How Important was the League's Humanitarian Work (AQA GCSE History)
Revision Note
Written by: Zoe Wade
Reviewed by: Bridgette Barrett
The League of Nations humanitarian work - Summary
As well as working to maintain peace, the League of Nations addressed health issues. The League set up the Health Organisation. This worked to combat diseases such as malaria and tuberculosis. The League sent medical experts to different countries to help improve public health systems, conduct research and organise international campaigns to fight epidemics.
Another crucial area of the League's humanitarian work was helping refugees. After the First World War, many people were displaced and had nowhere to go. The League created the Refugee Commission to assist these people in finding new homes. They also provided them with food, shelter and medical care.
The League also focused on improving labour conditions worldwide. It established the International Labour Organisation (ILO) to promote fair working conditions, set standards for working hours and ensure safe workplaces. The ILO worked to abolish child labour and protect workers' rights. This effort was important in helping to create better and safer working environments for people in many countries.
The League of Nations & refugees: The Refugees Committee
One of the areas of success for the League of Nations was its humanitarian work
Humanitarianism refers to actions that aim to improve people’s lives and end world suffering
Improving people’s working and living conditions was a key aim of the League
The League established agencies to deal with humanitarian issues
Each agency dealt with one specific issue
Some commissions were permanent while others were temporary
Reason for existence | Aims | Successes | Weaknesses |
|---|---|---|---|
The First World War caused thousands of people to flee their homes to escape the conflict The conflict destroyed some areas | Repatriate citizens, especially in the Balkans, Greece, Armenia and Turkey Improve standards in refugee camps | 425,000 displaced people returned to their homes or their country Reduced the number of refugees dying from diseases like cholera | The Refugee Committee lacked the funding it needed to resolve the refugee crisis |
The League of Nations and Health: The Health Committee
Reason for existence | Aims | Successes | Weaknesses |
|---|---|---|---|
The First World War showed how different healthcare was around the world The Spanish Flu (1918-1920) infected a third of the population and killed around 50 million people | Eradicate dangerous diseases Educate the general public on hygiene Working with charities to increase disease prevention Created medical research projects and institutes | Worked with non-League countries. For example, the commission prevented a typhoid epidemic in the USSR Established research institutes in London, Copenhagen and Singapore Introduced vaccines for malaria and killed infected mosquitoes | Work impacted due to the lack of funding in the Great Depression (1930s) |
The League of Nations and Working Conditions: International Labour Organisation
Reason for existence | Aims | Successes | Weaknesses |
|---|---|---|---|
Poor working standards across the world
| Place limits on working hours Collect data and publish advice on working practices Improve health and safety in the workplace | Banned poisonous lead paint The working week was restricted to 48 hours In 1928, 77 countries agreed to a minimum wage Collaborated with workers, trade union representatives and governments | The ILO could only recommend, not make laws Countries rejected the ILO’s suggestions, for example banning children under 14 from working and the eight-hour working day |
The League of Nations and Slavery: The Slavery Commission
Reason for existence | Aims | Successes | Weaknesses |
|---|---|---|---|
European empires were not tackling the issues of slavery in their colonies, especially in East Africa | Abolish slavery worldwide | Freed 200,000 enslaved people in Sierra Leone Organised raids to disrupt Burmese slave traders Reduced the death rate of workers on the Tanganyika Railway from 50% to 4% | No agreed procedures for reviewing slavery in the countries of member states |
An extract from the League of Nations Convention to Suppress the Slave Trade and Slavery (25th September 1926)
Article 2 The High Contracting Parties undertake, each in respect of the territories placed under its sovereignty, jurisdiction, protection, suzerainty or tutelage, so far as they have not already taken the necessary steps: (a) To prevent and suppress the slave trade; (b) To bring about, progressively and as soon as possible, the complete abolition of slavery in all its forms. |
Examiner Tips and Tricks
Some students struggle to remember all the League of Nations’ commissions. To help you remember, you could create a fact file on each commission. Alternatively, you could draw a person in the middle of the page. Explain how each of the League’s commissions could help this person.
Other Humanitarian Commissions
Worked Example
Write an account of the work of the League of Nations’ agencies on humanitarian issues in the 1920s
[8 marks]
Partial answer:
The League of Nations’ agencies helped humanitarian issues because they wanted to improve international working conditions. The League of Nations created the International Labour Organisation (ILO) to improve the happiness of workers. This was aimed at reducing the appeal of communism to the working classes. As a result, the League of Nations did achieve some success on this issue. A consequence of the ILO was 77 countries agreeing to a minimum wage in 1928. They also restricted the working week to 48 hours. However, the ILO only had limited success. The ILO could only recommend, not make laws. Some issues, like banning labour for children under 14, were ignored by multiple countries. Therefore, the ILO had some success on the humanitarian issue of working conditions.
Examiner Tips and Tricks
This question requires you to focus on two causes and/or consequences of the work of the League of Nations’ agencies on humanitarian issues.
The worked example above focuses on one commission, the ILO. To complete this answer, you must write a paragraph on an additional commission.
For further guidance on this question, you can read this revision note on how to answer the 8-mark “Write an account” question.
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