Background to the League > League from year to year > 1938

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A proposal which specified, in regard to the application of
the first paragraph of Article 11, that, in the majority of cases,
the votes of the parties to a dispute should not be taken into
consideration in calculating unanimity received only twenty-
five votes, with two votes against and seven abstentions. It
was therefore not adopted.
The question of Article 16, which had already been con¬
sidered in the Committee of Twenty-eight during the debate
on the universality of the League, was the subject of an
important discussion in the Assembly.
The Swiss Government having requested that the tra¬
ditional neutrality of the Swiss Confederation should be
declared compatible thenceforward with the provisions of
the Covenant, the Council decided that Switzerland should
not in future be invited to take part in any way in the
application of the provisions of the Covenant relating to
sanctions.
The Council and the Assembly dealt with the situation
created by foreign intervention in Spain. The Spanish
Government announced that, wishing to contribute to the
general appeasement, it had decided on the immediate
withdrawal of all non-Spanish combatants taking part in the
conflict. A Commission of the League was instructed to
proceed to Spain to verify the execution of this decision.
The Council and the Assembly also examined the situation
in the Far East. The Members of the League were again
invited to refrain from any action which might have the
effect of weakening China’s powers of resistance, and to
consider how far they could individually extend aid to China.
The Chinese Government invoked Article 17 of the Covenant,
and the Japanese Government having declined to be
represented at the Council’s discussions, the Council decided
that the provisions of Article 16 were thenceforward applicable