treaty of the completion of two destroyers of the Imperial Japanese Navy, the particulars of which are as follows: Oboro Date of laying keel: 3 Date of completion: October 31, 1931 Classification: Destroyer Standard displacement: 1,700 tons (1,727 metric tons) Extreme beam: 10.3 meters Mean draft at standard displacement: 2.97 meters Ushio Date of laying keel: December 24, 1929 Date of completion: November 14, 1931 Classification: Destroyer Standard displacement: 1,700 tons (1,727 metric tons) Extreme beam: 10.3 meters Mean draft at standard displacement: 2.97 meters By a note dated November 30, 1931, the Japanese Ambassador at Washington informed the Secretary of State in accordance with the provisions of article 10(a) of the London naval treaty of 1930, that the keel of a cruiser of the Imperial Japanese Navy, tentatively called "No. 1 ", was laid down on October 27, 1931. The particulars of the vessel are as follows: Classification: Cruiser Standard displacement: 8,500 tons (8,636 metric tons) Extreme beam: 18.2 meters Mean draft at standard displacement: 4.5 meters Caliber of largest gun: 15.5 centimeters RESTRICTION OF WAR PROTOCOL CONCERNING THE PROHIBITION OF THE USE IN WARFARE OF Mexico With a despatch dated December 21, 1931, the American Ambassador to Mexico forwarded to the Secretary of State a translation of a decree ratifying on the part of the Mexican Government the pro 3 Date of laying keel omitted from the Ambassador's note. 4 See Bulletin No. 25, October, 1931, p. 8. tocol concerning the prohibition of the use in warfare of asphyxiating, poisonous, or other gases, and of bacteriological methods of warfare, signed at Geneva June 17, 1925. The decree, signed by the President of Mexico on November 13, 1931, was published in the Diario Oficial, No. 38, of December 16, 1931. HUMANITARIAN OPIUM INTERNATIONAL OPIUM CONVENTION Argentina According to a despatch received from the American Chargé d'Affaires ad interim at Berne, under date of December 4, 1931, the information which was circulated by communiqué No. 5201, July 9, 1931, from the Information Section of the League of Nations, to the effect that the Argentine Ambassador at Rome had signed on behalf of his Government on July 9, 1931, the international opium convention of February 19, 1925, should have been that the Argentine Government, through its Ambassador, gave notice of its accession, subject to ratification, to the convention.1 SLAVERY INTERNATIONAL SLAVERY CONVENTION By a circular letter dated October 21, 1931, the Acting SecretaryGeneral of the League of Nations informed the Secretary of State of the resolutions with regard to slavery adopted by the Assembly at its twelfth session and by the Council at its meeting on September 29, 1931. The letter follows: I have the honor to draw the attention of your Government to the following resolution on slavery adopted by the Assembly of the League of Nations at its twelfth session: The Assembly, Requests the Council to appoint for one year a small committee of experts to examine the material upon slavery which has been supplied or transmitted by Governments since the signature of the Convention of 1926. This committee will submit to the Council suggestions with a view to recommending to the next Assembly the measures of assistance which the League of Nations could render to those countries which have agreed to abolish slavery and which request such assistance. 1 See Bulletin No. 23, August, 1931, p. 10. 2 A copy of the report of the Sixth Committee to the Assembly on this question (Document A.83.1931.VI) is enclosed in this letter for information. In accordance with the Assembly's decision the Council, at its meeting on September 29th, 1931, adopted the following resolution: The Council, Takes note of the Assembly's resolution of September 25th, 1931, and decides to appoint the small committee of experts referred to in that resolution at its session in January 1932. It requests its rapporteur, the representative of Great Britain, to submit at its January session a report containing any suggestions that may be of use in this matter. The committee should examine the documents submitted to it and report to what extent in the light of these documents the slavery convention has been successful in putting an end to slavery, and what obstacles, if any, exist to further progress in this direction. The committee should further consider and report by what methods assistance can be rendered to those states which have expressed a desire to receive it for the purpose of suppressing slavery within their territory and whether any modifications of the existing machinery of the League would be desirable with this object. I should be grateful if you would send me before the end of January 1932 any communication which your Government would wish to have examined by the committee of experts in accordance with the above resolutions, in addition to the material already forwarded to the Secretariat of the League. WOMEN AND CHILDREN INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION FOR THE SUPPRESSION OF TRAFFIC IN WOMEN AND CHILDREN British Dependencies By a letter dated November 17, 1931, the Acting Legal Adviser of the Secretariat of the League of Nations informed the Secretary of State of the accession of Great Britain in respect of Palestine (including Transjordan), the protected state of Sarawak, the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony, and the British Solomon Islands Protectorate, to the international convention for the suppression of traffic in women and children, signed at Geneva September 30, 1921. The accessions are effective as from November 2, 1931. According to information furnished by the League of Nations the following countries are parties to the convention: Albania, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, China, Cuba, 2 Not printed in the Bulletin. 95026-32-2 Czechoslovakia, Free City of Danzig, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, British Empire (including Bahamas, Barbados, British Guiana, British Honduras, Ceylon, Cyprus, Fiji Islands, Gambia, Gibraltar, Gold Coast Colony, Hong Kong, Jamaica, Kenya, Leeward Islands, Malta, Mauritius, Northern Rhodesia, Nyasaland, Seychelles, Southern Rhodesia, Sierra Leone, Straits Settlements, Tanganyika, Trinidad, Uganda, and Windward Islands), Greece, Hungary, India, Iraq, Italy, Italian Colonies, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands (including Netherland Indies, Surinam, and Curaçao), New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Rumania, Siam, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria and the Lebanon, Union of South Africa, Uruguay, and Yugoslavia. |