During January and February 1949, Watkinson worked with members of External Affairs and National Defence for the Revision of the Geneva Convention for the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War. In late March, the Deputy Minister of National Health asked Watkinson to be a member of the Canadian Delegation to the Diplomatic Conference in Geneva, Switzerland, for the Revision of the Geneva Conventions. The head of the delegation was Emile Vaillancourt, Canadian Ambassador to Yugoslavia. During this period, Watkinson also began researching Seal Finger, a crippling infection of the forefinger afflicting the sealers of Newfoundland, Norway, and Finland.