File 1355/1917 Pt 6 'Arms Traffic Convention: revised convention, 1925' [‎497v] (1001/1226)

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exception had also signified a similar intention. But, as you know, the United Sbt
Government was unable to adhere to the terms of the convention in question althnnl
it declared itself in agreement with the principles on which it was based an A
became necessary to direct the work of the League of Nations towards the prenaratinr,
ot a new convention which would secure universal approval.
It is this draft convention which will constitute the groundwork of our debates
in . lts general plan this convention follows the main outlines of the Saint}
Germain Convention, as they are both based on the same considerations. At the
moment the international traffic in arms is not subject to any uniform supervision
or to any organised system of publicity. In the present state of international opinion
it must be regarded as inadmissible that trade movements which have so great an
mlluence on the security of nations and individuals as those relating to armaments
should be regarded as exclusively commercial, and should escape all general
regulation. Such a state of affairs helps to maintain that sense of distrust and
insecurity which makes itself felt in all international difficulties. The direct
purpose of our conference is therefore not the reduction of armaments—a problem
reserved for a future which we hope is not far distant—nor even the reduction of
the traffic in arms. This conference recognises that there is a legitimate trade in
arms, and that every State is not only entitled but in duty bound to provide for its
security within the scope of its international obligations by procuring the necessary
armaments, either from its own factories or, if it has none, from foreign factories.
The aim of our conference is not to throw any obstacles in the way of this
legitimate trade, but to obviate the possibility that an illicit and dangerous traffic
should compromise its good name or hamper the success of the best efforts to create
an atmosphere of mutual co-operation and goodwill between nations.
It is in this sense that the draft convention which we have to consider restricts
the trade in arms, serving exclusively warlike purposes, to Governments, and for
this reason that the export licences which it provides for are made subject to a
system of international publicity, which should render it possible to place before the
public an annual table of the movements of war material throughout the world.
This limited and comparatively modest aim is directly related to the provisions of
the Covenant of the League of Nations, which not only recognise in articles 8 and 23
the necessity of supervising the trade in arms, but also enjoin the members of the
League, in the last paragraph of article 8 , to exchange as complete information as
possible regarding their armaments.
It will not be possible to accomplish this work, however restricted its scope may
be, without constant demands being made upon our goodwill. Difficulties will no
doubt arise, but is it not to overcome these difficulties that this conference has met?
We shall be faced with a number of technical problems. For example, what is
an implement of war ? Where does " war material begin and where does it end?
With regard to this question, however, and to the classification of arms from the
point of view of the supervision to be exercised over them, there is every prospect of
agreement, since the technical experts of the Permanent Advisory Committee for
Military, Naval and Air Questions, who have co-operated closely with the Temporary
Mixed ( ommission in preparing the draft before you, have succeeded in elaborating
definite proposals which were adopted unanimously.
A similar problem is raised by the question of unifying the nomenclature in
statistics relating to the import and export of arms. The endeavours already made
by the League of Nations to secure the periodical publication of the figures relating
to the trade in arms throughout the world have shown the disadvantages consequent
on the extreme diversity of armament statistics. It is possible that certain technical
obstacles may make this part of your work particularly arduous, but it appears none
the less to be one of the most necessary and, indeed, indispensable factors in the
success of the whole project. Supervision presupposes accurate knowledge of the
matter supervised, and the condition precedent to the accurate knowledge of any
branch of trade is the establishment of reliable statistics.
Another difficult political and legal question is that of defining the bodies upon
whom the convention will confer the right to purchase implements of war. What
constitutes a Government ? When does a group of combatants acquire international
importance, the status of a belligerent,’’ which will permit it to receive vai
material ? How much liberty is to be left to the exporting Government in this
connection, and how far the international guarantee to come into play? These
are difficult and delicate questions, which your skill and spirit of conciliation will
have to elucidate and resolve.