721.23/1224: Telegram
The Consul at Geneva (Gilbert) to the Secretary of State
[Received February 21—11:55 a.m.]
53. Colombia invoked article 15 of the Covenant in letter to Council under date of February 17 and requested urgent meeting of Council31 (Consulate’s 53 [52?], February 18, noon). Council met this morning in response to this request. The Peruvian delegate did not attend.
Taking as a point of departure the telegram of the Committee of Three (second paragraph of Consulate’s telegram under reference) and a Peruvian reply thereto, which except for pointing out that the preamble to the Covenant was intended to secure “the maintenance of justice” and insisting upon “the extreme injustice and immorality of the Salomon-Lozano Treaty”, brought out nothing new, the Council listened to a lengthy review of the Colombian case by Santos concluding with an appeal for action by the League.
After a statement by the Secretary General to the effect that the communications to the Council and the statements made at the Council [Page 489] on the part of Colombia and Peru constitutes their “statements” as provided in paragraph 2 of article 15 the President of the Council proposed that procedure for conciliation should be begun under paragraph 3 of article 15 and that this should be undertaken by the Council Committee of Three which had been previously charged with this affair. Colombia agreed and the Council approved.
A meeting is set for Committee of Three tomorrow and Matos (Guatemala) informs me that it is expected that the Peruvian representative will attend.
It appears to be understood that Calderón absented himself from the Council because he felt that the Peruvian case was too weak for him to defend in public debate.
- See League of Nations, Official Journal, April 1933, p. 562.↩