Fourteen Points (1918)

Fourteen Points ( ) . Open diplomacy . Freedom of the Seas . Removal of economic barriers . Reduction of armaments . Adjustment of colonial claims . Evacatory Conquered territories in Russia . Preservation of Belgian sovereignty . Restoration of French territory . Redrawing of Italian frontiers . Division of Austria- Hungary . Redrawing of Balkan boundaries . Limitations on Turkey . Establishment of an independent Poland . Creation of an Association of Nations, (League of Nations). Amidst the carnage, President Woodrow Wilson in January , outlined his idea of the League of Nations which received widespread support given the utter devastation caused by World War I. For many the idea of an international Organisation seemed to be the answer for settling disputes before they escalated into military conflicts. Although the United States failed to join the League of Nations, President Woodrow Wilson chaired the Versailles Peace Conference’s commission on the establishment of an international Organisation. Wilson declared in a joint session of the U.S. Congress that: “It is a definite guaranty of peace. It is a definite guaranty by word against aggression. It is a definite guaranty against the things which have just come near bringing the whole structure of civilization into ruin. Its purposes do not for a moment lie vague. Its purposes are declared, and its powers are unmistakable. It is not in contemplation that this should be merely a league to secure the peace of the world. It is a league which can be used for cooperation in any international matter”. The League after being housed temporarily in London, commenced operation in the year in Geneva, Switzerland. Initially it had some success when it settled disputes between Finland and Sweden over Aland Islands, between Germany and Poland over Upper Silesia and between Iraq and Turkey over the city of Mosul. The League with some success alleviated the refugee crisis in Russia and combatted the international opium trade. The League acted as an umbrella Organisation for agencies such as the International Labor Organisation (ILO) and the Permanent Court of International Justice and it later became a model for the future United Nations (UN). The League of Nations was dominated by the victors of World War I that included France and Great Britain along with Japan and Italy as the other two permanent members of the League Council. There were twenty eight founding members who were represented in the General Assembly who were mostly from Europe and Latin America. The League of Nations was one that was Eurocentric. Virtually all of Africa, Asia and the Middle East were controlled by European imperial powers. The League also established the mandate system to prepare natives of different regions for self- government and independence. However, it was short sighted and the mandates exploded only after the League ceased to exist (