The Success of the Commissions

What were the successes of the League's commissions?

The League's commissions worked with varying degrees of success in the 1920s.

How successful was the Health Organisation commission in the League of Nations?

The League's Health Organisation was led by Ludwik Rajchman and became one of the most successful commissions. It had 7 main successes during the inter-war years:

• ❖ It worked with non-League countries, such as the USSR, USA and Germany, as well as member states.
• ❖ It helped prevent a typhoid epidemic in the Soviet Union with a public education campaign about hygiene.
• ❖ It began an international campaign to kill mosquitoes and reduced the spread of malaria and yellow fever.
• ❖ It set up research institutes in London, Copenhagen and Singapore.
• ❖ It reduced the number of cases of leprosy.
• ❖ The Health Committee has been acknowledged as one of the most successful aspects of the League of Nations.
• ❖ After the League of Nations was disbanded, the Health Committee became the World Health Organisation and worked with the United Nations. It still exists today.

How successful was the Refugees Commission in the League of Nations?

The Refugees Commission was run by scientist and explorer Fridtjof Nansen. It had 6 key successes in the inter-war years.

• ❖ It introduced the Nansen Passport to help repatriate prisoners of war and refugees who were stranded in foreign countries.
• ❖ It worked with the Red Cross to help 425,000 people to either return home or to settle in new places.
• ❖ Their methods included finding transport, setting up camps, teaching new trades and skills, and building new settlements.
• ❖ Nansen achieved all this on a shoestring budget, and earned a lot of praise and gratitude for the League.
• ❖ With a refugee crisis in Turkey in 1922, the League worked quickly to make sure camps were set up, and that these were free from diseases such as cholera, smallpox and dysentery.
• ❖ From 1933, there was a League High Commissioner, American James G MacDonald, to help Jewish refugees from Germany. However, he resigned in 1935 over a lack of support from the League.

How successful was the Economic Commission in the League of Nations?

After the First World War, several countries faced economic problems. The League helped in 4 main ways:

• ❖ In 1922 financial experts drew up a rescue plan to help Austria, which was in danger of financial collapse and bankruptcy following the war.
• ❖ Other rescue programmes were introduced for Hungary, Greece and Bulgaria.
• ❖ The League helped to stabilise economies by taking action on currency and credit.
• ❖ Codes were also developed for importing and exporting so that all members followed the same trading rules.

How successful was the International Labour Organisation commission in the League of Nations?

The International Labour Organisation had 5 major successes and 3 failures:

• ❖ It successfully banned poisonous lead paint from workplaces.
• ❖ It resolved that the working week should be no longer than 48 hours.
• ❖ It improved people's working conditions by helping Greece to set up social security.
• ❖ In the first two years of the ILO, 16 International Labour Conventions were accepted.
• ❖ In 1928, 77 countries agreed to set a minimum wage.
• ❖ However, it couldn't force countries to follow its ideas and many didn't, including Britain.
• ❖ It failed to help improve working conditions when in 1919 it tried to ban children aged under 14 from working. However, the members did not agree to this as it would cost too much money.
• ❖ In 1935 it tried to limit the working day to 8 hours. However, members voted against the measure as it would be too costly.
• ❖ Nevertheless, it was successful in introducing standards for work and employment and it became increasingly difficult for member states to ignore these.

What were the successes of thte Slavery Commission in the League of Nations?

The Slavery Commission had 4 successes in the 1920s:

• ❖ It aimed to end slavery, including 'white slavery' - the forcing of women and children into prostitution.
• ❖ It freed 200,000 slaves in Sierra Leone, organising raids on the camps of slave traders. As a result, in 1927, Sierra Leone announced it had abolished slavery.
• ❖ It reduced the death rate in workers on the Tanganyika Railway, from 50% to 4%.
• ❖ It helped to achieve the abolition of slavery in Jordan, Iraq, and Nepal.

How successful was the Disarmament Commission in the League of Nations?

The Disarmament Commission was one of the least successful commissions in the League of Nations.

• ❖ By the end of the 1920s only the defeated nations had disarmed, and that was solely because they were forced to do so under the terms of the treaties.
• ❖ In 1922, the Washington Naval Agreement led to the USA, Britain, France, Japan and Italy agreeing to reduce their naval forces. This decision was later included in the League of Nations treaties.
• ❖ The Commission was unable to organise a World Disarmament Conference until 1932 because there were so many arguments about technicalities and details.

How successful was the League of Nations commission for drugs?

The League failed to help improve problems with the supply and use of illegal drugs. Few members were interested in tackling the issue as they gained financially from the sale of opium.