FIRST NGOS IN THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS: LESSONS TO BE LEARNED

CARMEN ROCÍO GARCÍA RUIZ¹

Abstract: Although international law was originally conceived as a law created by and for states, individuals have struggled since its inception to make their voices heard and influence its rules, using their ability to associate with others and their position as members of public opinion. This article analyses the formation of the first private associations and focuses on the regulation of their status before the League of Nations, concluding that both their way of acting and the obstacles they faced are still relevant today. In doing so, it invites reflection on how best to address a longstanding dilemma: whether or not to formally regulate their status.

Keywords: NGOs, International Law, Associationism, Anti-Slavery Movement, Peace Movement, League of Nations, NGO subjectivity.

1. INTRODUCTION

The revolutions that marked the 18th century consolidated the idea of individual rights, and gradually, rights such as equality, freedom of religion, and freedom of expression were incorporated into constitutional documents. Individuals thus began to become aware of their rights and the need to fight for their defence. Reinforced by the historical context, they then sought association with others, inside or outside their borders, as a way to meet their own needs. Associations began to proliferate that either sought to defend the economic and professional interests of their members or to propagate and fight for their ideologies.

The evolution of the very concept of international law, as well as the process of humanisation that has taken place within it, has resulted in a greater acceptance and development of this interest in individuals, who have been able to harness the resources at their disposal and enhance their importance. Similarly, the increasing importance of public opinion has been a significant factor in improving the effectiveness of actions by associations of individuals and non-governmental organisations. Their influence on the development of international norms has grown stronger over the years, to such an extent that it is possible to say that international law as we know it today would be substantially different without their intervention (García Ruiz, 2007). This process began in the late eighteen century, and it is particularly instructive to study it to understand their current reality, their position, in many cases, as necessary collaborators with the system, and the obstacles posed by their unique status.

2. THE CREATION OF THE FIRST ASSOCIATIONS OF INDIVIDUALS: THE FIGHT AGAINST SLAVERY AND THE PEACE MOVEMENT

It can be argued that the will of the individual has been consistently disregarded and undervalued for centuries. At the domestic level, they were, in many respects, subject to the ruling authorities, without the ability to determine fundamental aspects of their personhood, while the limited regulation in effect at the international level was primarily concerned with states. It was not until the nineteenth century that a combination of different factors gave individuals a greater ability to act. Until then, they only sporadically came together to fight for a cause.

Industrial revolutions, the development of transport and communications, the movements of populations, capital and goods, and the pursuit of new markets all contributed to creating an economic system that transcended national units (Lyons, 1963, p. 9). This new phenomenon of internationalism, initially economic in nature, gradually expanded to different spheres and made states aware that it was necessary for them to coordinate and cooperate with one another in order to improve those sectors. This led to the emergence of the first associations between states, known as international organisations.

Additionally, the revolutions that characterised the eighteenth century consolidated the idea of individual rights, and rights such as equality, freedom of religion, freedom of expression, etc., were gradually incorporated into constitutional documents. Individuals thus began to become aware of their rights and the need to fight to protect them. While states concentrated on purely political exchanges (Stosic, 1964, p. 10), relegating cultural, scientific and social needs to the background, individuals—fortified by the historical context—began to pursue associations with others, inside or outside their borders, as a way to mitigate this shortcoming and meet their own needs. Associations thus began to proliferate in trade, finance, science, education, culture, etc. Basically, these first associations had two primary objectives: to protect the economic and professional interests of their members or to advocate and fight for their ideologies (Stosic, 1964, p. 11). Within this latter group, our analysis focuses on those that sought to protect the rights of individuals, regardless of whether or not they were a member of the association. It was understood that the fight for this protection should not end once it had been guaranteed to the members of the association but should instead continue as long as it was not a reality for all people. As such, we will analyse organisations engaged in a two-fold fight, i.e., against slavery and for peace, setting aside the trade union movement that flourished beginning in the nineteenth century, given that the interests of an association’s members decisively—albeit not exclusively—determined its action. As Davies points out, the growth and influence of Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) has not been linear, but has been influenced by political, economic and social factors (Davies, 2013).

2.1. The fight against slavery

It is estimated that over the course of five centuries—from the fourteenth to the nineteenth century—some ten million men, women and children were transported from their place of origin and used as commodities in the slave trade (Aga Khan et al, 1986, p. 1). This practice was a blatant violation of the most basic human rights and elicited a reaction from those who were beginning to be concerned with their protection (Truyol y Serra, 1998, p. 77). In 1783, a group of Quakers created the “Anti-Slavery Society”, which would be responsible for a body of literature attacking slavery and, in particular, the conditions of those enslaved by the British trade. Prior to the founding of this organisation, there had been cases where groups of citizens mobilised against slavery. For example, in 1641, it was the efforts of a group of individuals in the English colony of Massachusetts that led to the creation of the “Body of Liberties”, which prohibited slavery in that colony with two exceptions: slaves who had been enslaved for a just cause and foreigners who had sold themselves for economic reasons. Similarly, in Rhode Island, other groups of citizens pushed for a law banning lifelong slavery and mandating that the children of slaves would be freed at the age of 24. (Nchama, 1991, p. 54). Some authors refer to “The Pennsylvania Society for Promoting the Abolition of the Slavery”, founded in 1775 in Pennsylvania, as the first anti-slavery society. (Charnovitz,1997, p. 193).

In 1787, the society joined with other individuals and together they established the “Society for the Abolition of the Slave Trade”, which began a campaign to outlaw the slave trade in British territories, particularly those of the East India Company. The presence of this association in the British Parliament was embodied in the figure of William Wilberforce, a member of Parliament who acted as a representative of the organisation’s demands (Nchama, 1991, p. 56). Thanks to his efforts, a motion for the abolition of the slave trade was tabled in the House of Commons in 1796, and the British slave trade was abolished in 1807.

Once this had been achieved, the attention of the abolitionist movement turned in two directions: First, it focused on the situation in the United States, where organisations with this aim began to appear; and at the international level, the Society wanted to be present at the Congress of Vienna in 1815, which debated a range of issues and considered submissions from private organisations (Thepchatree Prapat, 1985, p.36). The issue of slavery was so debated at length and, on 8 February 1815, culminated in the adoption of a declaration by the powers involved—Austria, Spain, France, Great Britain, Portugal, Prussia, Russia and Sweden—which considered the slave trade to be contrary to the principles of humanity and general morals (Truyol y Serra, 1998, p. 100). This international prohibition was reiterated at the Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1818 and the Congress of Verona in 1822.

The first step had been taken in the fight against slavery: the prohibition of the trade. This proved insufficient, however, and there continued to be slaves, particularly in the colonies, whose leaders denied them the ability to be citizens with the acquiescence of the British government, which was reluctant to intervene in their internal affairs (Archer, 1967, p. 163). The movement, which began by focusing on the fight against the slave trade, had to be gradually transformed to adapt to this reality, until it became an anti-slavery movement in its own right. According to certain authors, it was a genuine human rights movement, in that it addressed abuses in different parts of the world, under different rulers, and was motivated by a sincere concern for the rights of individuals.

In 1823, an important new organisation was established: “The British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society”. At the same time, a campaign was undertaken at different levels, with the circulation of pamphlets, weak calls for action by some newspapers and frequent lobbying in Parliament by a delegation from the society². In parallel, action between local, regional and national organisations in the United States and Great Britain began to be coordinated through the exchange of letters, publications and visits, and the creation of common fora where they discussed actions to be taken. In 1833, the Prime Minister would agree to enact a law for the abolition of slavery in the British Empire, which would come into effect on 31 July 1834 (Keck et al., 1998, p. 44). The abolitionist movement was growing stronger; in 1838, in the United States alone, there were some 1,350 societies and 120,000 to 250,000 members. One of the strategies resulting from the connection between the British and American societies was known as information politics, the aim of which was to promote change through factual information. Different publications appeared, the most important of which were “American Slavery as it is: Testimony of a thousand witness”, which sold one hundred thousand copies in its first year, and “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”, which in 1852 sold one million copies in Great Britain alone (Keck et al., 1998, p. 47).

In 1839, the “Anti-Slavery Society” was formally established, and seven years later, it consolidated with “The Aborigines Protection Society”, becoming the leading voice of the cause. But the abolitionist movement did not stop with these domestic actions; as early as 1815, with the Congress of Vienna, it sensed its importance as a means of putting pressure on governments. Accordingly, not only was it present with delegates at various international conferences, but in 1840 and 1843, it organised and held conventions in London, which were attended by delegates from numerous countries. The Convention of 1840 was intended to strengthen the ties between the British and American societies, but in reality, it also revealed the differences between them³. Nevertheless, most of the literature agrees that this convention paved the way for the agreement between the great European powers a year later, when they signed the Treaty of London, under which Austria, France, Great Britain, Prussia and Russia recognised a reciprocal right of access to ships suspected of being involved in the slave trade.

The influence of the “Anti-Slavery Society” extended to the push for the ratification of different conventions that abolished slavery in Africa in the 1880s. The General Act of the Berlin Conference on West Africa of 26 February 1885 and the General Act of the First Brussels Conference of 1889 can be mentioned in this regard. Both, however, are characterised as mere declarations of intent. As such, the Second Brussels Anti-Slavery Conference on 2 July 1890, held at the behest of the “Anti-Slavery Society”, is particularly significant, as its General Act establishes—for the first time—means for effectively enforcing its provisions by creating a permanent body, “The International Slavery Bureau”, responsible for the control and surveillance of the Red Sea and Indian Ocean area (Korey, 1998, p. 118)⁴. As Peter Archer has observed: “This was a classic case of a reform instituted by governments through the pressure of unofficial organizations” (Archer, 1967, p. 164).

2.2. The fight for peace

Prior to the 18th century, a fatalistic view prevailed that regarded war as an inevitable phenomenon beyond human control. From the 1730s onwards, however, this perspective began to be challenged, leading to a debate about the possibility of preventing war (Ceadel, 1996). In the wake of the Napoleonic Wars, citizens in different parts of the world began to question and debate the very existence of war, becoming convinced of the need to fight for peace. These citizens gradually came together and created organisations with this aim. America and England were the stage for their creation, nearly simultaneously and independently in 1815 and 1816. The first three organisations were created in the United States in 1815, within a period of five months and without any coordination between them: the first, the “New York Peace Society”, was founded on 16 August in New York by some twenty men led by David Dodge, with the aim of promoting peace; on 2 December, two friends formed the “Society for the Promotion Peace” in Ohio; and on 28 December, Noah Worcester established the “Massachusetts Peace Society” in Boston. Those same aims—but once again without any awareness of the others’ existence—were the driving force behind the creation of the “Society for the Promotion of Permanent and Universal Peace” in 1816 in England by a group of Quakers (Whitney, 1972, p. 10). In 1828, in the interest of greater effectiveness, the three American societies mentioned above decided to consolidate, resulting in the “American Peace Society” (Lange, 1926, p. 366).

All of them, established independently in two countries, shared common problems and characteristics:

I.- Religious origin: As in the case of the fight against slavery, Quakers were at the forefront of this peace movement. Two of the American societies and the English society were founded by members of this ideology, influencing the characteristics and expansion of these first organisations. Although they claimed to be non-sectarian and open to all Christians, there is no question that their beliefs shaped these first organisations, embroiling them in a dilemma that sparked numerous debates and conflicts. Quaker doctrine is characterised by a line of thought based on non-resistance, i.e., they believe that all war is incompatible with Christian thought, including defensive warfare. Christians, however, although they maintain this opposition to war, believe that it is justified in certain circumstances (Lyons, 1963, p. 310). This divergence limited the growth of these first organisations, caused serious disagreements within the “American Peace Society” and led to the creation of new organisations with the same aim but a different starting point.

II.- Methods of action: The primary instrument available to these organisations was publicity. They held meetings, usually on an annual basis, at which they examined their objectives and designed the strategy to be followed, a strategy that basically consisted of intensive propaganda and publicity campaigns. The central idea was to fight for the development of a general feeling in favour of peace, and it was therefore essential to expand the movement by creating new organisations and making it more widely known to the general public. With regard to the former, it is estimated that in 1820, there were some one hundred organisations in England and thirty-three in the United States. The activity carried out by these organisations led to the creation of the “Société des Amis de la Morale Chrétien et de la Paix” in France in 1821 and the “Geneva Peace Society” in Switzerland in 1830.

As for their attempts at outreach, different methods were put into practice. The distribution of pamphlets became one of their hallmarks, but as the movement grew, there was a need for greater sophistication, and thus, two newspapers were born: the British “Herald of Peace” in 1818 and the American “Harbinger of Peace” (later “Advocate of Peace”), which became the main propaganda vehicles of the peace movement during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries (Lyons, 1963, p. 311).

III.- Objectives: It can be argued that the fight for peace waged by these societies has two aspects: in a negative sense, a not-doing, the rejection of participation in war; and in a positive sense, the pursuit of alternatives to confrontation (Lyons, 1963, p. 310). The idea of bringing disputes between states to the courts rather than settling them on the battlefield began to tentatively emerge in the late eighteenth century and was present in the pamphlets and actions of the American peace societies, one of the principal objectives of which was “to increase and promote the practice already begun of submitting national differences to amicable discussion and arbitration”, as was stated by William Lad, one of the architects of the consolidation of the three American organisations into the American Peace Society (Lyons, 1963, p. 310). As a precedent for the implementation of this idea, they invoked the Jay Treaty of 1794, by which the United States and Great Britain agreed to have their disputes settled by the binding decisions of an arbitration commission. Over time, advocating for the use of arbitration in the event of disputes between states became one of the primary rallying points of the movement.

Apart from independent and individual actions⁵, the organisations began to see the need for dialogue among themselves in order to improve the functioning of the cause, which led to the need to hold congresses involving members of the movement: what became known as peace congresses. We are referring to the Congress of London, 1843; Congress of Brussels, 1848; Congress of Paris, 1849; Congress of Frankfurt, 1850 and Congress of London of 1851; and in 1853, two congresses were held in Manchester and Edinburgh following the same approach as the one held in London in 1851, highlighting the crisis that was being experienced by the movement. All this was set against the historical backdrop of the Crimean War, the end of which was determined by the Paris Peace Congress in 1856. Two of the English members of Parliament who had led and acted as spokesmen for the peace movement in the British Parliament, Bright and Cobden, pressed for including a clause in the peace treaty that provided for recourse to arbitration. As a result, the British representative, backed by the work that a committee of the society had been carrying out in Paris, presented the issue to the Conference, leading to Protocol 23, which established “that states between which any serious misunderstandings may arise, should, before appealing to arms, have recourse, so far as circumstances might allow, to the good offices of a friendly power” (Lyons, 1963, p. 320).

It can be argued that the Paris Peace Congress closes a first cycle in the evolution of these peace societies, known as the first peace crusade (Beales, 1931, p. 85), full of successes and mistakes. The movement’s weaknesses were many and decisively determined its evolution.

The first of them is based on their conception of international relations. The state was seen as a mere extension of the individual, and they therefore claimed that “the intercourse between countries is nothing but the intercourse between individuals in the aggregate”, As stated by Cobden in 1849 (Beales, 1931, p. 85). This lack of understanding of the complexity of international life and the characteristics of the state deprived the movement of a vision of reality undistorted by excessively utopian pretensions.

It was also not possible to overcome the differences arising from their religious origin. First, there was no consensus on the recourse to war, and disagreements persisted over whether the movement should adopt a total opposition to war or whether it should be accepted as a necessary evil in certain circumstances. Second, although the societies claimed to be non-sectarian and open to all religions, they nonetheless ignored other religions and alleged that their own was the sole basis for universal peace.

The movement focused on raising public awareness, an objective that both positively and negatively determined its importance, negatively insofar as it did not consider governments among the targets of its pressure, which made it impossible for it to have a greater presence in international life. However, this obstinate focus on the public succeeded in creating a state of opinion in favour of peace as well as a greater awareness than had hitherto been achieved by the religious minorities that monopolised pacifism (Lyons, 1963, p. 318). On the positive side, the movement created a substantial body of literature on a range of issues in an attempt to promote its programme of action, advocating for the reduction in armaments, the codification of international law as the basis for decisions made by an international tribunal, and in particular the need for alternative means of settling disputes, with an emphasis on the viability of recourse to arbitration as an alternative to war. This idea had a broad impact, and from 1794 to 1854, fifty states settled their disputes in this manner (Beales, 1931, p. 93). As Lyons has observed, “It would of course be too much to attribute this solely, or even mainly, to the activities of the peace enthusiasts, but it cannot be denied that they had done much to make the idea familiar and palatable” (Lyons, 1963, p. 318).

It was not until 1867 that there was a revitalisation of the movement, or a second peace crusade, characterised by the creation of new peace societies. Paris, London and Geneva were at the centre of this new wave. In Paris, the “Ligue de la paix” and the “Societé francaise de l´arbitrage entre nations” were created, while in Geneva, Charles Lemonnier founded the “Ligue internationale de la paix et de la liberté”, which focused on finding ways to implement and enforce international law. One of its branches was established in London by Randal Cremer, who introduced the movement to the working classes—from which he himself had come—when he founded the “Workmen’s Peace Committee” three years later (subsequently transformed into “The International Arbitration League”). The action of Randal Cremer and Fréderic Passy was crucial to the evolution of the movement; aware of their privileged position as members of Parliament, they decided to revisit an idea that had previously been discussed and jointly organise a meeting of French and English members of Parliament, which took place in Paris on 31 October 1888 and was the spark for the First Interparliamentary Conference, held in Paris in 1889. The main objective of the meeting was to make the members of Parliament in attendance aware of the need to pressure their respective governments to sign binding arbitration treaties, as well as launch a campaign for the inclusion of an arbitration clause in all trade treaties⁶.

This coming together of members of Parliament can be understood as a new aspect of the movement. While the first phase had been hampered by the scant attention given to governments, this second crusade was characterised by a more practical vision of the international reality, focused on making the ideas that had previously been developed more concrete and putting them into practice, for which it was necessary to place pressure on governments, the ultimate architects of international law. This pressure could be applied at two levels: from the inside, through the presence of members of Parliament involved in the movement in decision-making bodies; and from the outside, through the peace congresses that characterised the first stage of the movement and helped to raise public awareness.

We therefore prefer to speak of two complementary approaches that contributed to giving the movement a greater and more effective presence in international life. The reason for this is that while the peace congresses were concerned with discussing and developing abstract ideas on international justice, the interparliamentary conferences sought to avoid utopian excesses and debated how to put less pretentious ideas into practice, as well as how to embark, step by step, on the path towards achieving those general objectives. Thus, as Lyons observed, “one was essentially political, the other essentially propagandist; one practical, the other idealistic; one limited in scope, the other wide ranging” (Lyons, 1963, p. 329).

Almost simultaneously with the Interparliamentary Conference, the first of a series of congresses that would shape the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century was held in Paris⁷. All of them have common characteristics that could be grouped as follows:

A.- Attendees: Delegates were appointed by religious societies and organisations, engaged in working towards peace or arbitration, as well as individuals who, without belonging to the societies sending delegates, were particularly interested in this subject.

B.- Procedure: The congresses usually lasted about three days and involved the convening of thematic sections and committees and discussions of the presentations made. These discussions resulted in the adoption of resolutions on the issues for which there was a final consensus. Typically, the issues that were the focus of both debate and agreement were the insertion of arbitration clauses in international treaties, the establishment of a permanent international tribunal and disarmament (Whitney, 1972, p. 170). As early as 1889, the connection between the interparliamentary conferences and the peace congresses—held simultaneously, in both time and place—became apparent. Notably, in 1892, the movement became a permanent organisation, through the creation of the “International Peace Bureau”. With both types of congresses being held almost annually, the nineteenth century came to a close⁸.

Both those first anti-slavery associations and this peace movement naturally laid the foundations for their actions on pillars that have stood the test of time: the need for coordination between them, promotion of their actions in order to engage the general public, presence at international conferences and the pursuit of effective methods to put pressure on governments.

3. RELATIONSHIP OF NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANISATIONS WITH THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS

In the early twentieth century, private organisations continued to grow not only in number but also in terms of their objectives, broadening their field of action. Accordingly, while some 132 organisations were founded during the course of the nineteenth century, within just twenty years—in the period from 1900 to 1919—some 140 private organisations were created (Chavez-Pirson, 1991, p. 6). Furthermore, a wide range of factors contributed to a gradual transcending of borders and to an awareness of the need to establish connections between states in order to achieve objectives of a primarily economic, scientific or technical nature. It is in these spheres that the role of non-governmental organisations and their relationship with international organisations can clearly be observed.

This is because non-governmental organisations were often instrumental in the creation of certain international organisations. This influence was exerted in two primary ways:

I.- Non-governmental organisations taking the initiative to launch campaigns calling for the creation of an international organisation in a given sphere, as was the case with the establishment of “The International Union for the Protection of Industrial Property”, “The Union for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Work”, “The International Relief Union”, and “The International Institute of Agriculture”.

II.- Transforming what had started out as a non-governmental organisation into an international organisation, as was the case with “The International Bureau of Education”, “The International Sugar Office” and “The International Tin Committee” (Cromwell-White, 1968, p. 245).

The relationship between international organisations and private organisations was decisively established with the creation of the League of Nations, which was intended to be a decision-making centre and a forum for discussion between states on issues of international importance; private organisations were well aware of its importance and, as we shall see, endeavoured to play a role in its functioning.

3.1. Birth of the organisation: the contribution of non-governmental organisations

Following the Second Hague Conference, the efforts of the peace movement focused on preparing for the upcoming third conference and developing the provisions established. Along these lines, it is important to mention the work done by the Universal Peace Congress held in London in 1908, which laid the foundations for a “League of Nations”, which they understood required the creation of a Legislative Council to draft a Code of International Law, a judicial authority to supervise it, an Executive Council to oversee common interests and a reduction in armaments (Beales, 1931, p. 274).

All the good intentions of the peace movement lacked any effective implementation. Thus, although numerous arbitration treaties were reached between states, they were essentially bilateral in nature and failed to institutionalise arbitration as a compulsory means of settling disputes, which made it very difficult to maintain peace in a political situation beset by confrontations. Nor had the idea of disarmament become a reality, which meant that states had not only the will, but also the ability to move towards war. This inevitably erupted in 1914, and like all the other sectors of reality, the peace movement was engulfed in its dynamics. The small steps taken earlier, the pressure it had begun to exert and its excessive triumphalism were silenced by the demands of the new world war, the ultimate expression of its defeat. Many of the objectives that had inspired the movement’s actions in the preceding years were rendered meaningless, and it shifted from seeking to exert as much influence as possible on states to essentially fighting for its own survival. Some of the foundations of the movement’s strength, such as cooperation between countries or the belief in the achievement of certain ideals, were superseded by the reality and the frustration it caused. As a result, there was a change in the way the movement acted as well as in its objectives. With regard to the former, it was particularly difficult to maintain the level of coordination between organisations in different countries that had previously been achieved, as it was practically impossible for the organisations to continue their activities⁹. International congresses were no longer the rule but the exception. Hence the merit of the one held in 1915 in The Hague, which brought together pacifists from many countries and drafted what is known as the “Minimum Programme for a Lasting Peace”, which included arbitration as a means of settling disputes, the creation of a Permanent Court of International Justice, a reduction in armaments and work by peace conferences towards the peaceful organisation of the League of Nations.

The aims of the movement therefore evolved in an attempt to respond to the needs of the time, whereby emphasis was placed on two main points: first, to raise public awareness that the peace treaty to end the conflict should be dictated by reason rather than rancour; and second, the need to create a League of Nations as a way to prevent a new conflict (Beales, 1931, p. 279). Of particular importance in this regard was the work carried out by the “International League of Women for Peace and Liberty”, created in 1915 by a Congress that brought together some eleven hundred women from twelve countries, focusing its debates on the pursuit of solutions for the establishment of a lasting peace¹⁰. Its resolutions were communicated to governments and had a particular impact on some of them, such as the American, with the approval of its president, Wilson, who went so far as to state “I have studied these resolutions and I consider them the best proposals that have been formulated by any association”. Many of these resolutions inspired Wilson’s 14-point programme, which envisaged the creation of a League of Nations, as stated in its final point: “A general association of nations must be formed under specific covenants for the purpose of affording mutual guarantees of political independence and territorial integrity to great and small States alike”. (Beales,1931, p. 281). One of the most significant legacies of women’s involvement in the League of Nations was the solidification of transnational feminist networks within global politics. Although women were largely confined to humanitarian and social roles, their participation helped establish feminist internationalism as a political force on the world stage. Women’s participation in the League set a precedent for cooperation across national borders, enabling a more organized feminist movement in the post-war period. Although the League of Nations did not grant women prominent roles in high-level diplomacy, their contributions had a lasting impact on how humanitarian and social issues were addressed in international politics such as Creation of structures to address social and gender issues: Women’s involvement in areas such as human trafficking, labour rights, and public health laid the foundation for institutional mechanisms within future international organizations to tackle these issues or the Redefinition of Internationalism (Sluga, 2013).

As early as the outbreak of the First World War, it became clear that measures needed to be taken to prevent its repetition. In 1916, the “League to enforce peace” organised a conference in Washington, at which President Wilson first presented his proposal to create an organisation for relations between states, emphasising its universal character, as a true League of Nations (Lange, 1926, p. 418). It can be argued that this proposal was a serious one and that it forced other political leaders to take a position on it. At the end of the conflict, the Paris Peace Conference held in 1919 and 1920 focused on drawing up treaties to end the war with the different adversaries (Truyol y Serra, 1998, p. 128). It was attended by representatives of a number of private organisations involved in the fight for peace, the protection of minorities and universal suffrage. However, the area in which it had the greatest impact was the protection of workers’ rights (Charnovitz, 1997, p. 216).

On 28 April 1919, the Covenant of the League of Nations was drafted. People were convinced that the first and last global war—known as “the war to end all wars”—had taken place, and hopes for a better world rested, as Ferencz indicates, on two pillars: the League of Nations and legal norms (Ferencz, 1980, p. 25). The most basic objectives established by the organisations that were part of the peace movement were to some extent satisfied by the Covenant. Arbitration was regulated, a judicial authority—the Permanent Court of International Justice—was established, and arrangements were envisaged for carrying out the reduction in armaments (Articles 8, 12 and 13 of the Covenant of the League of Nations).

As history has unfortunately shown, the Covenant was nothing more than a humble step that proved to be useless in averting a new war with devastating consequences. The euphoria, however, affected some of the movement’s organisations, which saw their aspirations as having been fulfilled and eventually disappeared¹¹. Those that remained exhibited a critical and non-conformist attitude and took up a new struggle to improve the regulation of the issues addressed in the covenant and to be present in the implementation of its provisions.

3.2. Functioning of the organisation: presence of non-governmental organisations in the League of Nations system

The League of Nations uses the term “unofficial” or “non official organizations” to refer to the non-state actors with which it came into contact¹². The Covenant of the League of Nations did not go so far as to expressly provide for how non-governmental organisations in general should be treated. With the exception of an explicit mention of the Red Cross in Art. 25¹³, the only similar reference can be found in Article 24, which established the following: “1.- There shall be placed under the direction of the League all international bureaux already established by general treaties if the parties to such treaties consent. All such international bureaux and all commissions for the regulation of matters of international interest hereafter constituted shall be placed under the direction of the League. 3.- The Council may include as part of the expenses of the Secretariat the expenses of any bureau or commission which is placed under the direction of the League”.

Article 24 thus refers to “International Bureaux” previously created by a treaty, as well as those created subsequently. Initially, it appears that the drafters were thinking of intergovernmental bureaux or organisations. Because the role of NGOs is not expressly mentioned, it was left up to the Council’s interpretation of the article. Consequently, it is not possible to speak of a single approach to NGOs, and two basic phases can be identified in the regulation of their presence in the League of Nations.

3.2.1. Until 1936: Non-governmental organisations as “advisory members”

There was no formal regulation regarding the role of NGOs, making it necessary for the Council to make a pronouncement in this regard. When speaking of the importance of NGOs in this first phase, it is necessary to differentiate between two levels of action. This is because while the bodies of the League, in particular the Council, debated and issued resolutions on the place of private organisations in the system, they were able to make de facto inroads and become present in its functioning.

With regard to the formal approach, the Council’s interpretation of Article 24 can be divided into three distinct stages:

I.- First Phase or stage of enthusiasm of the League of Nations towards NGOs. The attitude of the League of Nations towards NGOs is very positive, and there is confidence in the need for cooperation with them, in order to improve the functioning of the organisation. In 1919, under the terms of this article, “The International Bureaux Section” was created within the Secretariat of the League of Nations, responsible for implementing the decisions of the Council, which placed certain international bureaux under the control of the League and which, from 1921 to 1938, published the “Handbook of International Organizations”, which would become one of the clearest manifestations of cooperation between the League and non-governmental organisations¹⁴.

The League’s intentions towards private organisations were thus shown to be excessive and difficult to achieve, as they were based on a complete lack of knowledge of their reality. This shortcoming led “The International Bureaux Section” to undertake the task of compiling information and documents concerning the sphere of which it was ignorant, consisting of private organisations that were not under the League’s control, which comprised the vast majority. “The Union of International Associations” (UIA) took on a special role as a source of information on private organisations¹⁵. In 1919, the Section carried out a mission at its Central Bureau, and its final report emphasised the need to classify the different existing international associations and bureaux, making special reference to their ability to influence. It was at this moment that the UIA became aware of its importance and asked the League of Nations for financial assistance and official recognition. Its demands for recognition included being considered as the main bureau of private organisations, as well as the granting of a legal status to international private associations (Chavez-Pirson, 1991, p. 11). The report also advised the creation of a committee to establish the general principles according to which private international organisations would be recognised.

The League of Nations initially followed these recommendations; at the Council meeting held in San Sebastian, a resolution was adopted that gave financial assistance to the UIA for the publication of the “Code des vouex” and entrusted “The Institute of Intellectual Cooperation” with examining the general principles relating to their recognition¹⁶. The final report presented to the Council Session on 1 March 1921 paid special attention to this issue, stating the following: “...efforts of the Council to encourage the activities of private international organizations are entirely approved by the Assembly.... The Covenant is silent on the relations of the League as to what it may be called voluntary associations of a private character, except the Red Cross organizations. But from the general tone of the Covenant, we infer that the League should exercise its good offices in the interest of all international undertakings that will contribute to the advancement of good will and mutual understandings among nations…” (Chavez-Pirson, 1991, p. 14).

On 21 May 1921, the Secretary General issued a memorandum entitled “The application of Art. 24 of the Covenant to International Bureaux”, in which it broadly interpreted the concept of an “International Bureau” as encompassing the following: