mark, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Iceland, India, Latvia, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland (Danzig), Rumania, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Yugoslavia.

A statement from the Government of the United States of America was received too late for distribution to the First Committee, but was studied by the rapporteur and will be published as soon as possible. On the other hand, the documents A.14 and A.14 (d). 1937. V contain information and statements of their desiderata drawn up by the following women's international organizations: International Alliance of Women for Suffrage and Equal Citizenship, World's Young Women's Christian Association, St. Joan's Social and Political Alliance, International Council of Women, Equal Rights International, Union internationale des Ligues feminines catholiques, Women's Consultative Committee on Nationality 2 and the International Federation of Business and Professional Women.

The members of the First Committee have not failed to give most serious consideration to the views expressed, not merely by the governments, but also by the organizations.

4. In the present year, the question of the status of women has been put on the Assembly's agenda by a joint request from fifteen governments-namely: Albania, Bolivia, Bulgaria, China, Colombia, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, Ecuador, Finland, Haiti, Latvia, New Zealand, Turkey, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and Yugoslavia.

5. The figures given in the last two paragraphs appear to show a growing interest on the part of governments in the demand of women for equality of status. This impression is reinforced by the debates in the First Committee. These debates have shown that the question of equality is not merely one in regard to which women in general are anxious that the maximum progress should be made, but one in regard to which the governments, while obliged to take account of the practical possibilities of legislation and of international action, appreciate and feel sympathy with this demand.

6. The documentation supplied by the governments and the associations regarding the present position of women under the law of different countries could not, of course, be studied in detail by the First Committee, but a general survey of the situation

2 This Committee is composed of representatives of the International Council of Women, the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, the Inter-American Commission of Women, the Equal Rights International, and the All-Asian Conference of Women.

which it discloses was given to the Committee by the rapporteur in the following terms:

"According to the wish expressed at the last meeting, I have tried to get a sort of general survey of the present situation as it is recorded in this material, adopting a purely practical standpoint and without going into details. I have tried to find in how many countries a woman has full personal rights or, as far as married women are concerned, equality of rights with her husband, in certain specified matters.

"In so short a time and with data not always complete or entirely corresponding to each other, I cannot guarantee that my figures are absolutely exact, but I think I can say that they may give you a fair idea of the situation. From a juridical point of view, they need, of course, qualifying in many respects.

"They concern thirty-eight countries all over the world. of which twenty-four are in Europe, four in Asia, two in Africa, seven in America including the United States of America and Canada, and finally, there is the Commonwealth of Australia.

"The facts are, as I said, taken from the governments' replies supplemented by the information given by the women's organizations. Where the information has shown divergency, I have always depended on that furnished by governments.

"The points investigated, seven in number, are as follows:

"I. Equality of right to their own nationality is allowed to women by ten countries and refused by twenty; eight have not given any information.

"II. The right to vote in parliamentary elections and eligibility for election to Parliament on equal footing is enjoyed by women in twenty-four countries and refused in fourteen (nine in Europe).

"III. An equal right to vote and eligibility in local government on an equal footing is accorded to women in twentynine countries, refused in seven countries (four in Europe); two have given no information.

"IV. An equal right for married women to choose their domicile is given only in four countries, twenty-four refuse it; ten give no information.

"V. In seven countries, married women have an equal right to the guardianship of their children; in twenty, they are refused it. Eleven countries give no information.

"VI. The question of women's right to work was very difficult to answer from the data supplied. However, it seems that fourteen countries give a woman, married or unmarried, practically the right to engage in every kind of work, while restrictions of different kinds are imposed in sixteen countries; no information is given from eight countries.

"VII. Equality of rights as regards property, income and earnings is given women in twenty-four countries and refused in ten; no information from four countries.

"I need not say that, quite apart from juridical niceties, conditions vary greatly in different countries, and therefore the data given must be of a very rough nature. A more concise survey would ask for preparation and analysis by legal experts. These remarks apply to this matter as a whole.

"I am, however, left with the impression of a very great variety and of a growing process of evolution. Many countries are reporting recent or planned changes in their legislation. I also venture to add that the progress made towards complete emancipation of women is more substantial than people generally are aware of."

7. The draft resolution which the First Committee submits to the Assembly for adoption provides for a comprehensive and scientific inquiry into "the legal status enjoyed by women in the various countries of the world as the result of the provisions of national law and the application of those provisions." This inquiry would be under the control of a committee of experts of both sexes appointed by the Council. It will be evident from the work which the committee has to do that the First Committee has primarily in mind a committee of legal experts. It has refrained from using this expression in the draft resolution, in order that the Council, if it thinks fit, may put on the committee persons whose qualifications are not primarily legal but who possess special qualifications of another kind for the work in question. The committee will settle the scope of the inquiry and the distribution of the work among the scientific institutions by which it is to be accomplished, and it will review the work accomplished before its publication by the League, with a view in particular to ensuring that there is included a synthetic survey of the whole situation. It is not, of course, intended that the committee shall be bound to draw up this survey itself.

8. It is proposed that the inquiry itself should be entrusted to suitable international scientific institutions. In this connection, the resolution mentions the International Institute for the Unification of Private Law, which is an institute placed at the disposal of the League and which, by its purpose and constitution, is especially qualified to deal with questions of private law and related questions. Other aspects of the inquiry would be entrusted to such institutions as the committee of experts considered most suitable for the purpose: a number of delegations considered, for example, that recourse might be had to the International Institute of Public Law and the International Bureau for the Unification of Penal Law for questions falling within their field.

9. The reasons for such a proposal can be briefly stated as follows:

The replies of the governments and the debate in the First Committee, in which no fewer than 23 delegations took part, have shown that the status of women is not a question which at present one can hope to see settled for all countries by the adoption of a simple and all-embracing formula. Although some speakers were inclined to consider that it would ultimately become possible to secure general acceptance for an international convention on the subject, no delegation proposed that the League should at present attempt to have such a convention negotiated under its auspices, and certain delegations declared that, in the opinion of their governments, the status of women was so essentially a matter of domestic jurisdiction that it ought not to be considered to fall within the field of action of the League. Other delegations feel that, at the present stage, legislative progress may be coordinated as the result of League action. If the First Committee's proposal is accepted the League, on the completion of the proposed inquiry, will be put in possession of an entirely objective picture of the actual legal position of women. The publication of such a comprehensive survey should be of assistance to governments and to all organizations and persons interested in the problem. On its completion, the Assembly will be absolutely free to consider taking further steps in the matter.

10. The First Committee very much hopes that the comprehensive study can be completed in 3 years. The progress of the work will be notified to the Assembly in the Secretary-General's annual reports, and if the committee of experts finds it impossible to complete the work in the time proposed, it will of course call the Assembly's attention to the position. The proposed resolution contemplates that, so far as necessary, the committee of experts

will maintain contact with the institutions which are carrying out the study. This contact will of course be maintained in the normal way through the Secretariat and, in the opinion of the First Committee, it need not necessarily involve meetings of the committee of experts, although such meetings may prove to be desirable.

11. Two aspects of the status of women are excluded from the scope of the contemplated comprehensive survey. In the first place, that survey cannot obviously extend to matters which the Assembly has already formally recognized to belong to the competence of the International Labor Organization and in regard to which the Organization is already prosecuting an inquiry which the Assembly has requested it to undertake. Any difficulty in this connection will be removed by collaboration between the committee of experts and the competent authorities of the Labor Organization. Moreover, there may no doubt be matters in regard to which the experience of the Labor Organization would enable it to assist the committee in a consultative capacity, and the First Committee has no doubt that the Organization will be glad to give such help. Secondly, the Committee considers that the Assembly should maintain the decisions which it has already taken with regard to the nationality of women. This implies that questions of nationality are in principle excluded from the contemplated survey. It is not, however, intended that the survey should not contain such general information regarding the nationality of women as may be necessary to complete the picture which it is intended to give.

12. On the other hand, questions regarding the status of women which are regulated by international conventions will, of course, fall within the scope of the survey.

13. The draft resolution empowers the committee of experts to invite the cooperation of the women's international organizations in such manner as it finds desirable. The resolution makes no reference to proposals which the organizations may desire to submit to the committee. It is understood that, in the normal course, the Secretariat would bring to the attention of the committee any proposals from the organizations which were relevant to the committee's task.

14. The committee of experts will have full and entire responsibility for the form and content of the publications which are circulated to the Assembly and published by the League as the result of the contemplated inquiry. It will therefore rest with the committee to decide whether and in what shape the results of par