3
REVISION OF THE RULES OF PROCEDURE,
The Committee decided, with reference to Rule 2 of its Rules of Procedure, that the Chairman and Vice-Chairman should hold office from one spring session to another.
PUBLICITY OF MEETINGS.
}:
The Committee noted that the Council had agreed that it should be left to the discretion of the Committee to decide what publicity should be given to its meetings.
The Committee decided that for this session all the meetings should be held in public unless the members of the Committee wished to sit in private for the discussion of any particular question,
THE PROPOSALS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
The Delegation of the United States of America presented the two following proposals;
"1. If the purpose of the Hague Opium Convention is to be achieved according to its spirit and true intent, it must be recognised that the use of opium products for other than medicinal and scientific purposes is an abuse and not legitimate.
"2. In order to prevent the abuse of these drugs, it is necessary to exercise the control of the production of raw opium in such a manner that there will be no surplus available for non-medicinal and non-scientific purposes.
"
These proposals were amplified by the United States representatives, who, in commenting on them, showed that they were in full accordance with both the letter and the spirit of the Inter- national Opium Convention of 1912.
The Committee very fully examined the proposals of the United States. It would be difficult in a short space to summarise the discussions which took place, but a full report of them is included in the minutes of the meetings, and reference should be made to them. After a long discussion, and on the proposal of a Drafting Committee which was appointed to prepare the final text, the Committee adopted unanimously the following resolution:
"I. The Advisory Committee on Traffic in Opium accepts and recommends to the League of Nations the proposals of the United States representatives as embodying the general principles by which the Governments should be guided in dealing with the question of the abuse of dangerous drugs, and on which, in fact, the International Convention of 1912 is based, subject to the fact that the following reservation has been made by the representatives of the Governments of France, Germany, Great Britain, Japan, the Netherlands, Portugal and Siam:
"The use of prepared opium and the production, export and import of raw opium for that purpose are legitimate so long as that use is subject to and in accordance with the provisions of Chapter II of the Convention,
"II. The Advisory Committee, appreciating the great value of the co-operation of the Government of the United States of America in the efforts which the League has for the past two years been making to deal with the question of the abuse of dangerous drugs, expresses the belief that all the Governments concerned will be desirous of co-operating with that Government in giving the fullest possible effect to the Convention.
"III. In bringing the American proposals to the notice of the Council and the Assembly, the Advisory Committee would recall that, during the two years that have elapsed since the Convention came into operation, it has worked towards the same ends by: (1) taking all possible steps to secure the adhesion of all countries to the Convention; (2) investigating the question of the world's needs of the manufactured drugs for medicinal and scientific uses with a view to the eventual limitation of the production of these drugs; (3) recommending the system of import certificates, arranging the exchange between States of information in regard to the illicit traffic in the drugs, and proposing other measures for securing international co-operation in suppressing that traffic; (4) inviting the Powers with territories in the Far East to review their requirements of opium, and submitting proposals for an investigation by the Chinese Government of the conditions in China with a view to the more effective application of Chapter II of the Convention and the solution of the problem of the use of prepared opium in the Far East; (5) collecting and publishing information as to the measures taken to give effect to the Convention and the position generally in all countries in regard to the traffic with a view to securing the enforcement of the Convention.
"IV. As a means of giving effect to the principles submitted by the representatives of the United States and the policy which the League, on the recommendation of the Committee, has adopted, and having regard to the information now available, the Advisory Committee recommends to the Council the advisability of inviting:
"(a) The Governments of the States in which morphine, heroin or cocaine and their respective salts are manufactured and the Governments of the States in which raw opium or the coca leaf is produced for export for the purpose of such manufacture; "(b) The Governments having territories in which the use of prepared opium is tempo- rarily continued under the provisions of Chapter II of the Convention, and the Government of the Republic of China,
to enter into immediate negotiations (by nominating representatives to form a committee or committees, or otherwise) to consider whether, with a view to giving the fullest possible effect to the Convention of igra, agreements could not now be reached between them:
"(a) As to a limitation of the amounts of morphine, heroin or cocaine and their respective salts to be manufactured; as to a limitation of the amounts of raw opium and the coca leaf to be imported for that purpose and for other medicinal and scientific purposes; and as to a limitation of the production of raw opium and the coca leaf for export to the amount required for such medicinal and scientific purposes. The latter limitation is not to be deemed to apply to the production and export of raw opium for the purpose of smoking in those territories where that practice is tempo- rarily continued under the provisions of Chapter II of the Convention;
"(b) As to a reduction of the amount of raw opium to be imported for the purpose of smoking in those territories where it is temporarily continued, and as to the measures which should be taken by the Government of the Republic of China to bring about a suppression of the illegal production and use of opium in China.
Reservation by the Representative of the Government of India.
"
The representative of the Government of India associates himself with the foregoing resolution, subject to the following reservation regarding paragraph 1:
"The use of raw opium, according to the established practice in India, and its pro- duction for such use, are not illegitimate under the Convention."
The representatives of the United States of America communicated to the Advisory Committee the following reply regarding the above resolution:
"I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of June 5th, 1923, enclosing a copy of the resolution adopted by the Advisory Committee in regard to the propositions presented by the United States representatives.
"The reservation made by the representatives of the Governments of France, Germany, Great Britain, Japan, the Netherlands, Portugal and Siam in adopting the American proposals appears to be but a reaffirmation of Chapter II of the Hague Opium Convention, and, as such, gives rise to no question. Paragraphs II and III are matters to which no exception could, it is hoped, be taken, especially as it is the earnest desire of the United States to co-operate
in every possible way in the work of suppressing the abuse of narcotic drugs.
"While I am without specific instructions in regard to the subject-matter of Paragraph IV, it contains a suggestion which I shall take pleasure in submitting to my Government for favourable consideration.
(Signed) Stephen G. PORTER.”
APPLICATION OF CHAPTER II OF THE CONVENTION WITH REFERENCE TO EUROPEAN POSSESSIONS AND OTHER COUNTRIES IN THE FAR EAST.
The Advisory Committee very fully discussed the question of the use of prepared opium and examined the figures for consumption in the European Possessions and other countries in the Far East. It reached the conclusion that the general situation does not show at present the gradual reduction of the use of prepared opium which is stipulated by the terms of Chapter II of the Convention, and adopted by six votes to one, with one abstention, the following resolution proposed by the representative of Great Britain:
"The Advisory Committee, having regard to the large amount of detailed information now available, recommends the Council to invite the Powers with Far Eastern territories where the use of opium for smoking is temporarily continued, in pursuance of Chapter II of the Opium Convention, to enter into immediate negotiations, by means of calling a special conference of representatives of these Governments, or otherwise, to consider what measures could be taken to give a more effective application to Chapter II of the Convention and to bring about a reduction of the amount of opium used, and whether, on the lines of the sug- gestions set out below or on other lines, an agreement or understanding could not now be reached for the adoption of a uniform policy on the matter:
5. J. N. 250 (F) + 180(A.) 6/23 + 1.300 (F)" + 1.400(A.) 7|23. Imp. Atar.
364
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.