The Proposed Generalization of the Minorities Régime

The racial policy of the present German government has created a new interest in the problem of protection of minorities. Governments hitherto apathetic in regard to the problem were aroused by the Bernheim petition to the League in the spring of 1933 complaining of the discriminatory character of legislation in violation of the German-Polish convention of 1922. They were also compelled to give attention to the renewed demand of the minorities states for a treaty binding all members of the League to respect the rights of their minorities. States like Italy and France, with large sections of their territory populated almost entirely by German-speaking people who are deeply conscious of their cultural differences with the majority of the state's population, would be expected to show considerable interest in the demand of the minorities states. Other states in whose territory reside many people differing in race, language, or religion from the majority of the population would also necessarily be concerned. The minorities régime and some of the problems created by it have been described in several publications. It is the purpose of this note to trace the movement for, and to attempt an evaluation of, the so-called generalization of the obligations which certain states, members of the League, have assumed.