and cannot vote, and which are “present and voting” and can vote for that session. Each delegate will have two different placards, one to use when he/she is “present” and one to use when he/she is “present and voting”. At Chairs’ discretion, a state can receive the right to vote for a specific session, even though it was not part of the League of Nations in the historical moment discussed.

1. Characteristics of a perfect HC delegate

As the Historical Committee is focused on history, delegates must love this subject.

This is also a very small and specialised committee and so delegates, who want to be part of it, should have previous MUN experience.

They also have to be flexible, curious, brave and open to new experiences.

Above all, delegates must cooperate and love working in groups, because the purpose is not to prevail against the others, but to find a solution together and together try to historically reconstruct the discussed period of time.

2. Chairs

Chairs are the maximum authorities in the committee.

They are present to make sure that all the rules of procedures are respected by delegates.

They control and moderate the debate, trying to guarantee a smooth activity.

They have the authority to decide which delegate will make a speech or a point of information and can accept or reject motions proposed by delegates.

They can decide if a draft submitted by a delegate should be discussed on the grounds that it must follow the historical events and the policy of the country which submitted it.

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They can stop the speech of a delegate if he/she does not respect historical events thus bringing the discussion back to the correct line.

3. Language

English is the only working language allowed in CFMUNESCO 2020, as it is the international language of all MUN conferences. English should be formal, dialectal forms and slang are not allowed.

Delegates must speak clearly, keeping a polite behaviour, and should not offend any other person in the room.

Unlike in the other committees and to better imitate the character they have been assigned, delegates will have to speak in 1st person singular, and not in 3rd person singular or 1st person plural.

4. Dress code

In the Historical Committee in CFMUNESCO 2020 the delegates’ dress code must resemble the one of real UN delegates. An elegant western dress code is demanded and every folkloristic and sport outfit is forbidden.

5. Delegates’ preparation

Delegates have to work passionately to find as much information as possible regarding the period of time they will work on, even becoming part of it.

They do not have to learn the events form the point of view of the state they belong to, but from the point of view of the governor, and so of the country they will represent.

Before the beginning of CFMUNESCO 2020, delegates will have to send to the Chairs a Policy Statement, regarding the situation of the country they represent, to attest their preparation for the debate. Policy statement will be focused on the outcome of the Great War and the Paris Peace Conference, analysing the consequences of the proclaimed in that occasion.

If all the above formalities have frightened you, do not worry! During the last day of CFMUNESCO 2020, if there is enough time, delegates will have the opportunity to debate more freely and to show their creativity in an ad hoc activity. 6. Useful links

• http://teimun.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/TEIMUNHistoricalCrisisRoPs.pdf

• www.unausa.org/global-classroom-model-un/how-to-participate/model-un- preparation/caucusing

• www.unausa.org/global-classroom-model-un/how-to-participate/getting-started/model- un- glossary

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Part 2 - Historical Background

INDEX:

2.1. AFTERMATH OF THE GREAT WAR 2.2 PARIS PEACE CONFERENCE • Treaties • Outstanding issues

2.3. THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS • Structure • Covenant • Members • Mandates • Successes • Failures and Weaknesses

2.4. FIRST SESSION OF THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS • Issues discussed • World Court

2.1. AFTERMATH OF THE GREAT WAR

The end of the Great War looks over the death of a dreadful number of lives. It is estimated that 17 million of people died or disappeared during the conflict and 20 million were seriously injured or maimed. The population was further reduced by the , which in 1918 infected about one third of the planet’s population and killed from 20 to 50 million people.

After the Great War, a crucial factor was the dismemberment of four Empires (the Ottoman, the Austro-Hungarian, the German and the Russian ones) that brought to the creation of new political entities: - from the dismemberment of the : the creation of the Anatolian peninsula, Siria, Palestina, Arabia and Egypt and Armenia, which became independent; - from the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire: the inception of the Republic of , the Republic of Hungary, the Republic of and the new Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes; - from the dismemberment of the : and Lorraine returned to , the Republic of Poland arose, and became the Republic of Weimar; - from the dissolution of the : the new states of , , .

The years following the Great War were also characterised by a general economic and financial crisis, mainly involving the States which took part to the conflict, both winners and not. This recession was caused by many factors such as: - the enormous amount of money invested in military materials such as weapons and munitions during the war;

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- the loans granted by the to many European States, which were unable to give the money back; - the abandonment of the countryside and therefore the importation of a large quantity of goods that led to a rise in prices and a consequent inflation; - the transformation of the factories from a war function to their original one, requiring large sums of money.

Below you can find some of the main instances of the aftermath:

• REPUBLIC OF WEIMAR After the armistice of Compiegne in November 1918, a meeting of the National Assembly is held in in the town of Weimar. The Assembly draws up a Constitution which comes into force on 11th August 1919. On that date Germany declares itself the “Republic of Weimar”. The president of the Republic is Friedrich Ebert, the leader of the Social Democratic Party. The situation of the Republic is aggravated by the war reparations demanded by the winning powers (, France, England, USA). The Republic of Weimar has to pay 269 million of German Marks in gold. Failing to meet this demand, the asks for the payment to be postponed, receiving the firm refusal of the winners. The situation of the Republic is disastrous from both an economical and a social point of view, due to popular malaise caused by the loss of the war and the enormous amount of deaths after it.

• REPUBLIC OF GERMAN - AUSTRIA The loss of the Austro-Hungarian Empire is caused by an internal economic crisis within the empire and the decisive Italian counterattack. The independence forces lead to the dismemberment of the Empire in the independent Republics of Austria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. The new republics continue to have serious internal economic crisis, as the previous Austro- Hungarian Empire. The landlocked Austria is barely able to sustain itself with food and lack developed industrial bases. In addition, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, the new Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes and Italy impose a trade ban and refuse to sell food and coal to Austria.

• KINGDOM OF SERBS, CROATS AND SLOVENES Formed on 1st by the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, this new kingdom includes the previously independent Kingdom of Serbia and Montenegro, and the South territories belonging to the Austro-Hungarian Empire like: Dalmatia, Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Vojodina. The unification proves to be complicated. The most important issues are the ethnical and cultural differences between each population.

• REPUBLIC OF FRANCE French post-war society has to face the consequences of a mass death experience on an unprecedented scale. Reintegrating the demobilised soldiers into civil society also constitutes a major challenge in the immediate context of the post-war economic reconversion. War expenses were financed almost exclusively by loans granted by citizens, banks and allied states (that is, by Great Britain and especially by the United States). The country therefore leaves the conflict heavily indebted.

• Many workers, peasants, socialists and trade unionists are bothered by the costs of the conflict and inspired by the revolutions that occurred in and Germany.

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The general and widespread malaise is emphasised also by veterans, who, returning from the front, expected the land that they had been promised in 1917–18. The banks gave loans to industries during the conflict and are now unable to recover them. In general, Italy is beset by a high level of unemployment, leading to emigration, an economic crisis due to the conversion of industries, the abandonment of the countryside and the reparation of the loans requested from the USA during the conflict.

• THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE The of 31st October 1918 ends the fighting between the Ottoman Empire and the Allies but does not bring stability or peace to the Empire. The British are in control of , Palestine and Mesopotamia (), and British, French and Greek forces stand ready to march across the Bulgarian border and occupy Ottoman Thrace and Constantinople. The Ottoman government will sign the Treaty of Sèvres in , which creates Entente zones of influence and occupation in most of Anatolia, the independent state of Armenia, and the British and French mandates of Iraq, Palestine, Syria, and .

• THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA The Country emerges from the Great War as a dominant power thanks to the loans granted to European countries to support the war effort through munitions. The President of the United States, Woodrow , on January 8th 1918 issued the so called “”, in order to ensure a long-lasting peace and provide security, underlining the importance of international cooperation between nations. Among these points, which included the right to national self-determination, the freedom of the seas and the restoration of territories conquered during the war, there is also the idea of establishing the League of Nations, which will be created on 28th April 1919. The United States of America never joined the conference for three main reasons: first because in the U.S. there are many German immigrants that hate the ; to join the League the country should accept the Treaty and German Americans do not accept this. The second main reason is that U.S do not want other Americans to die in a European war; the third reason is that the granting of women’s voting rights brought a new voting block that expressed the desire to turn inward (isolationism).

• THE RED BIENNUM From a social point of view, the power of the workers increases day by day: they are stronger and better protected by trade unions, and more involved in politics. After the of 1917, which showed the power of workers and peasants against the old empire, European working classes hope for a same destiny for their countries: they want to abolish private property and to establish a dictatorship of the proletariat. In Russia Lenin tries to export communist parties and revolution all over the world. This makes industrialists and landowners fear a possible subversion of the social order in their countries and worry about the safety of their properties and affairs. The first two years after the end of the Great War are known as the Red Biennium and are characterized by strikes of the working classes, in order to demand reforms. Workers’ assemblies, based on the model of Russian soviet, spread. There is a widespread fear against socialists and revolutionaries. Heads of State, Kings, dynasties, fear that what happened in Russia, the Bolshevik revolution, can happen in their country too.

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2.2. PARIS PEACE CONFERENCE

The Paris Peace Conference was an international meeting whose aim was to establish the condition of a worldwide peace after the Great War. It was held on 18th January 1919 in Paris by the Allied Powers, who won the war. It actually involved diplomats from 32 countries but it was controlled by the five major powers (the Republic of France, the , the Kingdom of Italy, Japanese Empire and the United States of America), and in particular by the so called “”, whose delegates were: - for the Republic France: The Prime Minister - for the United Kingdom: The Prime Minister - for the United State of America: The President - for the Kingdom of Italy: The Prime Minister Vittorio Emanuele Orlando.

Other countries who took part in the conference, among the others, were , , , Poland, Portugal, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes.

However, some countries were excluded from the conference. The , the Republic of German-Austria, the Kingdom of Bulgaria, Hungary and the Ottoman Empire, the countries that lost the Great War, were not allowed to attend the conference until the details of all the peace treaties had been elaborated and agreed upon. These countries will suffer massive territorial losses and will be forced to pay huge war debts.

TREATIES

During this Conference five major treaties were prepared, one for every that lost the conflict: 1. Treaty of Versailles for Germany; 2. Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye for the republic of German-Austria; 3. Treaty of Neuilly-sur-Seine for the Kingdom of Bulgaria; 4. for Hungary; 5. Treaty of Sèvres for the Ottoman Empire.

1.The Treaty of Versailles, signed on 28th , imposes punitive and harsh clauses to Germany. The treaty causes the reduction of the population and the territory by about 10 percent. Germany is deprived from: - Alsace and Lorraine, which return to the Republic of France; - the , which is placed under the control of the League of Nation; - the cities of Eupen and Malmedy, which are given Belgium; - the city of Schleswig, which is returned to ; - Danzig, which is declared a free city; - all colonies in China, in the Pacific and in Africa which are taken by United Kingdom, the Republic of France and Japanese Empire. In addition, Germany is considered responsible for the Great War and the destruction of Allied Powers, according to Article 231 of the Treaty:

"The Allied and Associated affirm and Germany accepts the responsibility of Germany and her allies for causing all the loss and damage to which the Allied and

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Associated Governments and their nationals have been subjected as a consequence of the war imposed upon them by the aggression of Germany and her allies."

The war guilt clause makes Germany responsible for making reparations to the Allied Powers in payment for the losses and damage they have sustained in the war. Germany has to pay around 12.5 billion dollars for reparations.

The German army is restricted to 100,000 men. The manufacture of armoured cars, tanks, submarines, airplanes, and poison gas is forbidden; and only a small number of specified factories can make weapons or munitions.

During the drafting of the Treaty of Versailles, it was agreed that its task should include the establishment of the League of Nations, capable of ensuring future peace. The United States President, Woodrow Wilson, insisted that this should be among the first questions to be dealt during the conference. As a consequence, Part I of the treaty, as per all the treaties signed during the Paris Peace Conference, is the Covenant of the League of Nations.

GERMAN EMPIRE

Source: Encyclopedia Britannica

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DISMEMBERMENT OF THE GERMAN EMPIRE AFTER THE TREATY OF VERSAILLES

Source: Holocaust Encyclopedia

2. The Treaty of Saint-Germain, signed on 10th September 1919, forces Austria to cede to the Kingdom of Italy the following territories: - Alto-Adige; - Trentino; - Istria; - the upper Isonzo. Through this treaty, the extended territory of the ancient Austro-Hungarian Empire is dismembered, and four new States arise in its place: 1.1.1.1. the Republic of Austria; 1.1.1.2. Hungary (whose autonomy has been sanctioned with the Treaty of Trianon); 1.1.1.3. Czechoslovakia; 1.1.1.4. the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. The treaty recognises also the independence of Poland and forbids the union of Austria and Germany without the consent of the League of Nations. The republic of German-Austria, as Germany, suffers huge territorial losses and is forced to pay war debts. Its army is reduced to 30,000 men. The new Country created by the treaty is financially and militarily weak. Austrian officials criticise the following features of the treaty: - the violation of the principle of self-determination, which is one of the most important point in the Fourteen Points of Wilson; - the placement of so many ethnic Germans under Czechoslovak and Italian rule; - the forbiddance of unity with Germany.

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DISMEMBERMENT OF THE AUTRIAN-HUNGARIAN EMPIRE AFTER THE TREATY OF SAINT-GERMAIN

Source: Wikipedia

3. Treaty of Neuilly-sur-Seine, signed on 27th November 1919, gives Bulgaria independence. The Kingdom of Bulgaria, although, is deprived of the following territories: - Thrace, which is given back to ; - Macedonia, which is given to the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes; - Dobrogea, which is assigned to Romania. The Kingdom of Bulgaria has to pay 2.25 billion Gold Francs, and has to deliver its neighbors enormous benefits in kind, mostly cattle and coal. The nation has also to reduce its army to 20,000 men. The Bulgarian air force and warships are destroyed or handed over to the Entente. During the Paris Peace Conference, the Bulgarian delegates can not access not only to the meetings, but also to the various participating committees that discuss the terms of the treaty. During the conference, different Bulgarian civilian organizations send various declarations about the ethnic, cultural, religious and linguistic identity of the Bulgarian population in the territories to be lost. Generally, they ask for the implementation of the principle of self-determination outlined in President Woodrow Wilson’s Fourteen Points. The violation of this principle is the essential reason of Bulgarian propaganda against the territorial terms of the treaty. In the capital and in major cities, there are numerous immigrant communities from Macedonia, Dobruja and Thrace.

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DISMEMBERMENT OF THE KIGDOM OF BULGARIA AFTER THE TREATY OF NEUILLY- SUR-SEINE

Source: Wikipedia

4. The Treaty of Sevres, signed on 10th August 1920, reduces the Ottoman Empire to the Anatolian peninsula, depriving it of the following territories: - all Arab territories; - the island of Cyprus, which becomes a British ; - the sovereignty over the straits of the Bosphorus and the , whose control gets over an international commission.

By this treaty, the Ottoman sultan recognises that his Arab provinces are cut off from his empire. Arabia is recognised as independent. Britain takes possession and control of Palestine, Iraq and Egypt, while France takes over Syria, Lebanon and some land in southern Anatolia. East and West Anatolia are declared areas of French influence. Germany’s shares of the Turkish petroleum Company go to the Republic of France, and United Kingdom get soil-pipeline transit rights across Syria. United Kingdom and the Republic of France immediately move into their respective spheres, although the League of Nations mandates did not become effective until 1923. The Ottoman Army is restricted to 50,700 men and the Ottoman State is prohibited from creating an air force. The treaty includes an inter-allied commission of control and organisation to supervise the execution of the military clauses.

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DISMEMBERMENT OF THE OTTOMAN EMIPIRE AFTER THE TREATY OF SEVRES

Source: Wikipedia

OUTSTANDING ISSUES

These are the main issues after the end of the Paris Peace:

• KINGDOM OF ITALY In spite of being part of the winners, during the conference the Kingdom of Italy suffers from maimed victory and lack of diplomatic recognition. According to the principle of self-determination of people, the Kingdom of Italy is determined to obtain the city of Fiume, whose citizens are mainly of Italian language, even if the city itself was not included in the (1915). The U.S. President Woodrow Wilson publishes a statement arguing that the Treaty of London must be set aside and reminding the Kingdom of Italy that it should be satisfied with receiving the territory of Trentino and the Tyrol, where the majority of the population was Italian. A day later, Orlando and Sonnino leave Paris and return to Rome. The question of Fiume looks over alternative solutions to the diplomatic path through the figure of Gabriele D’Annunzio.

• GERMANY In the west, Alsace-Lorraine is given back to the Republic of France after nearly half a century under German rule. As a consequence, between 200,000 and 300,000 ethnic Germans leave the region, either voluntarily or as a result of expulsions. In the east, the creation of a Polish nation-state means the loss of Posen, much of West , and parts of Upper . Danzig, the Baltic port with an overwhelmingly German population, becomes a “Free City” in order to give Poland access to the Baltic Sea. The Gdansk corridor is a strip of territory established after the Great War, with the Versailles Treaty of 28th June 1919, to give Poland (November 3rd , 1918) an outlet to the Baltic Sea. The small area, to which the important port of Gdansk is added, separates the main body of Germany from the region of East Prussia.

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• THE KINGDOM OF SERBS, CROATS AND SLOVENES This new state is created with the Treaty of Saint-Germain by the dismemberment of the Austro- Hungarian Empire. This new kingdom looks over itself different populations with different cultures and languages. Each of them is prompted by a desire of independence.

2.3. THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS

The League of Nations is an international diplomatic organisation founded by the Allied Powers in 1919, with the aim of peacefully manage disputes between States in order to avoid future . The League of Nations is mentioned for the first time by Woodrow Wilson during a speech to the U.S. Congress on 8th January 1918 as a “general association of nations”. During this presentation, Wilson introduced the idea of the “Fourteen Points”, a plan to ensure a long-lasting peace and provide security, underlining the importance of international cooperation between nations. The points included the idea of freedom of the seas (point 2), equal trade conditions (point 3), arms reduction (point 4), the right to national self-determination (point 5) and the restoration of territories conquered during the war (points 8 and 9). The last one of these points underlined the importance of the establishment of the League of Nation.

STRUCTURE OF THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS

The main bodies of the League of Nations are the Secretariat, the Assembly and the Council: • The Secretariat is appointed by the General . One of its main tasks is to manage the administrative part of the organisation: preparation of the agenda for the Council and the Assembly, publication of the reports and treaties between states. • The Council consists of four permanent members (United Kingdom, the Republic of France, the Kingdom of Italy and Japanese Empire) and up to 10 non-permanent members which are elected by the Assembly for a three-years mandate. The task of the Council is to manage international disputes. • The Assembly consists of all member states which meet in in September of each year. Furthermore, in order to settle international problems, the League consists also in committees, aiming at managing specific sectors and divided into 3 main departments: - Department I (or Department of General Affairs), which includes the Political Section, Minorities Section, Mandates Section, Section; - Department II, which is composed of the Economic and Financial Section as well as the Transit Section (Secretariat of the "Communications and Transit Organisation”); - Department III, which includes the Health, Social Questions and Traffic Sections.

THE COVENANT OF THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS

The League of Nations starts taking form during the Paris Peace Conference, specifically during the drafting of the Treaty of Versailles. All the countries involved in the conference agree on the establishment of an international organisation whose main objective is to maintain universal peace through . A special commission chaired by Woodrow Wilson is in charge of drafting the “Covenant”, which is the charter of the organisation. The commission is formed by:

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United States of America Woodrow Wilson (president), Edward M. House (diplomat and adviser of the president Wilson)

United Kingdom Cecil (assistant secretary of state for foreign affairs), Cecil Hurst (Principal Legal Adviser of the Commonwealth)

Republic of France Léon Bourgeois (former French Prime Minister), Ferdinand Larnaude

Kingdom of Italy Vittorio Emanuele Orlando (Prime Minister), Vittorio Sciajola (Minister for Foreign Affairs)

Japanese Empire Makino Nobuaki (Minister for Foreign Affairs), Chinda Sutemi (diplomat)

Kingdom of Belgium (Minister for Foreign Affairs) Republic of China (politician and diplomat) Portuguese Republic Batalha Jaime Reis (diplomat) Kingdom of Serbs, Croats Milenko Radomar Vesnić (politician and jurist) and Slovens

The Covenant is made up of a list of “rules and regulations” shared by all the members, which include all the proposals that came out during the first month of preparation: disarmament, international cooperation, control in economic and social affairs, security, diplomacy. The final document, which includes 26 articles, is published on April 28th 1919 and became part of the Treaty of Versailles as well as of all the other treaties signed as a result of the Conference of Paris. These are the main features of the Covenant: - Article 1 deals with the members of the organisation, that is composed by the 32 signatories of the Treaty of Versailles and 13 additional states which have been neutral during the war, and the conditions of admissions of new members; - Articles 2 to 5 describe the powers of the two main bodies of the organisation: the Assembly and the Council; - Articles 6 and 7 deal with the establishment of a Secretariat, the headquarter of League in Geneva and the budget of the organisation; - Article 8 and 9 underline the importance of the disarmament in order to provide a long-lasting peace; - Articles from 10 to 21 underline the importance of international cooperation to ensure and specify the use of in case of violation of the Covenant; - Article 22 establishes the mandate system; - Articles 23 and 24 discuss the importance of economic and social cooperation; - Article 25 promises the support to the Red Cross; - Article 26 explains the procedure for the amendments to the Covenant.

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IMPORTANT NOTE FOR CFMUNESCO HISTORICAL COMMITTEE In order to guarantee an active debate, we invite all delegates to be prepared about the content of the Covenant, accurately studying its articles that can be found in the section of this booklet dedicated to the historical documents.

MEMBERS OF THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS

The following list presents the 42 founding members of the League of Nations, including the Allied Powers (except for the United States) and 13 neutral powers.

- Argentina - Romania - Australia - Siam - Belgium - - - - - - - - Chile - United Kingdom - China - Uruguay - - The Kingdom of Croats, Serbs and - Cuba Sloven - Czechoslovakia - Denmark - El Salvador - France - Greece - Great Britain - Guatemala - - Honduras - India - Italy - Japan - - Netherlands - New Zealand - Nicaragua - - Panama - - Persia - Perù - Poland - Portugal

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Despite the strong popular support regarding the idea of joining the League, The United States never joined the League of Nations as the opposition within the Congress considered that the commitment of the US in this expensive organisation would reduce the US ability to defend its interests. Given that, the United States of America preferred to adopt an isolationist policy. The US isolationism had consequences on the League, and it is considered that the failure of this organisation was caused also by the absence of the United States. Their presence would have given more power to the organization, especially in preventing conflicts.

SUCCESSES OF THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS

During the first years after the establishment of the League of Nations, actions taken seemed to be achieving the goals set in the “Fourteen Points” of Wilson, contributing to the improvement of international welfare. Through international cooperation, the League of Nations has been able to solve several disputes between nations as, for example, between and Sweden in 1921. The dispute was about the Aaland Island, which were under the sovereign of Finland even though their population was mainly Swedish-speaking. Residents wanted the island to become part of Sweden while Finland did not want to cede these territories. In 1921 the Swedish government asked for the help of the League of Nations, which decided that the island should remain a Finnish territory but with an autonomous government. Furthermore, the League of Nations operated helping Austria and Hungary, that were devastated by the bankruptcy resulting from the high war reparation taxes imposed by the winning power after the Great War. The League granted loans to the two states in order to provide an economic recovery, and controlled the spending of the money.

FAILURES AND WEAKNESSES

Despite its efforts in improving global welfare, the League of Nations globally failed. The main causes of this failure are:

• The League of Nations was not joined by all the countries. One of the main purposes that lead to the creation of the League of Nation was the establishment of an international organisation which had to include all the countries of the world. Nevertheless, the most relevant nation that was NOT a member of the League was the USA. Despite the idea of its establishment was given by the American president Wilson, the USA never joined the conference since the Congress preferred to return to the traditional isolationist policy. The presence of the United States as member of the organisation would have empowered the League of Nations, especially in preventing conflicts. • The League of Nations had no army. On the basis of the article number 16 of the Covenant, it depended on the League’s members to take actions in order to ensure the League resolutions to be implemented, but none of them wanted to start a new war and so they proved to be reluctant in providing military support. Furthermore, the League’s Council could decide to introduce economic sanctions, with the aim of hitting the aggressor nation, in order to make it accept the League’s decision. These sanctions consisted in the obligation to all the members to stop the trades with the nation that broke the rules. Most of the time though, also in this case, Members were contrary to have this action taken.

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• Decisions has to be unanimous. For the approval of a resolution all the League members should agree with the decision.

These weaknesses will lead to a series of failures which will contribute to the increasing of powerlessness of the League of Nation. An example is the Vilna dispute between Lithuania and Poland. After the Great War Vilna was made capital city of Lithuania as it had been the centre of Lithuanian culture since Middle Ages, even though during the more than 30% of the city population was Polish. Poland, which wanted to reconquer the city, seized Vilna. The League asked Poland to withdraw, but they firmly refused. Vilna remained part of Poland since the outbreak of World War II, that is why this is considered to be a League of Nations’ failure. Another important failure of the League is the question of the Danzig corridor. After the Great War this territory, whose inhabitants were mainly Germans, was given to Poland that, in this way, got an access to the Baltic Sea. This assignment, though, did not observe the League’s principle of national self- determination and divided Germany from its region of Eastern Prussia.

THE MANDATE SYSTEM

After the Great War the dismemberment of Germany and the Ottoman Empire caused the creation of new independent states which consisted of former colonies of the two Empires. These newly-created states were considered incapable of governing themselves, therefore they were distributed among the Allied Power, to be ruled by “mandates” on the basis of the 22nd Article of the Covenant of the League of Nations. The mandates were divided into three groups, according to their location and their economic and political development.

• Class A. The group was formed by Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Palestine. These territories, that were previously under the supremacy of the Ottoman Empire, were considered sufficiently advanced and the League of Nation recognised their temporary independence, but retained the support of the United Kingdom and the Republic of France necessary in the development of the countries. Iraq and Palestine were put under the control of the United Kingdom while Lebanon and Syria that of France.

• Class B. The group consisted of the following former German colonies: , which was assigned to the United Kingdom; Togoland and the Cameroons, which were put under control of France and United Kingdom; Ruanda-Urundi, which went to Belgium. The main tasks of the States with a mandate in these territories was to administrate them and to protect the rights of the natives.

• Class C. The Countries mandatories of these territories administrated them as parts of their State: was assigned to South Africa; to Australia; Western to New Zealand; the islands in the Western Pacific to the Japanese Empire; to Australia, Britain and New Zealand.

The mandatories had to send annually a report about these territories to the League of Nations’ Permanent Mandate Commission. This commission consisted of non-mandated States, in order to provide impartiality, and its aim was to control the work of mandates.

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2.4. FIRST SESSION OF THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS

The League of Nations held its first council meeting in Paris on 16th , six days after the Versailles Treaty and the Covenant of the League of Nations came into force. On 1st , the headquarter of the League was moved from London to Geneva, where the first General Assembly was held on 15th November 1920. Forty-two Nations came together with the purpose to find methods for peaceful settlement of international disputes. This was the first time in history that people from different cultures, languages and ideas from all over the world were reunited in the same room in order to reduce world wars and to promote the welfare of human kind.

The Presidents of the Session was Paul Hymans, Belgium’s representative to the Paris Peace Conference. The conference was attended by 241 delegates from 42 different nations (the same 42 members of the League that you can find in paragraph 3).

Even if the United States of America were not physically involved in the First Session, the Swiss President, Dr. Motta, delivered a message of gratitude to President Wilson, expressing the earnest hope that the United States would soon take its rightful place in the League.

“The Assembly of the League of Nations has by unanimous vote instructed me to send you its warmest greetings and to express its earnest wishes that you may speedily be restored to complete health. The Assembly recognises that you have done perhaps more than any other man to lay the foundations of the League. It feels confident that the present meetings will greatly advance those principles of cooperation between all nations which you have done so much to promote.”

ISSUES DISCUSSED DURING THE FIRST SESSION

The first council of the League of Nations began with the discussion about the admission of new members: Albania, Austria, Azerbaijan and Bulgaria. The President, Paul Hymans, objected to their entry getting criticism from the delegate of United Kingdom, Lord Robert Cecil, and the Kingdom of Italy, Mr , saying that this would create a bad impression. The delegates of the Republic of France, Renè Viviani and Lèon Bourgeois, asked if the entry of these new States would imply the subsequent entry of Germany. The Assembly responded negatively. In the end, the four requests of Albania, Austria, Azerbaijan and Bulgaria were referred to the Commission on New Memberships, and the question was postponed to a later session. One important result was that the way is left open for Germany to make her application at any future time. In any case, France threatened to leave the Assembly if Germany would be admitted. The Assembly finally decided to admit the new members, thanks to their sincere attempt to fulfill their treaty obligations. Bulgaria was admitted to the League at the session of the 9th December, despite the opposition of France, after the Membership Commission had reported in its favour. A factor which influenced this result was the fact that Bulgaria had done more than any other of the to fulfill the terms of the treaty.

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The admission of Austria, which made its application and appointed M. Mensdorff - former Austrian Ambassador to London - to speak on its behalf in the Assembly, was favourably considered on the 15th December. Finland, Luxemburg, and were admitted on 16th December, and Albania was admitted on 17th December.

The six above-mentioned nations (Austria, Albania, Bulgaria, Finland, Luxemburg and Costa Rica) brought the number of countries participating to the first session of the League of Nation from 42 to 48.

The application of Azerbaijan, Georgia, the Ukraine, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro and Lichtenstein were rejected, mostly because President Wilson wanted to maintain the former Russian territory and it should not be disposed until a responsible Russian government had given its consent. His opinion is fundamental as the founder of the League of Nations.

The Republic of Armenia, proclaimed in May 1918, applied to the League of Nations for full membership in for the first time. After long discussions the application was rejected. The USA candidacy for the mandate of Armenia also was in agenda of the League of Nations. Armenia again applied to the League of Nations in , during the joint aggression against the Republic of Armenia by Kemalist1 and Bolshevik armies. After long-lasting discussions, the Council of the League applied to the member states and to the USA with an appeal to take necessary steps to stop the hostilities. At that time Spain and Brazil, as member states of the League, expressed their willingness to cooperate with the USA in this question. Nevertheless, the League failed to provide any solution to this issue.

ESTABLISHMENT OF THE WORLD COURT

The Permanent Court of International Justice, commonly known as the World Court, was first proposed during the discussions involving the Treaty of Versailles as an effective replacement for the ineffective Hague Tribunal2, and then it was established during the First Session of the League of Nations.

Article 14 of the Covenant of the League of Nation instructs the leadership of the League to design a Permanent Court of International Justice "competent to hear and determine any dispute of an international character which the parties thereto submit to it" and capable of giving "an advisory opinion upon any dispute or question referred to it by the Council or by the Assembly."

The World Court assumed a judicial role and had a permanent panel of fifteen judges appointed to nine- year terms on hand to hear cases. Cases argued before the Court focused on disputes between nations who agree to argue before the Court and to accept its decisions. To insure that its judges were not biased, the Court paied judges a salary, forbidding them from working on any other government or legal project, and made sure that no more than one judge per country sat on a judicial panel.

1 “Kemalist” is the name given to the ideology of the struggle for national liberation of the peoples of by the Turkish National Movement, led by General Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, that in 1923 led to the foundation of the modern Republic of Turkey. 2 The Tribunal judges crimes agains humanity, war crimes and 21

Part 3 - Chronology

1. Fourteen-point speech of Woodrow Wilson, 8th January 1918. During this speech to the US Congress, the president Wilson presented for the first time his fourteen points, a plan to ensure a long lasting peace, which included the idea of national self-determination and the establishment of the League of Nation.

2. Paris Peace Conference, held from 18th January 1919 to 21st January 1920. Delegates are asked to read their political statements at the end of the conference.

3. Publication of the Covenant of the League of Nations, 28th April 1919. This document is the charter of the organisation and is drafted by a Special Commission chaired by Wilson.

4. First session of the League of Nations, 16th January 1920.. The nations involved in the League meet in Paris on this day for the first time, to discuss the admission of new members. The US is notably absent

5. Fiume question, 12 settembre 1919 to 7th . The Italian nationalist poet Gabriele D’Annunzio occupied the Croat city of Fiume with a body of men claiming for the right of national self-determination since the city was inhabited by lots of Italians. This event caused a diplomatic crisis for the Italian government.

6. , 12nd November 1920. It is an agreement with which Italy and the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes consensually established the boundaries of the two Kingdoms and their respective , in mutual respect of the principles of nationality and self- determination of peoples.

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Part 4- Nations and characters represented

Below you can find the list of nations and characters represented in CFMUNESCO 2020:

Republic of Albania Thuran Pasha Përmeti (Prime Minister, Republic of Albania) Republic of German - Austria Karl Seitz (President of the Constituent National Assembly, Republic of German-Austria) Kingdom of Belgium Paul Hymans (Foreign Minister, Kingdom of Belgium) Kingdom of Bulgaria Aleksandăr Stoimenov Stambolijski (Prime Minister, Kingdom of Bulgaria) Republic of China Wellington Koo (Representative of the Republic of China) Republic of France Léon Bourgeois (Representative of the Republic of France) Germany Friedrich Ebert (President of Germany) Kingdom of Italy Vittorio Emanuele Orlando (Representative of the Kingdom of Italy) Japanese Empire Makino Nobuaki (Representative of the Japanese Empire) Józef Klemens Piłsudski (Chief of State, Second Polish Republic) Portuguese Republic António José de Almeida (President of the Portuguese Republic) Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovens Milenko Radomar Vesni (Prime Minister, Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes) Republic of Turkey Mustafa Kemal (Prime Minister, Republic of Turkey) United Kingdom Robert Cecil (Representative of the United Kingdom) United States of America Thomas Woodrow Wilson (President of the United States)

IMPORTANT NOTE FOR CFMUNESCO HISTORICAL COMMITTEE In order to guarantee an active debate and be prepared on their characters we invite all delegates to accurately study the biography of the characters assigned, focusing their attention on the politics of the nation represented during this historical period.

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Part 5 - Historical documents

FOURTEEN POINTS OF WILSON

1. Open covenants of peace, openly arrived at, after which there shall be no private international understandings of any kind but diplomacy shall proceed always frankly and in the public view.

2. Absolute freedom of navigation upon the seas, outside territorial waters, alike in peace and in war, except as the seas may be closed in whole or in part by international action for the enforcement of international covenants.

3. The removal, so far as possible, of all economic barriers and the establishment of an equality of trade conditions among all the nations consenting to the peace and associating themselves for its maintenance.

4. Adequate guarantees given and taken that national armaments will be reduced to the lowest point consistent with domestic safety.

5. A free, open-minded, and absolutely impartial adjustment of all colonial claims, based upon a strict observance of the principle that in determining all such questions of sovereignty the interests of the populations concerned must have equal weight with the equitable claims of the government whose title is to be determined.

6. The evacuation of all Russian territory and such a settlement of all questions affecting Russia as will secure the best and freest cooperation of the other nations of the world in obtaining for her an unhampered and unembarrassed opportunity for the independent determination of her own political development and national policy and assure her of a sincere welcome into the society of free nations under institutions of her own choosing; and, more than a welcome, assistance also of every kind that she may need and may herself desire. The treatment accorded Russia by her sister nations in the months to come will be the acid test of their good will, of their comprehension of her needs as distinguished from their own interests, and of their intelligent and unselfish sympathy.

7. Belgium, the whole world will agree, must be evacuated and restored, without any attempt to limit the sovereignty which she enjoys in common with all other free nations. No other single act will serve as this will serve to restore confidence among the nations in the which they have themselves set and determined for the government of their relations with one another. Without this healing act the whole structure and validity of international is forever impaired.

8. All French territory should be freed and the invaded portions restored, and the wrong done to France by Prussia in 1871 in the matter of Alsace-Lorraine, which has unsettled the peace of the world for nearly fifty years, should be righted, in order that peace may once more be made secure in the interest of all.

9. A readjustment of the frontiers of Italy should be effected along clearly recognizable lines of nationality. 10. The peoples of Austria-Hungary, whose place among the nations we wish to see safeguarded and assured, should be accorded the freest opportunity of autonomous development.

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11. Rumania, Serbia, and Montenegro should be evacuated; occupied territories restored; Serbia accorded free and secure access to the sea; and the relations of the several Balkan states to one another determined by friendly counsel along historically established lines of allegiance and nationality; and international guarantees of the political and economic independence and of the several Balkan states should be entered into.

12. The Turkish portions of the present Ottoman Empire should be assured a secure sovereignty, but the other nationalities which are now under Turkish rule should be assured an undoubted security of life and an absolutely unmolested opportunity of autonomous development, and the Dardanelles should be permanently opened as a free passage to the ships and commerce of all nations under international guarantees.

13. An independent Polish state should be erected which should include the territories inhabited by indisputably Polish populations, which should be assured a free and secure access to the sea, and whose political and economic independence and territorial integrity should be guaranteed by international covenant.

14. A general association of nations must be formed under specific covenants for the purpose of affording mutual guarantees of political independence and territorial integrity to great and small states alike.

COVENANT OF THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS

THE HIGH CONTRACTING PARTIES, In order to promote international co-operation and to achieve international peace and security by the acceptance of obligations not to resort to war, by the prescription of open, just and honourable relations between nations, by the firm establishment of the understandings of as the actual rule of conduct among Governments, and by the maintenance of justice and a scrupulous respect for all treaty obligations in the dealings of organised peoples with one another, agree to this Covenant of the League of Nations. ARTICLE 1. The original Members of the League of Nations shall be those of the Signatories which are named in the Annex to this Covenant and also such of those other States named in the Annex shall accede without to this Covenant. Such accession shall be effected by a Declaration deposited with the Secretariat within two months of the coming into force of the Covenant. Notice thereof shall be sent to all other Members of the League. Any fully self-governing State, or Colony not named in the Annex may become a Member of the League if its admission is agreed to by two-thirds of the Assembly, provided that it shall give effective guarantees of its sincere intention to observe its international obligations, and shall accept such regulations as may be prescribed by the League in regard to its military, naval and air forces and armaments. Any Member of the League, after two years' notice of its intention so to do, may withdraw from the League, provided that all its international obligations and all its obligations under this Covenant shall have been fulfilled at the time of its withdrawal.

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ARTICLE 2. The action of the League under this Covenant shall be effected through the instrumentality of an Assembly and of a Council, with a permanent Secretariat. ARTICLE 3. The Assembly shall consist of Representatives of the Members of the League. The Assembly shall meet at stated intervals and from time to time as occasion may require at the Seat of the League or at such other place as may be decided upon. The Assembly may deal at its meetings with any matter within the sphere of action of the League or affecting the peace of the world. At meetings of the Assembly each Member of the League shall have one vote, and may have not more than three Representatives. ARTICLE 4. The Council shall consist of Representatives of the Principal Allied and Associated Powers, together with Representatives of four other Members of the League. These four Members of the League shall be selected by the Assembly from time to time in its discretion. Until the appointment of the Representatives of the four Members of the League first selected by the Assembly, Representatives of Belgium, Brazil, Spain and Greece shall be members of the Council. With the approval of the majority of the Assembly, the Council may name additional Members of the League whose Representatives shall always be members of the Council; the Council, with like approval may increase the number of Members of the League to be selected by the Assembly for representation on the Council. The Council shall meet from time to time as occasion may require, and at least once a year, at the Seat of the League, or at such other place as may be decided upon. The Council may deal at its meetings with any matter within the sphere of action of the League or affecting the peace of the world. Any Member of the League not represented on the Council shall be invited to send a Representative to sit as a member at any meeting of the Council during the consideration of matters specially affecting the interests of that Member of the League. At meetings of the Council, each Member of the League represented on the Council shall have one vote, and may have not more than one Representative. ARTICLE 5. Except where otherwise expressly provided in this Covenant or by the terms of the present Treaty, decisions at any meeting of the Assembly or of the Council shall require the agreement of all the Members of the League represented at the meeting. All matters of procedure at meetings of the Assembly or of the Council, including the appointment of Committees to investigate particular matters, shall be regulated by the Assembly or by the Council and may be decided by a majority of the Members of the League represented at the meeting. The first meeting of the Assembly and the first meeting of the Council shall be summoned by the President of the United States of America. ARTICLE 6. The permanent Secretariat shall be established at the Seat of the League. The Secretariat shall comprise a Secretary General and such secretaries and staff as may be required. The first Secretary General shall be the person named in the Annex; thereafter the Secretary General shall be appointed by the Council with the approval of the majority of the Assembly. The secretaries and staff of the Secretariat shall be appointed by the Secretary General with the approval of the Council. The Secretary General shall act in that capacity at all meetings of the Assembly and of the Council. The expenses of the League shall be borne by the Members of the League in the proportion decided by the Assembly. 26

ARTICLE 7. The Seat of the League is established at Geneva. The Council may at any time decide that the Seat of the League shall be established elsewhere. All positions under or in connection with the League, including the Secretariat, shall be open equally to men and women. Representatives of the Members of the League and officials of the League, when engaged on the business of the League, shall enjoy diplomatic privileges and immunities. The buildings and other property occupied by the League or its officials or by Representatives attending its meetings shall be inviolable. ARTICLE 8. The Members of the League recognise that the maintenance of peace requires the reduction of national armaments to the lowest point consistent with national safety and the enforcement by common action of international obligations. The Council, taking account of the geographical situation and circumstances of each State, shall formulate plans for such reduction for the consideration and action of the several Governments. Such plans shall be subject to reconsideration and revision at least every ten years. After these plans shall have been adopted by the several Governments, the limits of armaments therein fixed shall not be exceeded without the concurrence of the Council. The Members of the League agree that the manufacture by private enterprise of munitions and implements of war is open to grave objections. The Council shall advise how the evil effects attendant upon such manufacture can be prevented, due regard being had to the necessities of those Members of the League which are not able to manufacture the munitions and implements of war necessary for their safety. The Members of the League undertake to interchange full and frank information as to the scale of their armaments, their military, naval and air programmes and the condition of such of their industries as are adaptable to war-like purposes. ARTICLE 9. A permanent Commission shall be constituted to advise the Council on the execution of the provisions of Articles 1 and 8 and on military, naval and air questions generally. ARTICLE 10. The Members of the League undertake to respect and preserve as against external aggression the territorial integrity and existing political independence of all Members of the League. In case of any such aggression or in case of any threat or danger of such aggression the Council shall advise upon the means by which this obligation shall be fulfilled. ARTICLE 11. Any war or threat of war, whether immediately affecting any of the Members of the League or not, is hereby declared a matter of concern to the whole League, and the League shall take any action that may be deemed wise and effectual to safeguard the peace of nations. In case any such emergency should arise the Secretary General shall on the request of any Member of the League forthwith summon a meeting of the Council. It is also declared to be the friendly right of each Member of the League to bring to the attention of the Assembly or of the Council any circumstance whatever affecting which threatens to disturb international peace or the good understanding between nations upon which peace depends. ARTICLE 12. The Members of the League agree that, if there should arise between them any dispute likely to lead to a rupture they will submit the matter either to or judicial settlement or to enquiry by the Council, and they agree in no case to resort to war until three months after the award by the arbitrators or the judicial decision, or the report by the Council. In any case under this Article the award of the arbitrators 27

or the judicial decision shall be made within a reasonable time, and the report of the Council shall be made within six months after the submission of the dispute. ARTICLE 13. The Members of the League agree that whenever any dispute shall arise between them which they recognise to be suitable for submission to arbitration or judicial settlement and which cannot be satisfactorily settled by diplomacy, they will submit the whole subject-matter to arbitration or judicial settlement. Disputes as to the interpretation of a treaty, as to any question of international law, as to the existence of any fact which if established would constitute a breach of any international obligation, or as to the extent and nature of the reparation to be made for any such breach, are declared to be among those which are generally suitable for submission to arbitration or judicial settlement. For the consideration of any such dispute, the court to which the case is referred shall be the Permanent Court of International Justice, established in accordance with Article 14, or any tribunal agreed on by the parties to the dispute or stipulated in any convention existing between them. The Members of the League agree that they will carry out in full good faith any award or decision that may be rendered, and that they will not resort to war against a Member of the League which complies therewith. In the event of any failure to carry out such an award or decision, the Council shall propose what steps should be taken to give effect thereto. ARTICLE 14. The Council shall formulate and submit to the Members of the League for adoption plans for the establishment of a Permanent Court of International Justice. The Court shall be competent to hear and determine any dispute of an international character which the parties thereto submit to it. The Court may also give an advisory opinion upon any dispute or question referred to it by the Council or by the Assembly. ARTICLE 15. If there should arise between Members of the League any dispute likely to lead to a rupture, which is not submitted to arbitration or judicial settlement in accordance with Article 13, the Members of the League agree that they will submit the matter to the Council. Any party to the dispute may effect such submission by giving notice of the existence of the dispute to the Secretary General, who will make all necessary arrangements for a full investigation and consideration thereof. For this purpose the parties to the dispute will communicate to the Secretary General, as promptly as possible, statements of their case with all the relevant facts and papers, and the Council may forthwith direct the publication thereof. The Council shall endeavour to effect a settlement of the dispute, and if such efforts are successful, a statement shall be made public giving such facts and explanations regarding the dispute and the terms of settlement thereof as the Council may deem appropriate. If the dispute is not thus settled, the Council either unanimously or by a majority vote shall make and publish a report containing a statement of the facts of the dispute and the recommendations which are deemed just and proper in regard thereto. Any Member of the League represented on the Council may make public a statement of the facts of the dispute and of its conclusions regarding the same. If a report by the Council is unanimously agreed to by the members thereof other than the Representatives of one or more of the parties to the dispute, the Members of the League agree that they will not go to war with any party to the dispute which complies with the recommendations of the report. If the Council fails to reach a report which is unanimously agreed to by the members thereof, other than the Representatives of one or more of the parties to the dispute, the Members of the League reserve to themselves the right to take such action as they shall consider necessary for the maintenance of right and justice. 28

If the dispute between the parties is claimed by one of them, and is found by the Council, to arise out of a matter which by international law is solely within the domestic jurisdiction of that party, the Council shall so report, and shall make no recommendation as to its settlement. The Council may in any case under this Article refer the dispute to the Assembly. The dispute shall be so referred at the request of either party to the dispute, provided that such request be made within fourteen days after the submission of the dispute to the Council. In any case referred to the Assembly, all the provisions of this Article and of Article 12 relating to the action and powers of the Council shall apply to the action and powers of the Assembly, provided that a report made by the Assembly, if concurred in by the Representatives of those Members of the League represented on the Council and of a majority of the other Members of the League, exclusive in each case of the Representatives of the parties to the dispute, shall have the same force as a report by the Council concurred in by all the members thereof other than the Representatives of one or more of the parties to the dispute. ARTICLE 16. Should any Member of the League resort to war in disregard of its covenants under Articles 12, 13 or 15, it shall ipso facto be deemed to have committed an act of war against all other Members of the League, which hereby undertake immediately to subject it to the severance of all trade or financial relations, the prohibition of all intercourse between their nationals and the nationals of the covenant-breaking State, and the prevention of all financial, commercial or personal intercourse between the nationals of the covenant-breaking State and the nationals of any other State, whether a Member of the League or not. It shall be the duty of the Council in such case to recommend to the several Governments concerned what effective military, naval or air force the Members of the League shall severally contribute to the armed forces to be used to protect the covenants of the League. The Members of the League agree, further, that they will mutually support one another in the financial and economic measures which are taken under this Article, in order to minimise the loss and inconvenience resulting from the above measures, and that they will mutually support one another in resisting any special measures aimed at one of their number by the covenant-breaking State, and that they will take the necessary steps to afford passage through their territory to the forces of any of the Members of the League which are co-operating to protect the covenants of the League. Any Member of the League which has violated any covenant of the League may be declared to be no longer a Member of the League by a vote of the Council concurred in by the Representatives of all the other Members of the League represented thereon. ARTICLE 17. In the event of a dispute between a Member of the League and a State which is not a Member of the League, or between States not Members of the League, the State or States not Members of the League shall be invited to accept the obligations of membership in the League for the purposes of such dispute, upon such conditions as the Council may deem just. If such invitation is accepted, the provisions of Articles 12 to 16 inclusive shall be applied with such modifications as may be deemed necessary by the Council. Upon such invitation being given the Council shall immediately institute an inquiry into the circumstances of the dispute and recommend such action as may seem best and most effectual in the circumstances. If a State so invited shall refuse to accept the obligations of membership in the League for the purposes of such dispute, and shall resort to war against a Member of the League, the provisions of Article 16 shall be applicable as against the State taking such action. If both parties to the dispute when so invited refuse to accept the obligations of membership in the League for the purposes of such dispute, the Council may take such measures and make such recommendations as will prevent hostilities and will result in the settlement of the dispute. 29

ARTICLE 18. Every treaty or international engagement entered into hereafter by any Member of the League shall be forthwith registered with the Secretariat and shall as soon as possible be published by it. No such treaty or international engagement shall be binding until so registered. ARTICLE 19. The Assembly may from time to time advise the reconsideration by Members of the League of treaties which have become inapplicable and the consideration of international conditions whose continuance might endanger the peace of the world. ARTICLE 20. The Members of the League severally agree that this Covenant is accepted as abrogating all obligations or understandings inter se which are inconsistent with the terms thereof, and solemnly undertake that they will not hereafter enter into any engagements inconsistent with the terms thereof. In case any Member of the League shall, before becoming a Member of the League, have undertaken any obligations inconsistent with the terms of this Covenant, it shall be the duty of such Member to take immediate steps to procure its release from such obligations. ARTICLE 21. Nothing in this Covenant shall be deemed to affect the validity of international engagements, such as treaties of arbitration or regional understandings like the Monroe doctrine, for securing the maintenance of peace. ARTICLE 22. To those colonies and territories which as a consequence of the late war have ceased to be under the sovereignty of the States which formerly governed them and which are inhabited by peoples not yet able to stand by themselves under the strenuous conditions of the modern world, there should be applied the principle that the well-being and development of such peoples form a sacred trust of civilisation and that securities for the performance of this trust should be embodied in this Covenant. The best method of giving practical effect to this principle is that the tutelage of such peoples should be entrusted to advanced nations who by reason of their resources, their experience or their geographical position can best undertake this responsibility, and who are willing to accept it, and that this tutelage should be exercised by them as Mandatories on behalf of the League. The character of the mandate must differ according to the stage of the development of the people, the geographical situation of the territory, its economic conditions and other similar circumstances. Certain communities formerly belonging to the Turkish Empire have reached a stage of development where their existence as independent nations can be provisionally recognized subject to the rendering of administrative advice and assistance by a Mandatory until such time as they are able to stand alone. The wishes of these communities must be a principal consideration in the selection of the Mandatory. Other peoples, especially those of Central Africa, are at such a stage that the Mandatory must be responsible for the administration of the territory under conditions which will guarantee freedom of conscience and religion, subject only to the maintenance of public order and morals, the prohibition of abuses such as the slave trade, the arms traffic and the liquor traffic, and the prevention of the establishment of fortifications or military and naval bases and of military training of the natives for other than police purposes and the defence of territory, and will also secure equal opportunities for the trade and commerce of other Members of the League. There are territories, such as South-West Africa and certain of the South Pacific Islands, which, owing to the sparseness of their population, or their small size, or their remoteness from the centres of civilisation, or their geographical contiguity to the territory of the Mandatory, and other circumstances, can be best administered under the laws of the Mandatory as integral portions of its territory, subject to the safeguards above mentioned in the interests of the indigenous population.

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In every case of mandate, the Mandatory shall render to the Council an annual report in reference to the territory committed to its charge. The degree of authority, control, or administration to be exercised by the Mandatory shall, if not previously agreed upon by the Members of the League, be explicitly defined in each case by the Council. A permanent Commission shall be constituted to receive and examine the annual reports of the Mandatories and to advise the Council on all matters relating to the observance of the mandates. ARTICLE 23. Subject to and in accordance with the provisions of international conventions existing or hereafter to be agreed upon, the Members of the League: (a) will endeavour to secure and maintain fair and humane conditions of labour for men, women, and children, both in their own countries and in all countries to which their commercial and industrial relations extend, and for that purpose will establish and maintain the necessary international organisations; (b) undertake to secure just treatment of the native inhabitants of territories under their control; (c) will entrust the League with the general supervision over the execution of agreements with regard to the traffic in women and children, and the traffic in opium and other dangerous drugs; (d) will entrust the League with the general supervision of the trade in arms and ammunition with the countries in which the control of this traffic is necessary in the common interest; (e) will make provision to secure and maintain freedom of communications and of transit and equitable treatment for the commerce of all Members of the League. In this connection, the special necessities of the regions devastated during the war of 1914-1918 shall be borne in mind; (f) will endeavour to take steps in matters of international concern for the prevention and control of disease. ARTICLE 24. There shall be placed under the direction of the League all international bureaux already established by general treaties if the parties to such treaties consent. All such international bureaux and all commissions for the regulation of matters of international interest hereafter constituted shall be placed under the direction of the League. In all matters of international interest which are regulated by general convention but which are not placed under the control of international bureaux or commissions, the Secretariat of the League shall, subject to the consent of the Council and if desired by the parties, collect and distribute all relevant information and shall render any other assistance which may be necessary or desirable. The Council may include as part of the expenses of the Secretariat the expenses of any bureau or commission which is placed under the direction of the League. ARTICLE 25. The Members of the League agree to encourage and promote the establishment and co-operation of duly authorised voluntary national Red Cross organisations having as purposes the improvement of health, the prevention of disease and the mitigation of suffering throughout the world. ARTICLE 26. Amendments to this Covenant will take effect when ratified by the Members of the League whose Representatives compose the Council and by a majority of the Members of the League whose Representatives compose the Assembly. No such amendments shall bind any Member of the League which signifies its dissent therefrom, but in that case, it shall cease to be a Member of the League.

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SOURCES

PARIS PEACE CONFERENCE: https://www.theguardian.com/world/from-the-archive-blog/2019/jan/09/paris-peace-conference-first-world-war-1919 https://www.britannica.com/event/Paris-Peace-Conference https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Paris_Peace_Conference,_1919 https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-i/treaty-of-versailles-1

TREATIES: https://www.britannica.com/event/Treaty-of-Versailles-1919 https://www.britannica.com/event/Treaty-of-Sevres https://www.britannica.com/event/Treaty-of-Saint-Germain https://www.britannica.com/topic/mandate-League-of-Nations

LEAGUE OF NATIONS: https://www.britannica.com/topic/League-of-Nations https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-i/league-of-nations https://www.unog.ch/80256EDD006B8954/(httpAssets)/36BC4F83BD9E4443C1257AF3004FC0AE/ %24file/Historical_overview_of_the_League_of_Nations.pdf https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/z98xj6f/revision/1 https://www.historyonthenet.com/why-did-the-league-of-nations-fail https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1919Parisv13/ch10subch1

FIRST SESSION OF THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS: https://www.unog.ch/80256EDD006B8954/(httpAssets)/36BC4F83BD9E4443C1257AF3004FC0AE/ %24file/Historical_overview_of_the_League_of_Nations.pdf https://history.state.gov/milestones/1914-1920/league https://www.unmultimedia.org/avlibrary/asset/2081/2081226/

FOURTEEN POINTS OF WILSON: https://www.britannica.com/event/Fourteen-Points

COVENANT OF THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS: https://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/leagcov.asp

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