On This Day
1929 – The Kellogg–Briand Pact, renouncing war as an instrument of foreign policy, goes into effect (it is first signed in Paris on August 27, 1928, by most leading world powers).
The Kellogg–Briand Pact (or Pact of Paris, officially General Treaty for Renunciation of War as an Instrument of National Policy[1]) is a 1928 international agreement in which signatory states promised not to use war to resolve “disputes or conflicts of whatever nature or of whatever origin they may be, which may arise among them”.[2] Parties failing to abide by this promise “should be denied of the benefits furnished by [the] treaty”. It was signed by Germany, France, and the United States on 27 August 1928, and by most other states soon after. Sponsored by France and the U.S., the Pact renounced the use of war and calls for the peaceful settlement of disputes. Similar provisions were incorporated into the Charter of the United Nations and other treaties and it became a stepping-stone to a more activist American policy.[3] It is named after its authors, United States Secretary of State Frank B. Kellogg and French foreign minister Aristide Briand. The pact was concluded outside the League of Nations and remains in effect.[4]
As a practical matter, the Kellogg–Briand Pact did not live up to all of its aims, but has arguably had some success.[5] It did not end war, nor stop the rise of militarism, and was unable to prevent the Second World War.[6] The Pact has been ridiculed for its moralism and legalism and lack of influence on foreign policy. Moreover, it effectively erased the legal distinction between war and peace because the signatories began to wage wars without declaring them.[7]
The pact’s central provisions renouncing the use of war, and promoting peaceful settlement of disputes and the use of collective force to prevent aggression, were incorporated into the United Nations Charter and other treaties. Although civil wars continued, wars between established states have been rare since 1945, with a few exceptions in the Middle East.[3] One legal consequence is that it is unlawful to annex territory by force, although other forms of annexation have not been prevented. More broadly, some authors claim there is now a strong presumption against the legality of using, or threatening, military force against another country.[8] The pact also served as the legal basis for the concept of a crime against peace, for which the Nuremberg Tribunal and Tokyo Tribunal tried and executed the top leaders responsible for starting World War II.[9]
Many historians and political scientists see the pact as mostly irrelevant and ineffective.[10]
Born On This Day
1899 – Chief Dan George, Canadian actor (d. 1981)
Chief Dan George, OC (July 24, 1899 – September 23, 1981) was a chief of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation, a Coast Salish band whose Indian reserve is located on Burrard Inlet in the southeast area of the District of North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. He was also an actor, musician, poet and author; his best-known written work was “My Heart Soars”.[1] As an actor, he is best remembered for portraying Old Lodge Skins opposite Dustin Hoffman in Little Big Man (1970), for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor; also for his role in The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976), as Lone Watie, opposite Clint Eastwood.
FYI
Rutger Oelsen Hauer (Dutch: [ˈrɵtxər ˈulsə(n) ˈɦʌuər]; 23 January 1944 – 19 July 2019)[1] was a Dutch actor, writer, and environmentalist. He acted in both Dutch and English-language TV series and films.
His career began in 1969 with the title role in the Dutch television series Floris. His film credits include Flesh+Blood, Blind Fury, Blade Runner, The Hitcher, Escape from Sobibor (for which he won a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor), Nighthawks, Wedlock, Sin City, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, Ladyhawke, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Osterman Weekend, The Blood of Heroes, Batman Begins, Hobo with a Shotgun, and The Rite.[1]
Hauer founded the Rutger Hauer Starfish Association, an AIDS awareness organization.
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According to a study published by the Indian government in 2018, India’s population is missing about 63 million women. The reasons for this statistical gender imbalance probably include sex selective abortion, which is illegal in India, but still happens; the systematic denial of nutrition and care to female babies; and female infanticide. The report also estimates that India is home to about 21 million unwanted girls, or girls whose families see them as burdens, and who are therefore vulnerable to malnutrition, exploitative working conditions and human trafficking.
The problem of missing girls and women isn’t confined to India alone. In China, there were 70 million more men in the population in 2018 than women. In Pakistan, the sex ratio in 2011 was 111 men for every 100 women. And in 2016, according to a recent study by the Urban Indian Health Institute, over 5,000 Indigenous women and girls were reported missing or murdered in the United States alone.
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- Wikimedia Commons picture of the day for October 15 October 15, 2024Picture of the day Purple sea urchin (Sphaerechinus granularis), Garajau Marine Nature Reserve, Madeira, Portugal.
- Wikimedia Commons picture of the day for October 14 October 14, 2024Picture of the day Panorama of the Holy Trinity Church in Zinkiv, Khmelnytskyi Oblast, Ukraine