IOR/L/PS/10/675

The papers in this volume relate to the revised international Arms Traffic Convention (1925).

The papers include: The right to supply munitions to the governments of Afghanistan, Nepal and Tibet should they fall within the ‘prohibited zone’, 11 December 1924; the preference for including all countries bordering India (except Siam) in the prohibited zone should Russia decide to adopt the Convention, and potential British support for Persia’s claim to exclusion from the zone should Russia decide to reject the Convention, 3 February 1925; the exclusion of Persia and Afghanistan from the prohibited zone, and possible arrangement of imports through Bushire [Bushehr], Mohammerah [Khorramshahr] and Karachi, 18 February-12 March 1925; the proposed abandonment of the term ‘prohibited’ areas to induce Turkey and Persia to join the Convention, and empowerment of the governments of the countries bordering India, 24 March 1925; the readiness of HMG to support Persia’s request for exclusion from the prohibited zone in order to ensure the strict regulation of the private arms trade from Russia to India via Persia, 5-11 April 1925; the Government of India’s objections to Article 25 of the Convention, 11-30 April 1925; the Conference on Supervision of the International Trade in Arms and Ammunition, Geneva, 6 May-17 June 1925; the report on the proceedings of the Inter-Departmental Committee assembled to consider the draft Convention for Control of the Trade in Arms, Ammunition and Implements of War produced by the Temporary Mixed Commission of the League of Nations, with annexes including drafts of the Convention by the Temporary Mixed Commission and the Inter-Departmental Committee, and a minute by the Secretary of State on the Arms Traffic Conference, 23-28 April 1925; the protocol on the use of asphyxiating, poisonous and other gases in times of war, 20 May-14 June 1925; the list of countries designated as ‘special zones’ in the Arms Traffic Convention, 25-27 May 1925; the proposal of the Persian delegate Mīrzā Reżā Khan Arfaʿ al-Dawla, 29 May-6 June 1925; the nomination of a Jurist Committee by the Bureau for the purpose of determining the status of the Persian Gulf in international law as the best means of dealing with the Persian delegation, 4-11 June 1925; the Persian amendment to the second paragraph of Article 15 of the Convention, 8-9 June 1925; the protest of the High Commissioner for Iraq at the inclusion of the country in a special zone, 8-25 June 1925; the vote on the inclusion of the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman as special zones, 11-15 June 1925; the declaration on the manufacture of arms, ammunition and implements of war, 8 June 1925; the general report on the League of Nations’ Conference for the Supervision of the International Trade in Arms and Ammunition and in Implements of War, including the texts of the Convention, Statement regarding the Territory of Ifni, Protocol on Chemical and Bacteriological Warfare, Protocol of Signature, and the Final Act, dated at Geneva, 14 June 1925 (texts in French and English); the statement of Sir Percy Cox on the Persian arguments concerning maritime zones, and the response of the Persian delegate General Habibullah Khan [Ḥabib Allāh Khan Shāybanī], 15 June 1925-28 January 1926; the inspection of ships at Indian ports and interception of arms bound for China, 22 October 1925-29 April 1926.

The volume also includes a decree by the Shah of Persia, Muẓaffar al-Dīn Shāh Qājār against arms trafficking, signed on his behalf by the Ṣadr-i Aʿẓam, Mīrzā ʻAlī Aṣghar Khān Amīn al-Sulṭān, dated 1 January 1900 (in French).

The correspondence in this volume is primarily between the Viceroy, Foreign and Political Department; Secretary of State for India; Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs; Under-Secretary of State, India Office; the Admiralty; Richard William Alan Onslow, 5th Earl of Onslow; HM Consul Geneva; War Office; Foreign Office; India Office; Colonial Office; Sir Percy Zachariah Cox; Sir Frederic Arthur Hirtzel; Secretary of State for the Colonies.