281. P.W. Article 36 - Letters and postcards. Three important changes were recommended for consideration by the 1947 Geneva Conference of Government Experts. The first recommendation would provide: -
that all letter post should be carried by the most rapid
means.
1
This would generally mean airmail which, in the view of the General Post Office and the air ministries, would often be impracticable in wartime, because aircraft could not be spared: the insertion of these words was deliberately meant to make air transport obligatory, in order to avoid the hazards of land and sea transport arising from modern warfare operations.
My Committee recommend that the United Kingdom delegation to a future International Conference should seek to modify this recommend- ation: they do not recommend that the use of airmail be ruled out, but that there should be no obligation to provide it. (C. R. G. C./M (47)3 : Item 16(a). During the Second World War, by mutual agreement, prisoners of war mails between Germany and England went between Lisbon and Germany by air.
282. The second of the recommended changes referred to in paragraph 281 above would provide:-
that each prisoner of war should have a right to send a minimum number of two letters and four postoards monthly: the General Post Office and Censorship are opposed to this provision in view of the impossible strain it would impose, in the event of large numbers of prisoners of war being captured, or of prisoners of war from a country, in whose language we were short of interpreters.
The United States delegation are likely to press strongly for minima, in view of the almost complete failure of the Japanese to provide any regular correspondence facilities for prisoners of war in their hands; but it is at least open to doubt whether any Western Power could, have provided an outward service of two letters and four postcards a month, for hundreds of thousands of Japanese prisoners of war if it had had so many in its hands; unless that Power had been prepared to forego almost entirely, censorship control.
My Committee recommend that the United Kingdom delegation to a future
International Conference should resist the insertion of minimum numbers in the Convention; but that if they have to give way they should seek a formula which would condition the minima to the difficulty of censorship, where there are language difficulties for the Detaining Power, and press that any belligerent should be free to modify the minima by giving notice to that effect to the adverse belligerent concerned. (C. R. G. C. M(47)3, Item 16)
283. would
The third of the recommended changes referred to in paragraph 281
introduce a standard model postcard as an annexe to the * Convention.
Such a card would have some advantages; but it might encourage Detaining Powers to seek to limit prisoners of war to such postcards.
My Committee considered that the United Kingdom delegation to a future International Conference should seek to preserve as great freedom as possible for prisoners of war to write as theyafoose, and that resort to a standard card be allowed only in extreme conditions. (C.R. G.C./(47)3, Item 16)
54
·
284.
-
P.. Artiole 37 - Right to receive parcels.
see paragraphs 115 to 120 above. With reference to paragraph 119 above, the regulations recommended by the 1947 Geneva Conference of Government 136 Experts to be annexed to the Convention are set out in detail in. - C. .G. J./Pag32280ney4would provide that Camp Pagars Osnd488be given all essential facilities for checking supplies received, for controlling and supervising their distribution, in labour detachments as well as in base camps, and for the holding of stocks of supplies, and for proper accommodation for such stocks, in camp. They also provide for the Camp Leader to be able to correspond freely about such supplies with the Protecting Power and the International Red Cross Committee; and for representatives of these to be given all necessary fàcilities.
285. The 1947 Geneva Conference of Government Experts further recommended embodiment in the Convention of the following principles:-
286.
(a) that the Camp Leader should have the right to distribute and dispose of relief supplies and that he must be given the necessary facilities;
(b) that the receipt of collective consignments does not
relieve the Detaining Power of any of its obligations (this particularly refers to food, clothing and medical supplies);
(c) that the representative of the Protecting Power, the
International Red Cross Committee, or other neutral intermediary, should have the right to supervise the distribution of collective consignments;
(a)
(0)
that prisoners of war have right to receive collective consignments, subject only to such reasonable restrictions as may be proposed by the Protecting Power or some other competent international body (but see also paragraph 118(a) above);
that both Detaining Powers and Transit countries should carry collective supplies free by rail, and such supplies should be exempt from any charges for customs, registration, import duties, etc. (See also paragraphs 123 and 125 above).
My Committee recommend that the United Kingdom delegation to a future International Conference should support the recommendations referred to in paragraphs 284 and 285 above. (C. R. G. C. /l (48)1, Items 5 and 6) (See also paragraphs 115 to 120, 123 and 125 above).
287. P.W. Article 38 deals with the exemption of letters and parcels addressed to prisoners of war, from postal charges, taxes, import -
The 1947 Geneva duties and railway charges; and with telegrams. Conference of Government Experts recommended that this Article should specifically cover collective, as well as individually addressed, parcels and should provide that all should be free of any kind of tax, import duty or similar charge; and that individually addressed postal packets or parcels should be carried free through all the countries
This latter recommendation accords who are parties to the Convention. with the International Postal and Parcels Conventions. of collective parcels see paragraphs 121 to 138 above).
(For transport
288. The 1947 Geneva Conference of Government Experts recommended the strengthening of the provisions in Article 38 of the 1929 Prisoners of War Convention allowing prisoners of war to send telegrams at their own expense to require that:-
(a) where there are no facilities for postal packets;
or
(b) where prisoners of war and their families are separated by long distances (e.g. British prisoners of war in the Far East); Page 280 of 488