![handle is hein.unl/twcra0001 and id is 1 raw text is:
[Distributed to the Council,
the Members of the League
and the Delegates at the Assembly.] A. 73. 1927, IV.
Geneva, September 17th, 1927.
LEAGUE OF NATIONS
TRAFFIC IN WOMEN AND CHILDREN
REPORT OF THE FIFTH COMMITTEE TO THE ASSEMBLY
Rapporteur: M. PORTELA (Cuba).
The Traffic in Women and Children Committee held its sixth session at Geneva from April
25th to 30th, 1927, and was presided over by His Excellency M. Regnault, delegate for France.
The greater part of the session was devoted to the consideration of the Report of the Special
Body of Experts. The Council had forwarded to the members of the Traffic in Women and
Children Committee Part I of this Report in order that it might consider what action it could
recommend as a result of the information submitted by the experts. The suggested remedies in
Part I of the Report were very fully discussed. The Committee particularly recommended that
severe measures should be taken by the various Governments regarding foreign procurers and
souteneurs.
Further, in order to check the traffic, the Council was requested to invite the various Govern-
ments to supervise conditions under which girls under 18 years of age are allowed to go abroad
with contracts of employment, and, in particular, to insist on the strict enforcement of emigration
laws and regulations. Special attention was devoted to the question of contracts for artistes in
music-halls and other similar establishments. It was recommended that an enquiry should be
undertaken by the Secretariat with the assistance of the International Labour Office regarding the
methods adopted in the different countries for the material and moral protection of artistes
travelling abroad under contract in music-halls, etc.
The Committee considered the observations of the experts on the effects of the low wages paid
to women in certain employments, and recognised that the low wages paid to women in certain
branches of employment is a factor which cannot be disregarded in considering the problem of
prostitution in its relation to the traffic. The Committee suggested that the Secretariat should
examine the question of women's wages with the International Labour Office, and consider whether
any aspect of the question should be explored, reporting to the Committee at its next session.
The more general measures to which the Committee continues to attach the greatest
importance are the adhesion of Governments to the International Conventions and Agreement
for the Suppression of Traffic in Women and Children and direct administrative co-operation
between the central authorities of the diffrent States on all matters connected with the traffic.
The question of the influence of obscene publications was also discussed at some length. A
resolution was adopted drawing the attention of the Council to the fact that a large number of
States which have signed the International Convention for the Suppression of the Circulation of
and Traffic in Obscene Publications have not ratified their signatures and that many States Mem-
bers of the League have taken no steps towards becoming parties to the Convention. The Council
was asked to invite the Governments of those States to take the necessary steps in order to secure
their co-operation in this important matter.
The Committee, being convinced that the fixing of too early an age as the age of consent is
likely to encourage traffic in women and children, requested the Council to draw the attention of
the Governments to the imperative need of fixing the age of consent sufficiently high to ensure the
effective protection of children and young people.
As regards the legal age of marriage, the Commission thought it important that the age of
marriage should reach a rational standard. It decided to postpone further consideration of this
question until its next session.
The Secretariat was instructed to continue to collect information on the question of the expul-
sion of foreign prostitutes. The Secretariat was further requested to make a summary of laws in
its possession dealing with the punishment of persons who live wholly or partly on the immoral
S. d. N. 1.85o (F), 1.475 (A). 9 /27. Imp. Kundig. Publications of the League of Nations
IV. SOCIAL
1927. IV. 11.](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.unl/twcra0001&div=1&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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