Italian Fascist War Crimes in Ethiopia - Societa italiana di storia ...

Italian Fascist War Crimes in Ethiopia 111
3. Any disagreement concerning the application of paragraphs 1 and 2 of
this Article shall be referred by any of the Governments concerned to the
Ambassadors in Rome of the Soviet Union, of the United Kingdom, of
the United States of America, and of France, who will reach agreement
with regard to the difficulty.
The role of the Four Ambassadors, which was later of particular relevance to
the question of war crimes in Ethiopia, was also defined in Article 86, which,
envisaging the possibility of dispute between one or more UN members and the
Italian Government, declared:
For a period not to exceed eighteen months from the coming into force of
the present Treaty, the Ambassadors in Rome of the Soviet Union, of the
United Kingdom, of the United States of America, and of France, acting
in concert, will represent the Allies and Associated Powers in all matters
concerning the execution and interpretation of the present Treaty.
The Four Ambassadors will give the Italian Government such guidance,
technical advice and clarification as may be necessary to ensure the
rapid and efficient execution of the present Treaty both in the letter and
the spirit.
The Italian Government shall afford the said Four Ambassadors all
necessary information and any assistance which they may require in the
fulfillment of the tasks devolving on them under the present Treaty. 44
The Draft Treaty thus established three important principles: 1) that Italy was
obliged to surrender war criminals for trial; 2) that Italian responsibilities visà-vis
Ethiopia (contrary to the Foreign Office argument) dated back to the
beginning of the fascist invasion, in 1935; and, 3) that the interests of all United
Nations member states would be entrusted to the Ambassadors in Rome of the
Four Great Powers.
Discussions in the House of Commons
Re n ewed awa reness of fascist war-crimes in Ethiopia, as revealed in the N ew
Times and Ethiopia News pamphlet, and realisation that the Fo reign Office had
t reated the country ungenerously by excluding it from the commission,