HC Deb 30 May 1934 vol 290 c158
4. Captain CUNNINGHAM - REID

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he will state which nations, if any, have declared their intention to adhere to the code of minimum rules for the treatment of prisoners adopted by the Assembly of the League of Nations in October last?

The PRIME MINISTER

The Secretary-General of the League of Nations, acting on the instructions of the Assembly given at its 14th Session, has approached the Governments of States Members and non Members of the League, and has asked them whether, in view of their existing or proposed laws and regulations, they are in a position to consider the approval and the practical application of these rules in whole or in part. This information is required in order that the next Assembly may be in a position to decide whether it is possible to recommend the Governments of Member States to adopt the rules in question. My hon. Friend will thus understand that there is no question, as yet, of the adherence by any State to these rules, but I may add that His Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom have recently informed the Secretary-General that they approve of these rules, and that they already apply them in practice.