protection of stateless persons and to make recommendations on the interim measures which may be taken by the United Nations to further this objective. As a result of the Secretary1 General’s Study, the Economic and Social Council on August 8, 1949, adopted Resolution 248 (IX) (B) appointing an Ad Hoc Committee on Statelessness and Related Problems consisting of representatives of 13 governments. Among its tasks was consideration of the desirability of preparing a revised and consolidated convention relating to the international status of refugees and stateless persons and, if it so decided, the preparation of a draft of such a convention. The Ad Hoc Committee convened on January 16, 1950, in Lake Success and on February 16 completed its work with the adoption of a Draft Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees 2 and a Protocol thereto Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons. The report the Ad Hoc Committee was considered by the Economic and Social Council (in its Social Committee and the plenary meetings) during its eleventh sessions. The Council decided to reconvene the Ad Hoc Committee so that it might revise its draft in the light of the comments made by governments and the discussions and decisions of the Council. It was asked to submit the draft, as revised, to the General Assembly at its fifth session. The Council recommended to the Assembly to approve international agreements on the basis of the drafts prepared by the Ad Hoc Committee. In pursuance of this resolution, the Ad Hoc Committee met in Geneva from August 14 to August 25, 3 1950, and prepared a revised version of its original draft. The fifth session of the General Assembly did not deal with the substance of the draft convention. Instead it of decided to convene a conference of plenipotentiaries in Geneva to complete the drafting of such a convention and a protocol on the status of stateless persons. The Assembly recommended to the governments which would participate in the conference to take into consideration the draft convention prepared under the auspices of the Economic and Social Council. The Conference of plenipotentiaries met in Geneva from July 2 to 25, 1951. Twenty-six states were represented by delegates and two governments by observers. The conference adopted by 24 votes to none, a Convention relating to the Status of Refugees (hereafter referred to as the “Refugee Convention”) and a Final Act containing, i.a., five recommendations to the respective governments. It resolved, however, to refer the draft protocol on the status of stateless persons who are not refugees, to the appropriate organs of the United Nations. The General Assembly, by resolution 629 (VII) on the Draft Protocol Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, decided to request the Secretary-General to communicate the Draft Protocol to all governments which participated in the aforesaid conference with a request for their comments, in particular on those provisions of the Refugee Convention which they would be prepared to apply to the various categories of state less persons. At the same time the Economic and Social Council was requested to study the text of the Protocol and the comments received and, in the light of these comments, to take action which seemed useful in order that a text might be opened for signature after the Refugee Convention had entered into force. Comments were received from the following states: Belgium, Dominican Republic, Finland, Japan, France, United States, Sweden, Yugoslavia, Iran, Union of South Africa, Pakistan, Great Britain, Switzerland, Netherlands, Norway. They appeared as Doc. E/2373 with 14 addenda. Since the Refugee Convention came into force on April 22, 1954, the Economic and Social Council resolved to convene a Second Conference of Plenipotentiaries with the following agenda: (i) The revision of the draft Protocol Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, in the light of the provisions of the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and the observations made by the governments concerned. 1 Document E/1392. 2 The Report of the Committee was distributed as Doc. E/1618, E/AC.32/5. The Draft Protocol is contained in Appendix I. 3 The Report of the Committee was distributed as Doc. E/1850, E/AC.32/8. The revised Draft Protocol is contained in Appendix II.