On 4 May 1910, in Paris, the Agreement for the Suppression of the Circulation of Obscene Publications is signed — one of the first multilateral instruments against pornography by post and international trade.

The text requires parties to punish the manufacture, possession, import, export and circulation of obscene writings, designs, pictures or objects, and to cooperate through information exchange and extradition on the basis of double criminality.

The agreement was concluded amid early twentieth-century moral campaigns and was followed by the 1923 Geneva Convention, which strengthened obligations. Many signatories later became parties to UN trafficking conventions.

The historic depositary was the French Government; the text appears in the League of Nations Treaty Series and British treaty collections. Entry into force followed national ratifications in subsequent years.

Although the language of “obscenity” is dated and enforcement varied sharply among states, the agreement remains a milestone of international criminal cooperation on sexual materials.

The text can be consulted in treaty archives and on Wikisource, where an English version of the agreement is available.

The Agreement of 4 May 1910 on obscene publications remains the first modern multilateral pact against the international circulation of pornography.

Image: Paris; Wikimedia Commons. Cropped to 16:9.

Source consulted: Agreement for the Suppression of the Circulation of Obscene Publications. Treaty text: Agreement for the Suppression of Obscene Publications (UNTC).