ذن
gonditions and to the rightful clalius of the workers. While he did not wish to say anything that would damage the solidarity between the States Members, he nevertheless believed that the problem was even more serious than had been suggested by the Workers'
suggestion first nude by Mr. Roberts in his latter to the Director-General oz behalf of the Workers' group related to associate membership, whereas now the question of full membership for non-metropolitan territories was being raised. It was because the United Kingdom Government felt that the road obliged to oppose even the examination of sugges was a dangerous one to start upon that he was tions of the Workers' group proposed in the second part of the amendment.
These suggestions, which would undoubtedly be translated into proposals in due course, involved the greatest possible dangers not only for the Interna- tional Labour Organisation but for the relations between the Organisation and its present Members.
up. There were non-metropolitan territories which formed an integral part of States Members which exercised trusteeship over them and represented them internationally. Nevertheless the universal human value of the workers, in whatever part of the world they might be, must be borne in mind. An int national organisation which aimed at uni- versal ace and social justice could not ignore the vast multitudes of men who were still deprived of the protection of labour legislation. A first step towards giving satisfaction to the Workers' group-While it was true that many people disliked the would be to amend article 35 of the Constitution of the I.L.O. This article laid down a principle which was totally incompatible with the universality of the International Labour Organisation since it made it possible for non-metropolitan territories to be excluded from the application of Conventions, and left the decision in this respect to the entire discretion of the State Member responsible for administering the territory and for conducting its political affairs. It introduced a most important restriction, which had not been dealt with in the letter of the Workers' group, by providing that States Members should undertake that ratified Conventions should be applied to their non-metro- politan territories "except where . . . the Conven- tion is inapplicable owing to the local conditions".
In the light of these observations, the Brazilian Government fully supported the proposals of the Workers' group and believed that, contrary to the conclusions set forth in the Office document, it was necessary for the Constitution to be amended and for the problem to be solved by means of constitu- tional changes as well as by practical measures. He also believed that the deletion of the part of article 35 of the Constitution to which he had referred should be considered in addition to the amendments pro- posed by the Workers' group.
Sir Guildhaume Myrddin-Evans associated himself with the congratulations expressed by Mr. Roberts to the Office on the excellent report which it had submitted and with which the United Kingdom Government was in complete agreement.
The United Kingdom Government did not share the criticisms that Mr. Roberts had offered and was prepared to accept as they stood both the report and the recommendations it put forward. He would, therefore, address his remarks more particularly to the amendment to the Office's proposals submitted by the Workers' group.
With regard to the first part of the proposals of the Workers' group, namely, that the Director- General should be instructed to draw the special attention of governments to the problem in the letter of convocation to the 37th Session of the Interna- tional Labour Conference, this was a suggestion which the United Kingdom Government could accept at once. With regard to the second part, however, he expressed the hope that the Workers' group would not press their proposals at the present time. Mr. Roberts in his persuasive speech had nade these revolutionary proposals sound reasonable, but he had slurred over, if not completely ignored, the constitutional difficulties involved. It was all very well to say that a request for a report was not proposal for action, but once a process of this kind was started it could not be controlled. The
fact that non-metropolitan territories existed, it the merits of the case and the facts had to be faced was not the purpose of the present debate to argue as they stood at present. So long as non-metropolitan sponsibilities for and obligations towards their non- territories existed the metropolitan States had re- metropolitan territories which they were bound and grossly abusing its power if it tried to ignore these were determined to carry out. The LLO. would be obligations and responsibilities.
If the present suggestions were translated into proposals, the posi tion would be that an international organisation of its own volition was seeking to alter and, if the proposals were carried out, would succeed in altering the constitutional relationships between metropolitan States and their non-metropolitan territories. What- reasons there might be for altering these constitutional relationships, the I.L.O. was not the proper body to attempt such an alteration and it would be intolerable for it to do so. If any such attempt were made the metropolitan States could not remain indifferent and their attitude towards
evitably be affected. the International Labour Organisation would in-
ever
དྷ
relating to the possibility of granting membership Secondly, the suggestions, and particularly that
to certain non-metropolitan territories, would com- pletely change the nature of the I.L.O. as a treaty- making organisation since it would enable territories which had no treaty-making powers to participate in the making of treaties. This would be a clear case of power without responsibility.
Thirdly, if States without treaty-making respons- ibility were to participate in the making of treaties, how could any governments, whether metropolitan governments or other Members of the Organisation, fail to regard the I.L.O. and its instruments with very different eyes from those with which they regarded them at present? Any such development would turn the I.L.O. into a debating society and would mean that its instruments would be ratified, accepted and implemented by the States Members of the Organisation far less than they were today, In fact, it could be predicted that if the suggestions of the Workers' group were translated into action- the Conventions and Recommendations of the I.LO. would have no more weight than resolutions.
Some reference to the political aspects of the matter was also called for since Mr. Roberts had already mentioned them. Sir Guildhaume recognised that, as was common knowledge, the Communist front was making a determined attacks on the colonial ter- ritories, but, unlike Mr. Roberts, he believed that, far from helping to fight commmaism, to embark on such a course would be to play the game of the Communists. It would give access to the territories in question to more and more trouble makers.