Analysis: Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance

Date: September 2, 1947

Genre: charter

Summary Overview

In February and March of 1945, delegations from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, the United States, Uruguay, and Venezuela met at the Chapultepec Castle in Mexico City to discuss the regional defense and cooperation of American states. The conference, formally named the Inter-American Conference on Problems of War and Peace, produced the Act of Chapultepec, a framework for security in the Americas. That act laid out many of the principals for pan-American military cooperation, but since it was created during World War II and it was clear to the participating nations that the international situation was in flux, the signing of a formal treaty was left to be concluded in the future.

When these nations met again after the war, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, at the Inter-American Conference for the Maintenance of Continental Peace and Security in 1947, they finalized the defense policy that had been born in Chapultepec. The Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance would plan for the long-term mutual defense of the American states against any outside aggressor and mediate any internal conflict between treaty members. This regional agreement also conformed to the global security framework established by the United Nations (UN), which had come into existence on October 24, 1945.

Defining Moment

The Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance, also known as the Rio Treaty, was the culmination of many years of discussion and negotiation. The United States had long been concerned with the defense of American states against European interference; in 1823, the Monroe Doctrine stated that any European attempts to further colonize or interfere with American nations would be considered acts of aggression to which the United States would respond. At the First International Conference of American States, held in Washington, DC, from October 1889 to April 1890, eighteen American nations discussed how to encourage greater regional communication, promote economic cooperation, and adopt an arbitration system to settle disputes. From this initiative, the International Union of American Republics was founded, which later developed into the Pan American Union and then the Organization of American States.

American states grew increasingly concerned with their common defense as the two world wars demonstrated the global scope of conflicts in the twentieth century. In the years before the outbreak of World War II, German leader Adolf Hitler made overtures toward South and Central American states, asking for military cooperation and negotiating trade agreements. The United States feared that such alliances would make it vulnerable to spies who could more easily transmit information to Germany through Latin America. Also of concern to the United States was the security of the Panama Canal, a key transportation link.

In 1936, the participating nations at the Inter-American Conference for the Maintenance of Peace agreed to mutual defense in case of a European war. During World War II, all American states with the exception of Uruguay and Argentina supported the Allies, and nine Central American and Caribbean states joined the United States in signing the 1942 Declaration by the United Nations, the document that established the precursor to the UN. In February and March 1945, with the Axis powers of Germany and Japan close to collapse, the Inter-American Conference on Problems of War and Peace convened in Mexico City, with high ranking delegates present from twenty-one countries. The resulting Act of Chapultepec laid out a framework for mutual defense and conflict arbitration, with the understanding that these agreements would need to be formalized after the war was over. In 1947, the Rio Treaty did just that, turning the agreements of Chapultepec into a long-term formalized treaty that went into effect on December 3, 1948. The first cracks in Pan-American unity were already beginning to show, however, as American states attempted to reaffirm their claims on disputed territory. These claims, particularly that of Argentina in the Falkland Islands, would be later points of conflict that would ultimately weaken the treaty.

Document Analysis

The Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance begins with an affirmation that its principals had been previously agreed upon in the Act of Chapultepec. In the spirit of “friendship and good neighborliness,” the nations of the Americas agree to “mutual assistance and common defense of the American Republics,” and agree that there needs to be a “juridical organization” to provide “security and peace.” The preamble to the treaty's twenty-six articles states that principles of “inter-American solidarity and cooperation” had been established in the Act of Chapultepec and that nations agreed to these principals by signing the treaty. The articles themselves range from general (renouncing war) to specific (terms for adopting or rejecting the treaty). The treaty establishes a defensive zone around the continents of North and South America, including Greenland and Antarctica.

The first article of the Rio Treaty reiterates the founding principal of the United Nations: the denunciation of war and the threat of force. The second articles states that, in order to prevent such conflict, the American states agree that they will seek to settle disputes between themselves using the procedures of the “Inter-American System” before referring the matter to the UN's General Assembly or Security Council. These important inclusions make it clear that regional conflict mediation and cooperation is part of, rather than in place of, the United Nations. Article 10 further establishes that nothing in the treaty will interfere with any nation's obligations and rights under the UN charter.

The other main point of the treaty is that all participating nations will unite to respond to an attack from an outside power. An attack on one state would be considered an attack on all. Indeed, anything that threatened the “peace of America” would be dealt with by the united forces of each country. States are allowed to respond to an attack in self-defense until the UN is able to intervene, but the UN will be fully informed of any action taken in self-defense. Signing nations agree to confront aggression with escalating consequences, laid out in detail: “Recall of chiefs of diplomatic missions; breaking of diplomatic relations; breaking of consular relations; partial or complete interruption of economic relations or of rail, sea, air, postal, telegraphic, telephonic, and radiotelephonic or radiotelegraphic communications; and use of armed force.” Use of force is a last resort.

Other articles deal with the details of how the treaty's administrative body, the Organ of Consultation, will function. Any signer of the treaty can call a meeting, with the help of the Pan American Union, and all signers can vote. No member can be made to use force without its consent, and members engaged in a conflict cannot vote on matters pertaining to that conflict. When two thirds of the participating nations deposit their ratification of the treaty with the Pan American Union and the United Nations, it will be in force indefinitely. There is an escape clause, however. Any state wishing to leave the treaty can announce their intention, and they will be released two years later.

Several countries include specific statements and reservations to the treaty. These additions identify simmering tensions in the region, generally about contested territories and colonial legacy. Notably, Argentina claims the Falkland Islands and Guatemala announces that it does not recognize British sovereignty over Belize, or British Honduras.

Glossary

arbitral: of or pertaining to arbitration, which is the hearing and determining of a dispute or the settling of differences between parties by a person or persons chosen or agreed to by them

juridical: of or relating to the administration of justice or law; legal

pacific: tending to make or preserve peace; conciliatory

Plenipotentiaries: a person, especially a diplomat, who has the full power or authority to transact business for someone else.

quorum: the number of members of a group or organization required to be present to transact business legally, usually a majority

reiterate: to say or do again or repeatedly; repeat

rhumb line: the curve on the surface of a sphere that cuts all meridians (perpendicular lines) at the same angle

Bibliography and Additional Reading

Green, David. The Containment of Latin America: A History of the Myths and Realities of the Good Neighbor Policy. Quadrangle, Chicago, 1971. Print.

“Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance (Rio Treaty).” Council on Foreign Relations. CFR, 2014. Web. 16 Jan. 2015.

Luard, Evan. A History of the United Nations: The Years of Western Domination, 1945–55. London: Macmillan, 1982. Print.

Schlesinger, Stephen C. Act of Creation: The Founding of the United Nations. Boulder: Westview, 2005. Print.

Rabe, Stephen G. “Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance.” The Oxford Companion to American Military History. Ed. John Whiteclay Chambers II. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2004. 337. Print.