The terrible losses of World War I produced, as years went by and peace

seemed no nearer, an ever-growing public demand that some method be

found to prevent the renewal of the suffering and destruction which were now
seen to be an inescapable part of modern war. So great was the force of this
demand that within a few weeks after the opening of the Paris Peace
Conference in January 1919, unanimous agreement had been reached on
the text of the Covenant of the League of Nations. Although the League was
unable to fulfill the hopes of its founders, its creation was an event of decisive
importance in the history of international relations. The League was formally
disbanded on April 19, 1946; its powers and functions had been transferred
to the nascent United Nations.

Origins Of The League Of Nations

The central, basic idea of the movement was that aggressive war is
a crime not only against the immediate victim but against the whole
human community. Accordingly it is the right and duty of all states to join in
preventing it; if it is certain that they will so act, no aggression is likely to take
place. Such affirmations might be found in the writings of philosophers or
moralists but had never before emerged onto the plane of practical politics.
Statesmen and lawyers alike held and acted on the view that there was no
natural or supreme law by which the rights of sovereign states, including that
of making war as and when they chose, could be judged or limited. Many of
the attributes of the League of Nations were developed from existing
institutions or from time-honoured proposals for the reform of previous
diplomatic methods. However, the premise of collective security was, for
practical purposes, a new concept engendered by the unprecedented
pressures of World War I.

The League of Nations, abbreviated as LN or LoN, (French: Société des Nations, [sɔsjete de
nasjɔ]̃ abbreviated as "SDN" or "SdN" and meaning "Society of Nations") was the first
worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world
peace.[1] It was founded on 10 January 1920 following the Paris Peace Conference that ended
the First World War; in 1919 US President Woodrow Wilson was to win the Nobel Peace Prize for
his role as the leading architect of the league.
The organisation's primary goals, as stated in its Covenant, included preventing wars
through collective security and disarmament and settling international disputes through
negotiation and arbitration.[2] Other issues in this and related treaties included labour conditions,
just treatment of native inhabitants, human and drug trafficking, the arms trade, global health,
prisoners of war, and protection of minorities in Europe.[3] The Covenant of the League of
Nations was signed on 28 June 1919 as Part I of the Treaty of Versailles, and it became effective
together with the rest of the Treaty on 10 January 1920. The first meeting of the Council of the
League took place on 16 January 1920, and the first meeting of Assembly of the League took place
on 15 November 1920.
The diplomatic philosophy behind the League represented a fundamental shift from the preceding
hundred years. The League lacked its own armed force and depended on the victorious First World
War Allies (France, the United Kingdom, Italy and Japan were the permanent members of the
Executive Council) to enforce its resolutions, keep to its economic sanctions, or provide an army
when needed. The Great Powers were often reluctant to do so. Sanctions could hurt League
members, so they were reluctant to comply with them. During the Second Italo-Abyssinian War,
when the League accused Italian soldiers of targeting Red Cross medical tents, Benito
Mussolini responded that "the League is very well when sparrows shout, but no good at all when
eagles fall out."

Principal organs
The main constitutional organs of the League were the Assembly, the Council, and the Permanent
Secretariat. It also had two essential wings: the Permanent Court of International Justice and
the International Labour Organization. In addition, there were several auxiliary agencies and
commissions.[62]Each organ's budget was allocated by the Assembly (the League was supported
financially by its member states).[63]
The relations between the Assembly and the Council and the competencies of each were for the
most part not explicitly defined. Each body could deal with any matter within the sphere of
competence of the League or affecting peace in the world. Particular questions or tasks might be
referred to either.[64]
Unanimity was required for the decisions of both the Assembly and the Council, except in matters
of procedure and some other specific cases such as the admission of new members. This
requirement was a reflection of the League's belief in the sovereignty of its component nations; the
League sought a solution by consent, not by dictation. In case of a dispute, the consent of the
parties to the dispute was not required for unanimity.[65]
The Permanent Secretariat, established at the seat of the League at Geneva, comprised a body
of experts in various spheres under the direction of the general secretary.[66] Its principal sections
were Political, Financial and Economics, Transit, Minorities and Administration (administering
the Saar and Danzig), Mandates, Disarmament, Health, Social (Opium and Traffic in Women and
Children), Intellectual Cooperation and International Bureaux, Legal, and Information. The staff of
the Secretariat was responsible for preparing the agenda for the Council and the Assembly and
publishing reports of the meetings and other routine matters, effectively acting as the League's
civil service. In 1931 the staff numbered 707.[67]
The Assembly consisted of representatives of all members of the League, with each state allowed
up to three representatives and one vote.[68] It met in Geneva and, after its initial sessions in
1920,[69] it convened once a year in September.[68] The special functions of the Assembly included
the admission of new members, the periodical election of non-permanent members to the Council,
the election with the Council of the judges of the Permanent Court, and control of the budget. In
practice, the Assembly was the general directing force of League activities.[70]
The League Council acted as a type of executive body directing the Assembly's business.[71] It
began with four permanent members (Great Britain, France, Italy, and Japan) and four non-
permanent members that were elected by the Assembly for a three-year term.[72] The first non-
permanent members were Belgium, Brazil, Greece, and Spain.[73]
The composition of the Council was changed several times. The number of non-permanent
members was first increased to six on 22 September 1922 and to nine on 8 September
1926. Werner Dankwort of Germany pushed for his country to join the League; joining in 1926,
Germany became the fifth permanent member of the Council. Later, after Germany and Japan
both left the League, the number of non-permanent seats was increased from nine to eleven, and
the Soviet Union was made a permanent member giving the Council a total of fifteen
members.[73] The Council met, on average, five times a year and in extraordinary sessions when
required. In total, 107 sessions were held between 1920 and 1939.
The Permanent Court of International Justice was provided for by the Covenant, but not
established by it. The Council and the Assembly established its constitution. Its judges were
elected by the Council and the Assembly, and its budget was provided by the latter. The Court was
to hear and decide any international dispute which the parties concerned submitted to it. It might
also give an advisory opinion on any dispute or question referred to it by the Council or the
Assembly. The Court was open to all the nations of the world under certain broad conditions.

The International Labour Organization was created in 1919 on the basis of Part XIII of the Treaty
of Versailles.[80] The ILO, although having the same members as the League and being subject to
the budget control of the Assembly, was an autonomous organisation with its own Governing Body,
its own General Conference and its own Secretariat. Its constitution differed from that of the
League: representation had been accorded not only to governments but also to representatives of
employers' and workers' organisations. Albert Thomas was its first director.[81]
The ILO successfully restricted the addition of lead to paint,[82] and convinced several countries to
adopt an eight-hour work day and forty-eight-hour working week. It also campaigned to end child
labour, increase the rights of women in the workplace, and make shipowners liable for accidents
involving seamen.[80] After the demise of the League, the ILO became an agency of the United
Nations in 1946.[83]
The League's health organisation had three bodies: the Health Bureau, containing permanent
officials of the League; the General Advisory Council or Conference, an executive section
consisting of medical experts; and the Health Committee. The Committee's purpose was to
conduct inquiries, oversee the operation of the League's health work, and prepare work to be
presented to the Council.[84] This body focused on ending leprosy, malaria, and yellow fever, the
latter two by starting an international campaign to exterminate mosquitoes. The Health
Organisation also worked successfully with the government of the Soviet Union to
prevent typhus epidemics, including organising a large education campaign.

The Slavery Commission sought to eradicate slavery and slave trading across the world, and
fought forced prostitution.[90] Its main success was through pressing the governments who
administered mandated countries to end slavery in those countries. The League secured a
commitment from Ethiopia to end slavery as a condition of membership in 1923, and worked
with Liberiato abolish forced labour and intertribal slavery. The United Kingdom had not supported
Ethiopian membership of the League on the grounds that "Ethiopia had not reached a state of
civilisation and internal security sufficient to warrant her admission."