500.A16/43

The Secretary of State to the Minister in Switzerland (Wilson)

No. 276

Sir: With reference to the Department’s instruction No. 274 of August 3, 1928,54 designating you to attend the second session of the Special Commission for the Preparation of a Draft Convention on the Private Manufacture of Arms and Ammunition and Implements of War, which is to meet at Geneva on August 27, 1928, there is transmitted herewith the text of a draft convention on this subject, prepared with the cooperation of the War and Navy Departments, [Page 293] and intended to serve as a possible basis for an agreement acceptable to this Government.

It should be clearly understood that any draft convention adopted must provide for the same degree of publicity for state manufacture as for private manufacture, and that any convention which establishes a régime of supervision, control, or inspection will not be acceptable to the United States.

Inasmuch as this Government’s position with regard to questions to be considered by the Commission is clearly set forth in its instruction No. 598 of February 28, 1927,55 and may also be determined from a study of the enclosed draft convention, it is not considered necessary further to expound in any detail the attitude which you should take at the forthcoming meeting. While the Department has not had occasion to modify its views as contained in its instruction to your predecessor, the situation obtaining at the time of the first session of the Special Commission has undergone a considerable change, since all Governments represented now would appear to be in substantial agreement in so far as they are willing to discuss the application of the Convention to public as well as private manufacture and to limit the Convention to measures of publicity for such production. This agreement in principle on the part of the Italian and Japanese delegates, during an informal meeting on May 19, 1928, to publicity for government manufacture of arms, makes it probable that the Commission will successfully accomplish the purpose for which it is called, viz., the drawing up of a single text for a draft convention.

While the Department does not anticipate that any attempt will be made to resume the controversy regarding publicity of government manufacture, you should, in the event of this contingency, as already indicated in the second paragraph of this instruction, reassert with due emphasis this Government’s refusal under any circumstances to consider entering into an agreement which does not deal with government manufacture on the same footing as private manufacture. You should similarly oppose the inclusion of any provisions looking toward the supervision and control of arms manufacture as distinct from publicity. The reasons for this attitude are plainly set forth on pages 11 and 14 of the Department’s instruction of February 28, 1927, and the annexes mentioned therein.

As regards the draft convention transmitted herewith, it will be noted that its provisions follow as closely as possible the analogous provisions of the Arms Traffic Convention signed on June 17, 1925.56 [Page 294] The individual articles are self-explanatory and need no further elucidation.

This draft is not intended for immediate presentation at the outset of the deliberations, unless you find that the situation makes such procedure expedient. It is believed that it would probably be wiser first to observe the general trend of the discussions and to determine whether there is any possibility that the American draft might be adopted in toto. Failing this, you should, as occasion arises, submit individual articles of the draft with a view to getting as many provisions thereof accepted as circumstances will permit. The Department leaves it entirely to your discretion to determine the most suitable time and method of introducing the proposals embodied in its draft, but desires that you consult it prior to agreeing to any modifications of substance or to any final draft which does not substantially carry out this Government’s proposals.

Due to the fact that the draft convention to be adopted will be a companion convention to the Arms Traffic Convention, and for other reasons, it is considered highly desirable that the categories appearing in Article I of the Arms Traffic Convention be embodied without any change in the draft convention to be adopted by the Special Commission.

You should, of course, not join in any report which the commission may make to the Assembly or Council of the League of Nations, but should state instead that you will make your report to your Government.

I am [etc.]

Frank B. Kellogg
[Enclosure]

Draft Convention for the Regulation of and Publicity in Regard to the Manufacture of Arms and Ammunition and of Implements of War

Whereas a Convention concerning the Supervision of the International Trade in Arms and Ammunition and in Implements of War was signed at Geneva on June 17, 1925, and;

Whereas it is desirable that the international aspect of the manufacture of arms and ammunition and implements of war should receive early consideration;

The different governments have decided to conclude a Convention and have accordingly appointed as their Plenipotentiaries:

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Who, having communicated their full powers, found in good and due form, have agreed as follows:

[Page 295]

Article 1

For the purpose of the present Convention, five Categories of arms, ammunition, and implements of war are established as follows:

category i. arms, ammunition and implements of war exclusively designed and intended for land, sea or aerial warfare

A.—Arms, Ammunition and Implements exclusively designed and intended for land, sea or aerial warfare which are or shall be comprised in the armament of the armed forces of any State, or which, if they have been but are no longer comprised in such armament, are capable of military to the exclusion of any other use, except such arms, ammunition and implements which, though included in the above definition, are covered by other Categories.

Such arms, ammunition and implements are comprised in the following twelve headings:

1.
Rifles, muskets, carbines.
2.
(a) Machine-guns, automatic rifles and machine pistols of all calibres;
(b) Mountings for machine-guns;
(c) Interrupter gears.
3.
Projectiles and ammunition for the arms enumerated in Nos. 1 and 2 above.
4.
Gun-sighting apparatus including aerial gun-sights and bombsights, and fire-control apparatus.
5.
(a) Cannon, long or short, and howitzers, of a calibre less than 5.9 inches (15 cm.);
(b) Cannon, long or short, and howitzers, of a calibre of 5.9 inches (15 cm.) or above;
(c) Mortars of all kinds;
(d) Gun carriages, mountings, recuperators, accessories for mountings.
6.
Projectiles and ammunition for the arms enumerated in No. 5 above.
7.
Apparatus for the discharge of bombs, torpedoes, depth charges and other kinds of projectiles.
8.
(a) Grenades;
(b) Bombs;
(c) Land mines, submarine mines, fixed or floating, depth charges;
(d) Torpedoes.
9.
Appliances for use with the above arms and apparatus.
10.
Bayonets.
11.
Tanks and armoured cars.
12.
Arms and ammunition not specified in the above enumeration.

B. —Component parts, completely finished, of the articles covered by A above, if capable of being utilized only in the assembly or repair of the said articles, or as spare parts.

[Page 296]

category ii. arms and ammunition capable of use both for military and other purposes

A
—1. Pistols and revolvers, automatic or self-loading, and developments of the same, designed for single-handed use or fired from the shoulder, of a calibre greater than 6.5 mm. and length of barrel greater than 10 cm.
2. Fire-arms designed, intended or adapted for non-military purposes, such as sport or personal defense, that will fire cartridges that can be fired from fire-arms in Category 1; other rifled fire-arms firing from the shoulder, of a calibre of 6 mm. or above, not included in Category I, with the exception of rifled fire-arms with a “breakdown” action.
3. Ammunition for the arms enumerated in the above two headings, with the exception of ammunition covered by Category I.
4. Swords and lances.
B.
—Component parts, completely finished, of the articles covered by A above, if capable of being utilized only in the assembly or repair of the said articles, or as spare parts.

category iii. vessels of war and their armament

1.
Vessels of war of all kinds.
2.
Arms, ammunition and implements of war mounted on board vessels of war and forming part of their normal armament.

category iv

1.
Aircraft, assembled or dismantled.
2.
Aircraft engines.

category v

1.
Gunpowder and explosives, except common black gunpowder.
2.
Arms and ammunition other than those covered by Categories I and II, such as pistols and revolvers of all models, rifled weapons with a “break-down” action, other rifled fire-arms of a calibre of less than 6 mm. designed for firing from the shoulder, smooth-bore shot-guns, guns with more than one barrel of which at least one barrel is smooth-bore, fire-arms firing rimfire ammunition, muzzleloading fire-arms.

Article 2

The provisions of the present Convention apply with equal force to all production of the articles covered by Categories I to V of Article 1, within the territory under the jurisdiction, control or supervision of the High Contracting Parties, irrespective of whether [Page 297] the means of production are owned, controlled, or managed by private individuals or corporations, or whether such means of production are owned, controlled, or managed by the State.

Article 3

The High Contracting Parties undertake to publish within six months after the close of each calendar half-year a statistical return for that half-year of all the articles covered by Categories I and II, which have been manufactured within the territory under their jurisdiction, control, or supervision. This return shall be drawn up in accordance with the specimen form contained in Annex I57 to the present Convention and shall show under each heading of the said Categories in Article 1, the weight, the number, and the value of the articles so manufactured. This return in the form shown in Annex I shall not include the items covered by Articles 4 and 5 which are published in the form shown in Annexes II and III to this Convention. The first statistical return to be published by each of the High Contracting Parties shall be for the half-year, beginning on the first day of January or of July, subsequent to the date on which the present Convention comes into force with regard to the High Contracting Party concerned.

Article 4

The High Contracting Parties in all cases covered by Category III undertake to publish within six months after the close of each calendar half-year a statistical return for that half-year, giving the information detailed below for each vessel of war constructed, under construction, or to be constructed within their territory or jurisdiction, whether on their own behalf or on behalf of the government of another State;

a.
The date of the signing of the contract or authorization and appropriation for the construction of the vessel, the name of the government for which the vessel is ordered, together with the following data:
  • Standard displacement in tons and metric tons; the principal dimensions, namely, length at water line, extreme beam at or below water line, and main draft at standard displacement.
b.
The date of laying the keel, the name of the government for which the vessel is being constructed, together with the following data:
  • Standard displacement in tons and metric tons; the principal dimensions, namely, length at water line, extreme beam at or below water line, and main draft at standard displacement.
c.
Date of delivery, or date of completion, the name of the government to which the vessel is delivered, together with the following data with respect to the vessel at that date:
  • Standard displacement in tons and metric tons; the principal dimensions, namely, length at water line, extreme beam at or below water line and main draft at standard displacement.
As well as the following information regarding the armament installed on board the vessel at the date of delivery and forming part of the vessel’s normal armament:
  • Number and calibre of guns;
  • Number and calibre of torpedo tubes;
  • Number of bomb throwers; number and calibre of machine guns; number and calibre of antiaircraft guns, quantity and kind of other armament.

By the standard displacement in the present Article it is to be understood the displacement of the vessel complete, fully manned, engined, and equipped ready for sea, including all armament and ammunition, equipment, outfit, provisions and fresh water for crew, miscellaneous stores, and implements of every description that are intended to be cared for58 but without fuel or reserve feed water on board.

This return shall be drawn up in accordance with the specimen form contained in Annex II of the present Convention.

Article 5

The High Contracting Parties in all cases covered by Category IV undertake to publish within six months after the close of each calendar half-year a return for that half-year, giving the information detailed below for each aircraft and each aircraft engine manufactured under military specifications within their territory or jurisdiction, whether on their own behalf or on behalf of the government of another State:

a.
Primary purpose for which manufactured whether military or commercial.
b.
Type.
c.
Horse-power.
d.
Gross weight fully-manned, engined, armed and equipped ready for the performance of its mission, including normal designed fuel supply. (For lighter-than-air craft volume to be substituted for gross weight.)
e.
Armanent—number and calibre of guns, with normal ammunition, supply and bomb capacity.

[Page 299]

By the term “manufactured under military specifications” is meant both materiel manufactured for purely military purposes and materiel manufactured for commercial purposes, but on specifications designed to make it capable of military uses.

This return shall be drawn up in accordance with the specimen form contained in Annex III.

Article 6

The Articles covered by Category V shall be subject to such publicity as may be prescribed by the national legislation of each High Contracting Party.

Article 7

The High Contracting Parties undertake to publish semi-annually, the text of the provisions of all statutes, orders, or regulations in force within their territories dealing with the manufacture, storage, or distribution of the articles covered by Categories I to V of Article 1.

Article 8

The provisions of the present Convention are supplemented by those of Annexes I to III, inclusive, which have the same value and which enter into force at the same time as the Convention itself.

Article 9

In time of war the application of the present Convention shall be suspended in so far as its application to a High Contracting Party who is a belligerent is concerned.

Article 10

The High Contracting Parties will use their best endeavors to secure the accession to the present Convention of other states. Each accession will be notified to the Government of the French Republic and by the latter to all signatories or acceding states.

The instruments of accession shall remain deposited in the archives of the Government of the French Republic.

Article 11

The present Convention may be denounced by any Party thereto after the expiration of four years from the time when it came into force in respect to that Party. Denunciation shall be effected by notification in writing, addressed to the Government of the French Republic, which shall forthwith transmit copies of such notification [Page 300] to the other Parties informing them of the date on which it was received.

A denunciation shall take effect one year after the date of the receipt of the notification thereof by the Government of the French Republic and shall operate only in respect to the notifying state.

Should the Convention be denounced by one of the Powers whose ratification is a condition of its entrance into force, any other High Contracting Party may also, within a period of one year from the date of such denunciation, denounce the Convention without waiting for the expiration of the period of four years mentioned above, and may require that its denunciation shall take effect at the same time as the first mentioned denunciation.

Article 12

Any state signing or acceding to the present Convention may declare at the moment of its signature, ratification or accession, that its acceptance of the present Convention does not apply to any or all of the overseas territories under its sovereignty, authority or jurisdiction, and may accede subsequently in accordance with the provisions of Article 10 on behalf of any territory so excluded. Denunciation may also be effected separately in respect of any such territory, and the provisions of Article 11 shall apply to any such denunciation.

Article 13

The High Contracting Parties agree that, at the conclusion of a period of three years from the coming into force of the present Convention, under the terms of Article 15, this Convention shall be subject to revision upon the request of one-third of the said High Contracting Parties.

Article 14

The present Convention, of which the English and French texts are both authentic, is subject to ratification, and shall bear today’s date.

Each Power shall address its ratification to the Government of the French Republic, which will at once notify the deposit of such ratification to each of the other signatory Powers.

The instruments of ratification will remain deposited in the archives of the Government of the French Republic.

Article 15

A first proces-verbal of the deposit of the ratification will be drawn up by the Government of the French Republic as soon as [Page 301] the present Convention shall have been ratified by not less than . . . . . . . producing States.

The present Convention shall come into force four months after the date of notification by the Government of the French Republic to all signatory Powers.

Subsequently the present Convention will come into force with respect to each High Contracting Party four months after the date on which its ratification or accession shall have been notified by the Government of the French Republic to all signatory or acceding States.

In witness thereof, the above mentioned Plenipotentiaries have signed the present Convention.

  1. Not printed.
  2. Foreign Relations, 1927, vol. i, p. 216.
  3. Ibid., 1925, vol. i, p. 61.
  4. There are no annexes attached to the file copy of this draft.
  5. On August 30 the Ambassador was informed that the phrase “cared for” should read “carried in war.”