HC Deb 16 March 1931 vol 249 cc1688-9W
Mr. WHITE

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what steps are being taken to bring into force the convention for the supervision of the international trade in arms?

Mr. A. HENDERSON

At the session of the Council of the League of Nations in May of last year, His Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom proposed that a conference of signatories to the Arms Traffic Convention should be con- vened in order to consider the question of bringing it into force as soon as possible. I am glad to say that this proposal resulted in several fresh ratifications being deposited, but the Council decided to postpone further consideration of the question until the Preparatory Commission for the Disarmament Conference should have completed its work. Now that this condition has been fulfilled, I propose to raise the question again at the next meeting of the Council.