m.t.cicero
Good Kid
The Ypres Convention, 1908
As the Flemish observers begin to return from the fronts with their reports, the government of Flanders has begun to compile their observations into the Calais Reports. It is already clear though, that the Calais Convention is imperfect, and requires adjustments in order to keep up with the times. For this reason the government of Flanders is calling a convention in the city of Ypres, convened now through the year 1909, in order to amend the Calais Convention. Flanders encourages both those nations who are already signatories and those who have not yet signed to attend, so that all peoples and countries may have a voice in the amendment of the Convention. Come the release of the Calais Reports, any nation will be invited to propose an Amendment to the Calais Convention, which will be voted upon by all nations present at Ypres. The government of Flanders holds great hope that this convention will serve to somewhat assuage the suffering of both soldiers and civilians caught up in the hell that is war, at least for as long as mankind continues to fight wars.
Though the Calais Reports remain incomplete, a pattern has already emerged from the preliminary review of the various individual reports collected from our observers. Every one of our observers who have seen the effects of gas warfare have resoundingly denounced it as the most inhumane and torturous of any weapon man has yet conceived. Therefore, to start the convention at Ypres, Flanders proposes the following Amendment:
Amendment 9: Whereas the use in war of asphyxiating, poisonous or other gases, and of all analogous liquids, materials or devices, has been justly condemned by the general opinion of the civilised world, to the end that this prohibition shall be universally accepted as a part of the Calais Convention, binding alike the conscience and the practice of the signatory nations, abolishing its use in conflict between the signatory nations.