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Pine Crest Model League of Nations 2000
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THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS
The terrible losses of World War I produced an ever growing public demand that some method be found to prevent the renewal of the suffering and destruction which were now seen to be an inescapable part of modern war. So great was the force of this demand that, within a few weeks after the opening of the peace conference in Paris in 1919, unanimous agreement had been reached on the text of the Covenant of the League of Nations. Although the League was never able to fulfill the hopes of its founders, its creation was an event of decisive importance in the history of international relations, and led directly to the creation of the modern United Nations.
The central basic idea of the movement was that aggressive war is a crime not only against the immediate victim but against the whole human community; and that accordingly it is the right and duty of all states to join in preventing it. The Covenant of the League of Nations covered all the main proposals made at the Paris Peace Conference: disarmament, open diplomacy, international cooperation, arbitration and judicial settlement of disputes, collective security through economic sanctions, and the creation of an international court. The League itself consisted of four main structures: the Assembly, the Council, the Secretariat, and the International Court of Justice. The Council consisted of six permanent members--the six Great Powers--and nine temporary elected members. The Council supervised the general workings of the League, and convened both regular and special sessions of the Assembly. The Assembly was used as a world-wide conference meeting to discuss any and all questions of international relations such as the arbitration of peace treaties, the problem of frontier adjustments, and any dispute which might endanger international peace. It met in month-long sessions four times a year, along with occasional special sessions convened to discuss pressing matters of international importance. It gave equal rights and opportunities to be heard to all nations and used the open and direct methods of parliament procedure. Although Assembly decisions were technically required to be unanimous, it became customary for those who disagreed with the proposals of the majority to simply abstain from voting. Actual cases of veto or deadlock were very few; but as a result of this requirement, most resolutions passed by the Assembly tended toward compromise or delay rather than clear-cut decisions.
The twenty years of the League’s existence falls into four periods: a period of growth immediately following World War I; a period of relative stability; a period of conflict in which the League was the main center of international affairs; and, finally, a period in which the League, and the ideals of the Covenant, were virtually abandoned. This simulation will concentrate on the third period in the League’s history and will focus on the events surrounding the year 1936. After successfully using international diplomacy and economic sanctions to settle disputes between Bolivia and Paraguay, Colombia and Peru, and Yugoslavia and Greece, the League was forced in quick succession to deal with the problems presented by the German reoccupation of the Rhineland, the Italian invasion of Ethiopia, the Spanish Civil War, and the Japanese invasion of China.
CRISIS!!
ASSEMBLY TOPICS
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ITALIAN FORCES BEGIN THE INVASION OF ETHIOPIA After a year of recriminations and accusations between the two countries, Italian forces have recently begun a slow advance toward Addis Ababa from the northern and southern borders of Ethiopia. Last December, Italian and Ethiopian troops clashed at Walwal on a disputed section of the Ethiopian-Somaliland frontier. While Mussolini has demanded an apology and reparations from Ethiopia, Emperor Haile Selassie I has continued to insist on an investigation by the League of Nations in order to resolve the issue of responsibility . The Ethiopians have so far avoided a pitched battle, but the Italians have brought into play the full power of their air force. Ethiopia has accused the Italian army of indiscriminate bombing of civilian targets and the use of poison gas. It has asked for a resolution condemning Italy for violations of the Geneva Convention and has also requested the application of economic sanctions against Italy by the international community for acts of unprovoked aggression. |
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INCIDENT AT MARCO POLO BRIDGE SPARKS SINO-JAPANESE CONFLICT Four years after a League of Nations' Commission of Inquiry found that the Japanese occupation of Manchuria violated international law, an incident during night maneuvers along the disputed border near Peking has provoked bitter fighting between Japanese and Nationalist Chinese combat troops. Initially vastly outnumbered by the Chinese army, the Japanese have escalated the incident into a large-scale campaign by sending an additional three combat divisions to bolster their forces in northern China. The fighting has spread rapidly and has led to a full-scale naval blockade of the entire coast by the Japanese navy. In retaliation for the blockade, General Chiang Kai-shek has ordered the Chinese air force to begin bombing Japanese warships, and a major land battle has erupted around the port of Shanghai. The Chinese government has asked for a resolution condemning Japanese aggression and sanctions to stop the unrestricted bombing of Chinese cities by the Japanese air force. |
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WAR BREAKS OUT BETWEEN REPUBLICANS AND LOYALISTS IN SPAIN Civil war has broken out in Spain. After the new leftist majority in the Spanish Parliament proclaimed complete separation of Church and State and granted itself the power to confiscate church property, it declared King Alfonso XIII guilty of high treason and sentenced him to death. The King fled Spain, stating that he would await the expression of popular sentiment before formally abdicating the throne. Elements of the Spanish army at military bases in Morocco rose in support of the monarch; the Republican government declared a state of national emergency in response and united in resistance. This has led to armed conflict throughout Spain. The leader of the Loyalists, General Francisco Franco, is supported by the army and air force as well as conservative elements of the Catholic Church and large landowners. Recently, other nations have also begun intervening in the conflict, and Spain has become a battleground of rival ideologies. Italian and German "volunteers" have joined the insurgents, while Russia and America are suspected of supplying the government with equipment and advisers. Both sides have accused the other of atrocities and numerous violations of the Geneva Accords. |
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