Rio Protocol

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The Rio Protocol, short for Treaty of Peace, Friendship and Boundaries between Peru and Ecuador, was signed in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on January 29, 1942 between the Foreign Ministers of Peru and Ecuador, and with the participation of the United States, Brazil, Chile, and Argentina as "guarantors" of the treaty.

This treaty brought officially to an end a state of war that had existed between Ecuador and Peru since July 5, 1941. By the end of July, a ceasefire came into effect, leaving part of the Ecuadorian provinces of El Oro, Loja, and Zamora, under Peruvian occupation.

Having just entered World War II, the United States were eager to present a united American continent. It encouraged a settlement at a meeting of North and South American foreign ministers in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in January of 1942.

During the early 1960s, the Ecuadorian Government took the position that the entire protocol was invalid due to the fact that it had been signed under coercion and with foreign troops stationed in Ecuadorian territory, a stance that was modified by subsequent Ecuadorian governments, but that was never officially reverted until 1995.

The only true acceptence of the Rio Protocol by Ecuadorian and Peruvian governments, came in a modified and modernized Rio Protocal border establishment called the Itamaraty Accord. In contrast to the first Ecuadorian military performance in 1941, it's 1995 military blow returned Ecuador it's dignity; and equivalent participation during negotiation; as Peru, during the Itamaraty Accord signed at the Brazilian Foreign Ministry.

[edit] References

• Territorial Disputes and Their Resolution: The Case of Ecuador and Peru
• Text of the Rio Protocol