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The United Kingdom proposals for the text to implement these recommend- ations in a new Prisoners of War Convention will be found in Articles 6 and 23 et seg in C. R. G.C./P(48)56.

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115. Relief Supplies for Prisoners of War.

I deal with this subject in this part. of my Report, because of the close interest taken by the public in it in time. of war. The 1929 Prisoners of War Convention gives prisoners of war the right to receive "individually" parcels (Article 37) and provides for the exemption of "presents and relief in kind" from import and other duties and from railway charges (Article 38) and with the censorship of books (Article 39) and parcels (Article 40). The 1947 Geneva Conference of Government Experts concluded that these provisions should be expanded.

116. The 1947 Conference therefore recommended a new text for Article 37 as follows:- :

"Prisoners of war shall be authorised to receive through postal or other channels, individually or collectively, parcels containing foodstuffs, clothing, and other articles of a recreational, intellectual and devotional character which may promote their comfort or welfare. Medical supplies shall, as a rule, be sent in collective parcels, subject to the regulations of the home country.

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The last sentence is designed to encourage the addressing of medical supplies to Medical Officers or Camp Leaders, whilst not excluding entirely from personal parcels such things as Carters Little Liver Pills, the sending of which might give much joy to the folk at home.

117. The 1947 Conference also recommended that books should not be included in parcels of clothing and foodstuffs, in view of the much longer delay in censorship for parcels containing books.

118. The 1947 Conference made two further important recommendations about relief supplies, viz: -

119.

(a)

that any limitation or modification in the application of Article 37 (see paragraph 116 above) should be the subject of special agreement between the belligerents concerned; and such agreements should not "lose sight of the obligations incumbent on the Detaining Power"; (b) that Regulations should be annexed to the Prisoners

of War Convention setting out in some detail, the rights of Comp Leaders, the Protecting Power and the International Red Cross Committee or other inter- national body concerned, in supervising, distributing and controlling relief supplies.

The Regulations referred to in paragraph 118 above are

but attention should considered in paragraphs 284-286 below );

be called here to three proposals made by the International Red Cross Committee during the Second World War and again brought forward at the 1947 Conference which rejected them, viz:-

(a) that clothing despatched for prisoners of war should be distinctively marked (the marking not necessarily this would to be normally visible when being worn): enable International Red Cross delegates visiting camps to check misuse, but the administrative difficulties involved for Ordnance in meeting such

Regulation, render it objectionable for, during the Page doond World War, clothing and uRage Dot8ing 488

prisoners of war was despatched in bulk from Army stores: to mark each article specially would involve breaking down bales, marking and then re-baling each

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consignment as required. The United Kingdom delegation's opposition resulted in defeat of the proposal at the

Conference;