CHAPTER 614
FORMERLY HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
NO. 17
MEMORIALIZING THE HEAD OF STATE AND THE LEGISLATIVE BODY OF EACH OF THE SIGNATORY NATIONS OF THE GENEVA CONVENTION RELATIVE TO THE TREATMENT OF PRISONERS OF WAR AND TO THE DELEGATES OF THE
STATE OF DELAWARE IN THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES FOR THEIR INFORMATION.
We, your Memorialists, the members of the House of Representatives and Senate of the 126th General Assembly of the State of Delaware do hereby respectfully request that:
WHEREAS, the government of the United States is a party to the Geneva Convention relative to the treatment of prisoners of war done at Geneva August 12, 1949, ratified by the Senate of the United States, July 6, 1955, and entered into force with respect to the United States February 2, 1956; and
WHEREAS, the government of North Vietnam is a party to the Geneva Convention relative to the treatment of prisoners of war, having acceded to the terms of the Convention on June 28, 1957; and
WHEREAS, there are in total, one hundred and thirty-five signatory nations to the Geneva Convention relative to the treatment of prisoners of war; and
WHEREAS, the Convention was negotiated in the interest of world order, and has vitality only s_o long as every nation observes its terms; and
WHEREAS, every, signatory nation has an obligation to every other signatory nation to work actively toward obtaining the observance by every other nation of the terms of the Geneva Convention; and
WHEREAS, the government of North Vietnam has not conformed its actions to the terms of the Convention which
require provisions for proper and humanitarian treatment of prisoners, needed medical services and supplies to sick and wounded prisoners, release of the names of prisoners held, release of the names of combatants known to have been killed, delivery of mail to prisoners, and impartial inspections of prisoner of war camps and facilities.
BE IT RESOLVED by the 126th General Assembly of the State of Delaware, now in session, the House of Representatives and Senate concurring, speaking for and on behalf of the people of the State of Delaware that the people and the governments of the signatory nations of the Geneva Convention relative to prisoners of war are urged and requested to take all possible steps to bring the weight of world opinion and the prestige of their world position to bear upon the government of North Vietnam to require them to observe the terms of the Convention.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the citizens of the State of Delaware are urged to take all possible steps to encourage and initiate actions expressing to the people of the world and particularly to the people and governments of the signatory nations of the Geneva Convention relative to the treatment of prisoners of war the continuing concern of the citizens of the United States for the welfare of all prisoners of every nation including our fellow Americans held by the North Vietnam government.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives be, and she is hereby authorized and directed to forward copies of this memorial to the head of state and the legislative bodies of each of the signatory nations of the Geneva Convention relative to the treatment of prisoners of war which are: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Barbados, Belgium, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burundi, Byelorussian S.S.R., Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Central African Republic, Ceylon, Chile, China (People's Rep.), Columbia, Congo (Brazzaville), Congo (Kinshasa), Costa Rica, Cuba, Cyprus, Czechoslovakia, Dahomey, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Gabon, The Gambia, Germany, Germany (Dem. Rep.), Ghana, Greece, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Holy See, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, India,
Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan Kenya, Korea, Korea (Dem. Rep.), Kuwait, Laos, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malawi, Malta, Malaysia, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Monaco, Mongolian People's Republic, Morocco, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Rwanda, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Somali Republic, South Africa, Southern Yemen, Spain, Sudan, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Syrian Arab Republic, Tanzania; Tanganyika, Zanzibar, Thailand, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda, Ukrainian, S.S.R., U.S.S.R., United Arab Republic, United Kingdom, United States, Upper Volta, Uruguay, Venezuela, Vietnam, (Vietnam, Dem. Rep.), Yugoslavia, Zambia, and to the delegates of the State of Delaware in the Congress of the United States, namely, Senators J. Caleb Boggs and William V. Roth, Jr. and Representative Pierre S. duPont IV, for their information.