How Important was the League’s Humanitarian Work? (Cambridge (CIE) IGCSE History)
Revision Note
The League of Nations and 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
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The League of Nations and Health: The Health Committee
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The League of Nations and Working Conditions: International Labour Organisation
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The League of Nations and Slavery: The Slavery Commission
Reason for existence | Aims | Successes | Weaknesses |
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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. |
An extract from the League of Nations Convention to Suppress the Slave Trade and Slavery (25th September 1926) |
Other Humanitarian Commissions
Worked Example
Describe the humanitarian work of the League of Nations
4 marks
Answers:
The League attempted to repatriate victims of the First World War through the Refugees Committee (1). The Health Committee aimed to eradicate diseases such as malaria by capturing and destroying mosquitoes (1). The ILO attempted to improve workers' rights by restricting the working week to 48 hours (1). The Slavery Commission freed 200,000 enslaved people in Sierre Leone (1).
Examiner Tip
This question in Paper One requires you to state information you know about the League’s humanitarian work. Try to make four specific comments about different aspects of the League’s humanitarian commissions.
Worked Example
Study Source A. Are you surprised by this source? Explain your answer using details of the source and your knowledge
8 marks
Source A: From a speech by Seán Lester, Secretary-General of the League of Nations. He was speaking to the Assembly during the last session of the League in 1946 when it dissolved itself It is common to speak of the failure of the League. Is it true that all our efforts for those twenty years have been thrown away? The work of the League is unmistakably printed on the social, economic and humanitarian life of the world. But above all that, a great advance was made in the international organisation of peace. For the first time an organisation was constructed to abolish war. An Assembly representing some fifty peace-loving nations. For ten years the League advanced. Our balance-sheet is not altogether unfavourable. In the essential task of maintaining peace it succeeded during a number of years. It succeeded as long as the governments of the Great Powers supported it and as long as, in the background, there was the possibility that their force would be put at the service of its decisions. During a number of years the League of Nations settled various grave disputes such as the Aaland Islands, all of them involving areas which might have become battlefields if the League had not settled them. |
Partial answers:
I am not surprised by Source A (1). One reason for my opinion is because of the author of the source. Sean Lester was the Secretary-General of the League of Nations. Due to his position in the organisation, he would be more likely to defend against the accusation that the League of Nations failed (1). Within his speech, Lester highlights the positive impact of the League’s existence by stating “The work of the League is unmistakably printed on the social, economic and humanitarian life of the world” (1). This is an area of the League’s work that succeeded, for example, the International Labour Organization (ILO) reduced the working week to 48 hours (1).
Examiner Tip
This is a question that may appear on Paper Two. To answer this question fully, consider:
Who created the source. Consider the person’s occupation and how much they would know about the event in question. Consider if this person has presented a biased opinion in the source due to who they are
The strength of both sides of the argument. In this example, you need to consider why this source may also be surprising. It was written in 1946, after the Second World War. Consider how the positive tone in this source may not have matched your expectations in this period of history
Concluding your thoughts with a reflection on the extent to which you are surprised by the source. Use words like 'partially' or 'fully' to explain this
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