HC Deb 22 July 1930 vol 241 cc1936-8
44. Mr. MANDER

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what are the conditions of receivability of minority petitions by the League of Nations; whether any member of the League has raised the question of receivability; and, if so, concerning which petitions and with what result?

The UNDER-SECRETARY of STATE for FOREIGN AFFAIRS (Mr. Dalton)

The answer to this question is somewhat long, and I will, with the hon. Member's permission, circulate it in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

Mr. MANDER

Can the hon. Gentleman say whether it has yet been decided to raise the question of the minorities in the Assembly this year?

Mr. DALTON

My right hon. Friend stated in reply to a question yesterday that that matter is under consideration at the present time.

Following is the answer:

The conditions of receivability of minority petitions, as determined by the Council in September, 1923, are as follows:

  1. (a) They must conform to the object of the treaties;
  2. (b) They must respect the inviolability of the State of which the minority in question forms part;
  3. (c) They must show clearly the source from which the petition proceeds, anonymous petitions being entirely prohibited;
  4. (d) They must be drafted in temperate language;
  5. (e) They must contain new facts or facts which have not been included in any petition recently submitted.

Petitions which do not conform to these conditions are, generally speaking, returned to their senders by the Secretary-General of the League. During the past few years there have been two cases in which the receivability of a petition has been contested by a Member of the League. The first was a petition, dated the 2nd of November, 1927, from certain persons of Ukrainian origin residing in Lithuania, the receivability of which was contested by the Lithuanian Government; the second was a petition received in March, 1928, from some Macedonians resident in Yugoslavia, the receivability of which was contested by the Yugoslav Government. In each case, the Committee of Three, to which the matter was referred by the Council, sustained the objection and dismissed the petition.