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File 1355/1917 Pt 6 'Arms Traffic Convention: revised convention, 1925' [‎499r] (1004/1226)

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The record is made up of 1 volume (609 folios). It was created in 19 Feb 1925-29 Apr 1926. It was written in English and French. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .

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mmmmmm****•* % •jb***- * ' ..• . *"-.^rTr"V , *V ■
nhit Document is the Property of His Britannic Majetty's Government.!
[May 11, 1925. ]
Section 2 .
^|W 4153 / 86 / 95 ] 1 . J
Verbatim Report of the Fourth Plenary Meeting of the Conference on the Control
of the International Trade in Arms, Munitions and Implements of War,
held at Geneva, Wednesday, May 6, 1925, at 4 30 p.m.— (Received at Foreign
Office, May 11.)
President: His Excellency Count Carton de Wiart, Minister of State,
Former Prime Minister of Belgium.
Draft Convention for the Control of the International Traffic in Arms, Munitions
and Implements of War (C .C .1 .A Continuation of the General
Discussion.
M. PAUL-BONCOUR (France) (translation) : On behalf of my Government,
I desire to bring to all the nations assembled here in this conference the greetings
of the French Republic. Even if the aim which this conference has in view had
been one which touched the interests of the republic less closely, they would still
have been glad to respond to the invitation which was addressed to them. We
congratulate ourselves on the initiative which was taken by the Council of the
League of Nations in addressing .the invitation to take part in this conference not
only to the members of the League but also to the States which are not members
of the League, and we rejoice to see those States assembled here to assist in dealing
with this problem. All of us, whether we represent European countries or non-
European countries, feel that the task which we are assembled to undertake would
have been incomplete without their aid.
We have got one most valuable asset in the atmosphere of the League, and we
know that, in that atmosphere, we shall be able to approach the difficulties which
are bound to arise, and which are, indeed, the inevitable accompaniments of distance,
of recent historical events, and of the different geographical and other circumstances
of the different countries. We have already developed the habit of approaching this
question from that standpoint in the Temporary Mixed Commission, but the
Temporary Mixed Commission was really an organ of enquiry; it did not consist
of the authorised representatives of Governments.
We are now met together in a great conference to deal with an essential problem
which is really, in its essence, the whole problem of security. It is the struggle of
peace against war, which is, after all, the very raison d'etre of the League of Nations.
Our president very fittingly said, in his speech of the day before yesterday,
that our task was subject to certain very definite limits. I agree with what he said,
h is true that we are approaching the ultimate problem in an indirect manner;
in a more indirect manner, perhaps, than we of the French delegation would have
preferred. We are only looking at one aspect of this cpiestion, and we are only
dealing with that in a very partial manner. What we are doing is, to use a military
sinnle, to conduct a sort of approach march for advance guard action in the fight
w hich we are waging against war. If any of us were inclined to deceive ourselves
w ith illusions, the honourable delegate for China, with that fine irony which he
employed yesterday, must certainly have recalled us to wisdom, since his country
can look back not only on centuries but on thousands of years of history and
experience.
We fully recognise the limitations to which we are subject, and it is necessary
mjt we should recognise them, not with a view.to discouraging ourselves, but in
or der to prevent any disappointment of public opinion which in all countries is
so alertly watching our labours and is so anxious to see what benefits we shall produce
Lr the human race. This work, as I have already said, is merely the beginning
? T e struggle against armaments. If we succeed, we shall have gained much,
u d will really be very little in comparison with what still remains to be done.
T would like to try to find some formula which would sum up the results which
shall have gained by this conference, if it succeeds in attaining a definite
delusion. It will certainly not mean the prevention of the traffic in arms. As
td President pointed out in his eloquent speech, that is an aim which cannot even
[944 1—21
arms TRAFFIC.
CONFIDENTIAL.
r
1569
i 192
B

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Content

The papers in this volume relate to the revised international Arms Traffic Convention (1925).

The papers include: The right to supply munitions to the governments of Afghanistan, Nepal and Tibet should they fall within the ‘prohibited zone’, 11 December 1924; the preference for including all countries bordering India (except Siam) in the prohibited zone should Russia decide to adopt the Convention, and potential British support for Persia’s claim to exclusion from the zone should Russia decide to reject the Convention, 3 February 1925; the exclusion of Persia and Afghanistan from the prohibited zone, and possible arrangement of imports through Bushire [Bushehr], Mohammerah [Khorramshahr] and Karachi, 18 February-12 March 1925; the proposed abandonment of the term ‘prohibited’ areas to induce Turkey and Persia to join the Convention, and empowerment of the governments of the countries bordering India, 24 March 1925; the readiness of HMG Her or His Majesty’s Government in London. to support Persia’s request for exclusion from the prohibited zone in order to ensure the strict regulation of the private arms trade from Russia to India via Persia, 5-11 April 1925; the Government of India’s objections to Article 25 of the Convention, 11-30 April 1925; the Conference on Supervision of the International Trade in Arms and Ammunition, Geneva, 6 May-17 June 1925; the report on the proceedings of the Inter-Departmental Committee assembled to consider the draft Convention for Control of the Trade in Arms, Ammunition and Implements of War produced by the Temporary Mixed Commission of the League of Nations, with annexes including drafts of the Convention by the Temporary Mixed Commission and the Inter-Departmental Committee, and a minute by the Secretary of State on the Arms Traffic Conference, 23-28 April 1925; the protocol on the use of asphyxiating, poisonous and other gases in times of war, 20 May-14 June 1925; the list of countries designated as ‘special zones’ in the Arms Traffic Convention, 25-27 May 1925; the proposal of the Persian delegate Mīrzā A title of honour originally applied to princes, later to military leaders, and later still to secretaries, chieftains, and other ‘gentlemen’. Reżā Khan Arfaʿ al-Dawla, 29 May-6 June 1925; the nomination of a Jurist Committee by the Bureau for the purpose of determining the status of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. in international law as the best means of dealing with the Persian delegation, 4-11 June 1925; the Persian amendment to the second paragraph of Article 15 of the Convention, 8-9 June 1925; the protest of the High Commissioner for Iraq at the inclusion of the country in a special zone, 8-25 June 1925; the vote on the inclusion of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. and Gulf of Oman as special zones, 11-15 June 1925; the declaration on the manufacture of arms, ammunition and implements of war, 8 June 1925; the general report on the League of Nations’ Conference for the Supervision of the International Trade in Arms and Ammunition and in Implements of War, including the texts of the Convention, Statement regarding the Territory of Ifni, Protocol on Chemical and Bacteriological Warfare, Protocol of Signature, and the Final Act, dated at Geneva, 14 June 1925 (texts in French and English); the statement of Sir Percy Cox on the Persian arguments concerning maritime zones, and the response of the Persian delegate General Habibullah Khan [Ḥabib Allāh Khan Shāybanī], 15 June 1925-28 January 1926; the inspection of ships at Indian ports and interception of arms bound for China, 22 October 1925-29 April 1926.

The volume also includes a decree by the Shah of Persia, Muẓaffar al-Dīn Shāh Qājār against arms trafficking, signed on his behalf by the Ṣadr-i Aʿẓam, Mīrzā A title of honour originally applied to princes, later to military leaders, and later still to secretaries, chieftains, and other ‘gentlemen’. ʻAlī Aṣghar Khān Amīn al-Sulṭān, dated 1 January 1900 (in French).

The correspondence in this volume is primarily between the Viceroy, Foreign and Political Department; Secretary of State for India; Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs; Under-Secretary of State, India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. ; the Admiralty; Richard William Alan Onslow, 5th Earl of Onslow; HM Consul Geneva; War Office; Foreign Office; India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. ; Colonial Office; Sir Percy Zachariah Cox; Sir Frederic Arthur Hirtzel; Secretary of State for the Colonies.

Extent and format
1 volume (609 folios)
Arrangement

The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the volume. The subject 1355 (Peace Settlement: The Arms Traffic Convention 1919) consists of four volumes, IOR/L/PS/10/672-675. The volumes are divided into 6 parts; with part 1 comprising one volume, parts 2, 4 and 5 comprising the second volume, part 3 comprising the third volume, and part 6 comprising the fourth volume.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 610; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio. The file has one foliation anomaly, f 242a.

Written in
English and French in Latin script
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File 1355/1917 Pt 6 'Arms Traffic Convention: revised convention, 1925' [‎499r] (1004/1226), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/675, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100081597308.0x000005> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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