Hague Conventions

Hague Conventions

Series of international agreements signed at The Hague (1899, 1907). The first conference was requested by Russia to discuss rules to limit warfare and attempt arms limitations. Twenty-six countries attended and approved several proposed conventions, including prohibition of the use of asphyxiating gases (not renewed in 1907) and creation of a Permanent Court of Arbitration. The 1907 meeting, called by Theodore Roosevelt, was attended by 44 countries and also had arms limitation as a goal, which again went unmet. An agreement to reconvene in eight years confirmed the principle that international conferences were the best way to handle international problems. Though World War I prevented the next meeting from taking place, the conferences influenced creation of the League of Nations and the United Nations. See also Geneva Conventions.