Paris Peace Accords signed - Jan 27, 1973 - HISTORY.com Paris Peace Accords signed Publisher A+E Networks The United States, South Vietnam, Viet Cong, and North Vietnam formally sign “An Agreement Ending the War and Restoring Peace in Vietnam” in Paris. Due to South Vietnam’s unwillingness to recognize the Viet Cong’s Provisional Revolutionary Government, all references to it were confined to a two-party version of the document signed by North Vietnam and the United States—the South Vietnamese were presented with a separate document that did not make reference to the Viet Cong government. This was part of Saigon’s long-time refusal to recognize the Viet Cong as a legitimate participant in the discussions to end the war. The settlement included a cease-fire throughout Vietnam. It addition, the United States agreed to the withdrawal of all U.S. troops and advisors (totalling about 23,700) and the dismantling of all U.S. bases within 60 days. In return, the North Vietnamese agreed to release all U.S. and other prisoners of war. Both sides agreed to the withdrawal of all foreign troops from Laos and Cambodia and the prohibition of bases in and troop movements through these countries.

It was agreed that the DMZ at the 17th Parallel would remain a provisional dividing line, with eventual reunification of the country “through peaceful means.” An international control commission would be established made up of Canadians, Hungarians, Poles, and Indonesians, with 1,160 inspectors to supervise the agreement. According to the agreement, South Vietnamese President Nguyen Van Thieu would continue in office pending elections. Agreeing to “the South Vietnamese People’s right to self-determination,” the North Vietnamese said they would not initiate military movement across the DMZ and that there would be no use of force to reunify the country. Footnote: The last U.S. serviceman to die in combat in Vietnam, Lt. Col. William B. Nolde, was killed by an artillery shell at An Loc, 60 miles northwest of Saigon, only 11 hours before the truce went into effect. Related Videos Agreement on Ending the War and Restoring Peace in Vietnam, signed in Paris and entered into force January 17, 1973. Agreement on Ending the War and Restoring Peace in Vietnam, signed in Paris and entered into force January 17, 1973.

(Text from TIAS 7542 (24 UST 4-23) AGREEMENT ON ENDING THE WAR AND RESTORING PEACE IN VIET-NAM The Parties participating in the Paris Conference on Viet-Nam, With a view to ending the war and restoring peace in Viet-Nam on the basis of respect for the Vietnamese people's fundamental national rights and the South Vietnamese people's right to self-determination, and to contributing to the consolidation of peace in Asia and the world, Have agreed on the following provisions and undertake to respect and to implement them: Chapter I THE VIETNAMESE PEOPLE'S FUNDAMENTAL NATIONAL RIGHTS Article 1 The United States and all other countries respect the independence, sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity of Viet-Nam as recognized by the 1954 Geneva Agreements on Viet-Nam. Chapter II CESSATION OF HOSTILITIES - WITHDRAWAL OF TROOPS, Article 2 A cease-fire shall be observed throughout South Viet-Nam as of 2400 hours G.M.T. [Greenwich Mean Time], on January 27, 1973.

At the same hour, the United States will stop all its military activities against the territory of the Democratic Republic of Viet-Nam by ground, air and naval forces, wherever they may be based, and end the mining of the territorial waters, ports, harbors, and waterways of the Democratic Republic of Viet-Nam. The United States will remove, permanently deactivate or destroy all the mines in the territorial waters, ports, harbors, and waterways of North Viet-Nam as soon as this Agreement goes into effect. The complete cessation of hostilities mentioned in this Article shall be durable and without limit of time. Article 3 The parties undertake to maintain the cease-fire and to ensure a lasting and stable peace. As soon as the cease-fire goes into effect: (a) The United States forces and those of the other foreign countries allied with the United States and the Republic of Viet-Nam shall remain in-place pending the implementation of the plan of troop withdrawal. The Four-Party Joint Military Commission described in Article 16 shall determine the modalities. (b) The armed forces of the two South Vietnamese parties shall remain in-place.

The Two-Party Joint Military Commission described in Article 17 shall determine the areas controlled by each party and the modalities of stationing. (c) The regular forces of all services and arms and the irregular forces of the parties in South Viet-Nam shall stop all offensive activities against each other and shall strictly abide by the following stipulations: - All acts of force on the ground, in the air, and on the sea shall be prohibited; - All hostile acts, terrorism and reprisals by both sides will be banned. Article 4 The United States will not continue its military involvement or intervene in the internal affairs of South Viet-Nam. Article 5 Within sixty days of the signing of this Agreement, there will be a total withdrawal from South Viet-Nam of troops, military advisers, and military personnel, including technical military personnel and military personnel associated with the pacification program, armaments, munitions, and war material of the United States and those of the other foreign countries mentioned in Article 3 (a). Advisers from the above-mentioned countries to all paramilitary organizations and the police force will also be withdrawn within the same period of time.

Article 6 The dismantlement of all military bases in South Viet-Nam of the United States and of the other foreign countries mentioned in Article 3 (a) shall be completed within sixty days of the signing of this agreement. Article 7 From the enforcement of the cease-fire to the formation of the government provided for in Article 9 (b) and 14 of this Agreement, the two South Vietnamese parties shall not accept the introduction of troops, military advisers, and military personnel including technical military personnel, armaments, munitions, and war material into South Viet-Nam. The two South Vietnamese parties shall be permitted to make periodic replacement of armaments, munitions and war material which have been destroyed, damaged, worn out or used up after the cease-fire, on the basis of piece-for-piece, of the same characteristics and properties, under the supervision of the Joint Military Commission of the two South Vietnamese parties and of the International Commission of Control and Supervision.

THE RETURN OF CAPTURED MILITARY PERSONNEL AND FOREIGN CIVILIANS AND CAPTURED AND DETAINED VIETNAMESE CIVILIAN PERSONNEL Article 8 (a) The return of captured military personnel and foreign civilians of the parties shall be carried out simultaneously with and completed not later than the same day as the troop withdrawal mentioned in Article 5. The parties shall exchange complete lists of the above-mentioned captured military personnel and foreign civilians on the day of the signing of this Agreement. (b) The parties shall help each other to get information about those military personnel and foreign civilians of the parties missing in action, to determine the location and take care of the graves of the dead so as to facilitate the exhumation and repatriation of the remains, and to take any such other measures as may be required to get information about those still considered missing in action. (c) The question of the return of Vietnamese civilian personnel captured and detained in South Viet-Nam will be resolved by the two South Vietnamese parties on the basis of the principles of Article 21 (b) of the Agreement on the Cessation of Hostilities in Viet-Nam of July 20, 1954.

The two South Vietnamese parties will do so in a spirit of national reconciliation and concord, with a view to ending hatred and enmity, in order to ease suffering and to reunite families. The two South Vietnamese parties will do their utmost to resolve this question within ninety days after the cease-fire comes into effect. Chapter IV THE EXERCISE OF THE SOUTH VIETNAMESE PEOPLE'S RIGHT TO SELF-DETERMINATION Article 9 The Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Democratic Republic of Viet-Nam undertake to respect the following principles for the exercise of the South Vietnamese people's right to self-determination: (a) The South Vietnamese people's right to self-determination is sacred, inalienable, and shall be respected by all countries. (b) The South Vietnamese people shall decide themselves the political future of South Viet-Nam through genuinely free and democratic general elections under international supervision. (c) Foreign countries shall not impose any political tendency or personality on the South Vietnamese people. Article 10 The two South Vietnamese parties undertake to respect the cease-fire and maintain peace in South Viet-Nam, settle all matters of contention through negotiations, and avoid all armed conflict.

Article 11 Immediately after the cease-fire, the two South Vietnamese parties will: - achieve national reconciliation and concord, end hatred and enmity, prohibit all acts of reprisal and discrimination against individuals or organizations that have collaborated with one side or the other; - ensure the democratic liberties of the people: personal freedom, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of meeting, freedom of organization, freedom of political activities, freedom of belief, freedom of movement, freedom of residence, freedom of work, right to property ownership, and right to free enterprise. Article l2 (a) Immediately after the cease-fire, the two South Vietnamese parties shall hold consultations in a spirit of national reconciliation and concord, mutual respect, and mutual non-elimination to set up a National Council of National Reconciliation and Concord of three equal segments. The Council shall operate on the principle of unanimity, After the National Council of National Reconciliation and Concord has assumed its functions, the two South Vietnamese parties will consult about the formation of councils at lower levels.

The two South Vietnamese parties shall sign an agreement on the internal matters of South Viet-Nam as soon as possible and do their utmost to accomplish this within ninety days after the cease-fire comes into effect, in keeping with the South Vietnamese people's aspirations for peace, independence and democracy. (b) The National Council of National Reconciliation and Concord shall have the task of promoting the two South Vietnamese parties' implementation of this Agreement, achievement of national reconciliation and concord and ensurance of democratic liberties. The National Council of National Reconciliation and Concord will organize the free and democratic general elections provided for in Article 9 (b) and decide the procedures and modalities of these general elections. The institutions for which the general elections are to be held will be agreed upon through consultations between the two South Vietnamese parties. The National Council of National Reconciliation and Concord will also decide the procedures and modalities of such local elections as the two South Vietnamese parties agree upon. Article 13 The question of Vietnamese armed forces in South Viet-Nam shall be settled by the two South Vietnamese parties in a spirit of national reconciliation and concord, equality and mutual respect, without foreign interference, in accordance with the postwar situation.

Among the questions to be discussed by the two South Vietnamese parties are steps to reduce their military effectives and to demobilize the troops being reduced. The two South Vietnamese parties will accomplish this as soon as possible. Article 14 South Viet-Nam will pursue a foreign policy of peace and independence. It will be prepared to establish relations with all countries irrespective of their political and social systems on the basis of mutual respect for independence and sovereignty and accept economic and technical aid from any country with no political conditions attached. The acceptance of military aid by South Viet-Nam in the future shall come under the authority of the government set up after the general elections in South Viet-Nam provided for in Article 9 (b). Chapter V THE REUNIFICATION OF VIET-NAM AND THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN NORTH AND SOUTH VIET-NAM Article 15 The reunification of Viet-Nam shall be carried out step by step through peaceful means on the basis of discussions and agreements between North and South Viet-Nam, without coercion or annexation by either party, and without foreign interference.

The time for reunification will be agreed upon by North and South Viet-Nam-Pending reunification: (a) The military demarcation line between the two zones at the 17th parallel is only provisional and not a political or territorial boundary, as provided for in paragraph 6 of the Final Declaration of the 1954 Geneva Conference. (b) North and South Viet-Nam shall respect the Demilitarized Zone on either side of the Provisional Military Demarcation Line. (c) North and South Viet-Nam shall promptly start negotiations with a view to reestablishing-normal relations in various fields. Among the questions to be negotiated are the modalities of civilian movement across the Provisional Military Demarcation Line, (d) North and South Viet-Nam shall not join any military alliance or military bloc and shall not allow foreign powers to maintain military bases, troops; military advisers, and military personnel on their respective territories, as stipulated in the 1954 Geneva Agreements on Viet-Nam.

THE JOINT MILITARY COMMISSIONS, THE INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION OF CONTROL AND SUPERVISION, THE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE Article 16 (a) The Parties participating in the Paris Conference on Viet-Nam shall immediately designate representatives to form a Four-Party Joint Military Commission with the task of ensuring joint action by the parties in implementing the following provisions of this Agreement: - The first paragraph of Article 2, regarding the enforcement of the cease-fire throughout South Viet-Nam; - Article 3 (a), regarding the cease-fire by U.S. forces and those of the other foreign countries referred to in that Article; - Article 3 (c), regarding the cease-fire between all parties in South Viet-Nam; - Article 5, regarding the withdrawal from South Viet-Nam of U.S.

troops and those of the other foreign countries mentioned in Article 3 (a); - Article 6, regarding the dismantlement of military bases in South Viet-Nam of the United States and those of the other foreign countries mentioned in Article 3 (a); - Article 8 (a), regarding the return of captured military personnel and foreign civilians of the parties; - Article 8 (b), regarding the mutual assistance of the parties in getting information about those military personnel and foreign civilians of the parties missing in action. (b) The Four-Party Joint Military Commission shall operate in accordance with the principle of consultations and unanimity. Disagreements shall be referred to the International Commission of Control and Supervision. (c) The Four-Party Joint Military Commission shall begin operating immediately after the signing of this Agreement and end its activities in sixty days, after the completion of the withdrawal of U.S. troops and those of the other foreign countries mentioned in Article 3 (a) and the completion of the return of captured military personnel and foreign civilians of the parties. (d) The four parties shall agree immediately on the organization, the working procedure, means of activity, and expenditures of the Four-Party Joint Military Commission.

Article 17 (a) The two South Vietnamese parties shall immediately designate representatives to form a Two-Party Joint Military Commission with the task of ensuring joint action by the two South Vietnamese parties in implementing the following provisions of this Agreement: - The first paragraph of Article 2, regarding the enforcement of the cease-fire throughout South Viet-Nam, when the Four-Party Joint Military Commission has ended its activities; - Article 3 (b), regarding the cease-fire between the two South Vietnamese parties; - Article 3 (c), regarding the cease-fire between all parties in South Viet-Nam, when the Four-Party Joint Military Commission has ended its activities; - Article 7, regarding the prohibition of the introduction of troops into South Viet-Nam and all other provisions of this Article; - Article 8 (c), regarding the question of the return of Vietnamese civilian personnel captured and detained in South Viet-Nam; - Article 1 3, regarding the reduction of the military effectives of the two South Vietnamese parties and the demobilization of the troops being reduced. (b) Disagreements shall be referred to the International Commission of Control and Supervision.

(c) After the signing of this Agreement, the Two-Party Joint Military Commission shall agree immediately on the measures and organization aimed at enforcing the cease-fire and preserving peace in South Viet-Nam, Article 18 (a) After the signing of this Agreement, an International Commission of Control and Supervision shall be established immediately. (b) Until the International Conference provided for in Article 19 makes definitive arrangements, the International Commission of Control and Supervision will report to the four parties on matters concerning the control and supervision of the implementation of the following provisions of this Agreement: - The first paragraph of Article 2, regarding the enforcement of the cease-fire throughout South Viet-Nam; - Article 3 (a), regarding the cease-fire by U.S. forces and those of the other foreign countries referred to in that Article; - Article 3 (c), regarding the cease-fire between all the parties in South Viet-Nam; - Article 5, regarding the withdrawal from South Viet-Nam of U.S.

troops and those of the other foreign countries mentioned in Article 3 (a); - Article 6, regarding the dismantlement of military bases in South Viet-Nam of the United States and those of the other foreign countries mentioned in Article 3 (a); - Article 8 (a), regarding the return of captured military personnel and foreign civilians of the parties. The International Commission of Control and Supervision shall form control teams for carrying out its tasks. The four parties shall agree immediately on the location and operation of these teams. The parties will facilitate their operation.

(c) Until the International Conference makes definitive arrangements, the International Commission of Control and Supervision will report to the two South Vietnamese parties on matters concerning the control and supervision of the implementation of the following provisions of this Agreement: - The first paragraph of Article 2, regarding the enforcement of the cease-fire throughout South Viet-Nam, when the Four-Party Joint Military Commission has ended its activities; - Article 3 (b), regarding the cease-fire between the two South Vietnamese parties; - Article 3 (c), regarding the cease-fire between all parties in South Viet-Nam, when the Four-Party Joint Military Commission has ended its activities; - Article 7, regarding the prohibition of the introduction of troops into South Viet-Nam and all other provisions of this Article; - Article 8 (c), regarding the question of the return of Vietnamese civilian personnel captured and detained in South Viet-Nam; - Article 9 (b), regarding the free and democratic general elections in South Viet-Nam; - Article 13, regarding the reduction of the military effectives of the two South Vietnamese parties and the demobilization of the troops being reduced. The International Commission of Control and Supervision shall form control teams for carrying out its tasks.

The two South Vietnamese parties shall agree immediately on the location and operation of these teams. The two South Vietnamese parties will facilitate their operation. (d) The International Commission of Control and Supervision shall be composed of representatives of four countries: Canada, Hungary, Indonesia and Poland. The chairmanship of this Commission will rotate among the members for specific periods to be determined by the Commission. (e) The International Commission of Control and Supervision shall carry out its tasks in accordance with the principle of respect for the sovereignty of South Viet-Nam. (f) The International Commission of Control and Supervision shall operate in accordance with the principle of consultations and unanimity. (g) The International Commission of Control and Supervision shall begin operating when a cease-fire comes into force in Viet-Nam. As regards the provisions in Article 18 (b) concerning the four parties, the International Commission of Control and Supervision shall end its activities when the Commission's tasks of control and supervision regarding these provisions have been fulfilled. As regards the provisions in Article 18 (c) concerning the two South Vietnamese parties, the International Commission of Control and Supervision shall end its activities on the request of the government formed after the general elections in South Viet-Nam provided for in Article 9 (b).

(h) The four parties shall agree immediately on the organization, means of activity, and expenditures of the International Commission of Control and Supervision. The relationship between the International Commission and the International Conference will be agreed upon by the International Commission and the International Conference. Article 19 The parties agree on the convening of an International Conference within thirty days of the signing of this Agreement to acknowledge the signed agreements; to guarantee the ending of the war, the maintenance of peace in Viet-Nam, the respect of the Vietnamese people's fundamental national rights, and the South Vietnamese people's right to self-determination; and to contribute to and guarantee peace in Indochina. The United States and the Democratic Republic of Viet-Nam, on behalf of the parties participating in the Paris Conference on Viet-Nam will propose to the following parties that they participate in this International Conference: the People's Republic of China, the Republic of France, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the United Kingdom, the four countries of the International Commission of Control and Supervision, and the Secretary General of the United Nations, together with the parties participating in the Paris Conference on Viet-Nam.

Chapter VII REGARDING CAMBODIA AND LAOS Article 20 (a) The parties participating in the Paris Conference on Viet-Nam shall strictly respect the 1954 Geneva Agreements on Cambodia's and the 1954 Geneva Agreements on Laos, which recognized the Cambodian and the Lao peoples' fundamental national rights, i.e., the independence, sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity of these countries. The parties shall respect the neutrality of Cambodia and Laos. The parties participating in the Paris Conference on Viet-Nam undertake to refrain from using the territory of Cambodia and the territory of Laos to encroach on the sovereignty and security of one another and of other countries. (b) Foreign countries shall put an end to all military activities in Cambodia and Laos, totally withdraw from and refrain from reintroducing into these two countries troops, military advisers and military personnel, armaments, munitions and war material. (c) The internal affairs of Cambodia and Laos shall be settled by the people of each of these countries without foreign interference.

(d) The problems existing between the Indochinese countries shall be settled by the Indochinese parties on the basis of respect for each other's independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity, and non-interference in each other's internal affairs. Chapter VIII THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF VIET-NAM Article 21 The United States anticipates that this Agreement will usher in an era of reconciliation with the Democratic Republic of Viet-Nam as with all the peoples of Indochina. In pursuance of its traditional policy, the United States will contribute to healing the wounds of war and to postwar reconstruction of the Democratic Republic of Viet-Nam and throughout Indochina. Article 22 The ending of the war, the restoration of peace in Viet-Nam, and the strict implementation of this Agreement will create conditions for establishing a new, equal and mutually beneficial relationship between the United States and the Democratic Republic of Viet-Nam on the basis of respect for each other's independence and sovereignty, and non-interference in each other's internal affairs. At the same time this will ensure stable peace in Viet-Nam and contribute to the preservation of lasting peace in Indochina and Southeast Asia.

Chapter IX OTHER PROVISIONS Article 23 This Agreement shall enter into force upon signature by plenipotentiary representatives of the parties participating in the Paris Conference on Viet-Nam. All the parties concerned shall strictly implement this Agreement and its Protocols. Done in Paris this twenty-seventh day of January, one thousand nine hundred and seventy-three, in English and Vietnamese. The English and Vietnamese texts are official and equally authentic. FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF THE FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: REPUBLIC OF VIET-NAM: (Signed): (Signed): William P.

Rogers Tran Van Lam Secretary of State Minister for Foreign Affairs FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF THE FOR THE PROVISIONAL DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC REVOLUTIONARY GOVERNMENT OF VIET-NAM: OF THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH VIET-NAM: (Signed): (Signed): Nguyen Duy Trinh Nguyen Thi Binh Minister for Foreign Affairs Minister for Foreign Affairs The peace agreement - The Vietnam War and Its Impact New American Nation » O-W » The Vietnam War and Its Impact The Vietnam War and Its Impact - The peace agreement The basic elements of the Agreement on Ending the War and Restoring Peace in Vietnam—signed at the International Conference Center in Paris on 27 January 1973—provided for the end of the fighting and the withdrawal of American forces. The United States committed itself to ending all air and naval actions against North Vietnam and to dismantling or deactivating all mines in the waters of North Vietnam. Within two months after the signing of the agreement, all forces of the United States and of U.S. allies would depart Vietnam. The United States was barred from sending new war materials or supplies to South Vietnam and was required to dismantle all military bases there.

The armed forces of the GVN and the NLF were allowed to remain where they were, but the cease-fire barred the introduction of new troops, military advisers, military personnel—including technical military personnel—armaments, munitions, and war material from North Vietnam or anywhere else. The disposition of Vietnamese armed forces in South Vietnam would be determined by the two South Vietnamese parties in a spirit of "national reconciliation and concord." In addition, the accord required the return of all captured military personnel and foreign civilians during the same two-month period. The two South Vietnamese parties would handle the return of Vietnamese civilians. The United States and North Vietnam promised to uphold the principles of self-determination for the South Vietnamese people, which included free and democratic elections under international supervision. Even more unusually, the treaty called for a Four-Party Joint Military Commission to be constituted by the four signatories for implementing and monitoring compliance with the provisions on withdrawal, cease-fire, dismantling of bases, return of war prisoners, and exchange of information on those missing in action. An International Commission of Control and Supervision (ICCS), consisting of Canada, Hungary, Indonesia, and Poland, would oversee the agreement and report violations.

In No Peace, No Honor (2001), Larry Berman utilized recently declassified records to show that Nixon had little faith in the Paris accord and expected that the accord would be violated, which would trigger a brutal military response. Permanent war (air war, not ground operations) at acceptable political cost was what Nixon expected from the signed agreement. President Thieu received repeated assurances that when the communists violated the accord, the B52s would return to punish Hanoi, but the Watergate scandal prevented such a retaliation. Not a moment of peace ever came to Vietnam. Following the return of the American POWs, there was little adherence to the Paris agreements from either North or South Vietnam. The U.S. troops departed Vietnam sixty days after the Paris agreement was signed, but the level of violence had not significantly declined. Watergate was about to destroy the Nixon presidency and a new antiwar Congress had little interest in continuing economic support to the South. Faced with funding a $722 million supplement to stave off a collapse of South Vietnam, Congress refused to act. For many Americans, the last image of Vietnam was that of ambassador Graham Martin carrying a folded American flag during the final evacuation.

This bitter aftermath left Americans searching for explanations as to what had gone wrong and who was responsible for failure. User Contributions: Comment about this article, ask questions, or add new information about this topic: Name: Peace Treaty Signed to End Cambodia War - latimes Peace Treaty Signed to End Cambodia War October 24, 1991 |RONE TEMPEST | TIMES STAFF WRITER PARIS — Representatives of 19 nations, including the United States, signed an international peace agreement on Wednesday, ending 21 years of conflict in Cambodia and placing the Southeast Asian country under U.N. administration until general elections can be held in 1993. The assignment, with a cost estimated at $2 billion, is the biggest, most expensive ever for the United Nations. Under the agreement, U.N. officials and blue-beret military forces will be responsible for monitoring a cease-fire, disarming the population, removing mines from the countryside, repatriating refugees and assuming direct administration of the country's bureaucracy. The U.N. Transitional Authority in Cambodia will be asked to register voters and conduct elections for a constituent assembly that is to eventually evolve into a national parliament. U.N.

officials will be advised during the process by a Supreme National Council headed by Prince Norodom Sihanouk, the former monarch who ruled Cambodia from 1953 until he was ousted by a U.S.-backed coup in 1970. Speaking in support of the peace treaty Wednesday, Secretary of State James A. Baker III said it marks "the prospect of a new era in Southeast Asia." He said the United States hopes to use the treaty as a basis for renewing "normal relations with all the states of Indochina." "We have communicated these intentions to the governments of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia," Baker said. In an emotional speech to the delegates at the Kleber International Center in Paris, Sihanouk, 70, his thinning hair white at the temples, somberly accepted the role as healer for his country after years of bloody conflict that cost the lives of more than 1 million Cambodians. But sitting only two seats to his left was Khieu Samphan, the representative of the Khmer Rouge political movement founded by former Cambodian dictator Pol Pot.

Between April, 1975, when it defeated U.S.-backed government forces in Cambodia, and early January, 1979, when it fell to invading Vietnamese forces, the Khmer Rouge conducted a reign of genocidal terror that left hundreds of thousands dead. Although the Khmer Rouge has claimed recently to have embraced democracy and endorsed free-market economics, its presence on the Supreme National Council has been widely cited as the main flaw of the peace agreement, the result of four years of negotiations jointly sponsored by France and Indonesia. Human rights organizations have warned of a Khmer Rouge secret agenda to take over the country by posing as a legitimate political party. Khmer Rouge troops on the Thailand-Cambodia border have been accused of attempting to force many of the 350,000 refugees living in U.S.-supervised camps back into Khmer Rouge-controlled territory. Military experts say the estimated 30,000 Khmer Rouge soldiers, the most potent single military force in the land, have shown little interest in turning over their large caches of Chinese-supplied weapons. Under the peace agreement, U.N.

forces are assigned to disarm 70% of all fighting forces in Cambodia and restrict the other 30% in supervised camps. Western diplomats attending the treaty-signing ceremony asked critics to be realistic about its contents and the role played by the Khmer Rouge. "This was the least bad of all possible solutions," said one diplomat. Officials expect an immediate economic boost for the impoverished Cambodians, partly from the money the United Nations is expected to spend in the country and partly because the United States and other countries have promised to lift economic sanctions against Cambodia because of the treaty. "We are prepared to normalize U.S. economic relations with Cambodia," Baker said Wednesday. He said that once U.N. administrators and military forces are in place, "we will lift our trade embargo toward Cambodia and begin supporting projects in the country by international lending institutions such as the World Bank." The Japanese government has also pledged substantial aid and economic development programs in Cambodia. Baker said the United States will soon establish a liaision office in Phnom Penh, the Cambodian capital.

According to reports from the region by the French newspaper Le Monde, teams of carpenters and masons, mostly from Vietnam, have already begun work in Phnom Penh to renovate villas for use by U.N. and foreign diplomatic missions. In a city where most residents are too poor to buy electricity for lighting, Le Monde reported that the villas would be leased for $3,000 to $4,000 a month. The peace treaty, printed in English, French, Khmer, Russian and Chinese, was signed at 7:22 p.m. Paris time. In his opening remarks for the conference, French President Francois Mitterrand said the treaty marks the turning of "a dark page in the history of a country." Like other Western leaders, Mitterrand lavishly praised Sihanouk as the embodiment of hope for the revived country. On This Day: Paris Peace Accords Signed, Ending American Involvement in Vietnam War Robert Leroy Knudsen/National Archives Nixon White House Photographs The signing of the Paris Peace Accords, Jan. 27, 1973.

On This Day: Paris Peace Accords Signed, Ending American Involvement in Vietnam War January 27, 2012 05:00 AM by findingDulcinea Staff On Jan. 27, 1973, delegates from the United States, South Vietnam, North Vietnam and the Vietcong’s Provisional Revolutionary Government signed the Agreement on Ending the War and Restoring Peace in Vietnam, which instituted a ceasefire in the Vietnam War and called for the withdrawal of American troops. The Paris Peace Accords Preliminary peace talks between the United States , its ally South Vietnam and their enemy North Vietnam began in 1968 under the administration of President Lyndon Johnson. The talks were unproductive and bogged down by a debate over the shape of the negotiating table. Talks continued after 1969 when Richard Nixon, who campaigned on a promise of “peace with honor,” succeeded Johnson. While the main talks included delegates from South Vietnam and the Provisional Revolutionary Government, a government established in South Vietnam by North Vietnamese allies, the talks that would produce the peace agreement took place secretly between U.S. National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger and North Vietnamese leader Le Duc Tho.

There was little progress in the peace negotiations until 1972. Nixon, facing an election, made getting out of Vietnam a priority. North Vietnam was also eager to make peace as it saw its two major communist allies, China and the Soviet Union, improve their relations with the U.S. Kissinger and Tho reached a breakthrough in October 1972. Each agreed to significant concessions: Kissinger agreed to allow North Vietnamese troops to remain in South Vietnam, while Tho agreed to let South Vietnam President Nguyen Van Thieu to remain in power. Thieu, knowing that allowing an estimated 150,000 North Vietnamese troops to remained stationed in South Vietnam while a half-million U.S. troops left would mean near-certain doom for his country, protested the terms of the agreement , causing the peace talks to break off. Nixon promised him a large increase in military funding and told him that the U.S. would re-enter Vietnam in the North renewed the conflict. Nixon also threatened to withdraw all support if Thieu refused the deal, forcing Thieu to relent. The peace talks were renewed Jan. 8, 1973, not long after the U.S.

launched a massive 12-day bombing attack of North Vietnam around Christmas that was intended to display its loyalty to South Vietnam and drive to North Vietnamese to pursue peace. On Jan. 23, Kissinger and Tho agreed to a deal that would be officially signed four days later. The deal, called the Agreement on Ending the War and Restoring Peace in Vietnam, called for a ceasefire that would allow for the U.S. to withdraw its troops in 60 days. All U.S. prisoners of war would be returned home by North Vietnam. The agreement also called for there to be future negotiations between the South Vietnamese government and the PRG that would lead to “genuinely free and democratic general elections” in South Vietnam. Later in the year, Kissinger and Tho were awarded the 1973 Nobel Peace Prize ; Tho refused the prize because he believed that peace had not been achieved. The Resumption and End of the War The Paris Peace Accords ended America’s direct involvement in the Vietnam War, but it did nothing to end the conflict between North and South Vietnam, which resumed fighting later in the year. President Thieu declared the accords no longer in effect in January 1974.

North Vietnam forces advanced south and by the spring of 1975 were nearing the South Vietnamese capital of Saigon. Thieu asked Nixon’s successor for more funding, but was turned down. On April 21, he resigned and gave a speech accusing the U.S. of betraying South Vietnam and Kissinger of forcing him to sign a treaty that brought about his defeat. North Vietnamese troops overran Saigon on April 30 , forcing South Vietnam to surrender and bring about an end to the war. Milestones: 1969–1976 - Office of the Historian Milestones: 1969–1976 Ending the Vietnam War, 1969–1973 President Richard M. Nixon assumed responsibility for the Vietnam War as he swore the oath of office on January 20, 1969. He knew that ending this war honorably was essential to his success in the presidency. He expected that the American people would give him a year to end U.S.

involvement in the war, and he expected to succeed during that time—believing that his experience in foreign relations, his toughness, and his willingness to bring to bear military and political pressure on North Vietnam would yield a settlement in the public negotiations just opening in Paris. President Richard M. Nixon and President Thieu at Midway, June 1969. (Nixon Presidential Library) In his first months in office, Nixon directed the U.S. military to increase its pressure on the battlefield, while ordering the secret B–52 bombings of North Vietnamese base camps in Cambodia—the “Menu bombings”—as a signal of his willingness to further escalate the war. He expected to complement this military pressure with conciliatory negotiating terms in the newly begun negotiations, and with diplomatic pressure on the Soviet Union, hoping the Soviet Union would encourage their North Vietnamese allies to engage in serious negotiations. These forms of pressure, however, brought him no closer to ending the war. In order to buy time with the American people, Nixon began to withdraw forces from Vietnam, meeting with South Vietnam’s President Nguyen Van Thieu on Midway Island on June 8 to announce the first increment of redeployment. From that point on, the U.S.

troop withdrawal never ceased. As U.S. troop strength and capabilities declined, the United States worked toward building South Vietnam’s military capacity through a program known as “Vietnamization.” It would remain a constant question over the remaining years of the administration, whether the South Vietnamese could build the combat capability, logistics and planning capacity, and leadership at the national and military levels to face the North Vietnamese on their own. It quickly became apparent that the public peace talks in Paris were being used as propaganda theater by both sides, and that any productive negotiations would have to be done in private. On August 4, the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs Henry Kissinger conducted his first private session with the North Vietnamese leadership. He would meet with North Vietnamese Politburo member Le Duc Tho intermittently over the following months, with no apparent progress toward a settlement. In the fall of 1969, disappointed with the lack of any visible results from this strategy, Nixon and Kissinger directed an extensive planning effort assessing the possibility of coercing the North Vietnamese into negotiations through a series of “short, sharp blows” inflicted by air and naval forces.

The political-military planning included a cell of National Security Council staff members examining strategic issues, and a military planning team comprised of Joint Staff, Pacific Command (PACOM), and Military Assistance Command Vietnam (MACV) officers working at MACV Headquarters in Saigon. Nixon met with the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) on October 11, and it became clear that the planning had satisfied neither the White House nor the JCS. With American casualties on the decline, the anti-war movement still a powerful force, and no satisfactory political-military solution in sight, Nixon turned away from that option to deliver the “silent majority” speech on November 3, 1969, rallying the American people toward patient support for a protracted war. The administration would continue its dual strategy of Vietnamization and negotiation. In March 1970 the fall of Prince Norodom Sihanouk in Cambodia destroyed the fragile neutrality of that state, as his successor Lon Nol demanded the North Vietnamese withdraw from their base camps along the South Vietnamese border. The North Vietnamese reacted by extending their presence toward the west. Nixon responded by ordering a US-South Vietnamese “incursion” into Cambodia on April 30.

Limited by Nixon to a 30-kilometer strip along the border, and limited in time to the end of June, this action sparked violent protests on campuses across the United States. These culminated in the deaths of four students at Kent State University on May 4. The incursion into the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) base camps yielded a great quantity of rice, weapons, and ammunition, and disrupted the North Vietnamese command and logistics structures for months, buying time for Vietnamization and further U.S. troop withdrawals. The following spring, Nixon ordered a theater-wide offensive, seeking to seize the initiative in the war. South Vietnamese forces crossed into Cambodia and Laos in early February 1971. The North Vietnamese had anticipated the incursion into Laos, known as Lam Son 719, and massed their forces in an attempt to annihilate the South Vietnamese. The South Vietnamese withdrawal disintegrated into a disorderly retreat. Meanwhile, Nixon and Kissinger sought to reshape the international context of the war through building relationships with North Vietnam’s superpower allies in Moscow and Beijing.

Nixon wanted to create a dilemma for the Soviet and Chinese—give them “bigger fish to fry,” in his phrase—in choosing between their support of North Vietnam, and a closer relationship with the United States. The 1972 summits in Beijing and Moscow reflected this strategy, though the Communist powers continued their material support of Hanoi. The North Vietnamese opened a three-pronged offensive in South Vietnam, known in the United States as the Easter Offensive, in late March 1972, expecting that a victory on the battlefield would translate into a triumph at the negotiating table. Rather than accept the prospect of defeat, Nixon sent massive air force and naval reinforcements to bases in Indochina and Guam. On May 4 he decided to mine North Vietnam’s harbors and open a sustained air offensive, Operation Linebacker, against North Vietnam. These actions, along with intensive air attacks in the battle areas and improved South Vietnamese defenses, stymied North Vietnam’s offensive, leading the Politburo, for the first time, to engage in serious negotiations. On October 11–12 Kissinger and Le Duc Tho reached agreement on a peace settlement, both sides working to reach that end before the U.S.

presidential election on November 7. President Thieu rejected the settlement, refusing to accept a peace that left North Vietnamese forces in South Vietnam, and legitimized the Hanoi-controlled Communist shadow government, the Provisional Revolutionary Government. His rejection forced Kissinger to resume negotiations with Le Duc Tho. Kissinger was unable to find any common ground acceptable to both Vietnamese parties in two renewed rounds of negotiations. Finally, in order to break the deadlock, on December 14 Nixon ordered massive B–52 attacks on the North Vietnamese heartland—the “Christmas Bombing.” Meanwhile he continued to exert intense pressure on Thieu, threatening to cut off U.S. economic, military, and political support of South Vietnam if Thieu refused to accept the agreement. Negotiations resumed on January 8, 1973, and the United States and the Democratic Republic of Vietnam initialed the agreement on January 23. Thieu reluctantly accepted the settlement despite his continued misgivings, and the peace agreement was signed on January 27. The peace settlement enabled the United States to withdraw from the war and welcome the American prisoners of war back home. Neither of the Vietnamese parties abided by the settlement, however, and the war continued.

Nixon had gained Thieu’s adherence to the agreement through a series of letters and envoys, all promising U.S. military support in the event of a North Vietnamese violation of the accords. On November 14, 1972, for example, Nixon wrote Thieu that “I repeat my personal assurances to you that the United States will react very strongly and rapidly to any violation of the agreement.” Both sides understood this to mean the recommitment of B–52s to combat. In the end, these commitments were not upheld due to a combination of factors—domestic and Congressional reluctance to re-engage in the war, economic constraints, and finally the Watergate scandal, which weakened and distracted Nixon. Having rebuilt their forces and upgraded their logistics system, North Vietnamese forces triggered a major offensive in the Central Highlands in March 1975. On April 30, 1975, NVA tanks rolled through the gate of the Presidential Palace in Saigon, effectively ending the war.

BBC ON THIS DAY | 23 | 1973: Nixon announces Vietnam peace deal 1973: Nixon announces Vietnam peace deal The US president, Richard Nixon, has appeared on national television to announce "peace with honour" in Vietnam. Statements issued simultaneously in Washington and Hanoi confirmed the peace deal was signed in Paris at 1230 local time, bringing to an end America's longest war. The ceasefire will begin at midnight Hanoi time on Saturday, 27 January, monitored by an international force made up of troops from Canada, Poland, Hungary and Indonesia. President Nixon's speech from the Oval office at the White House was broadcast on national radio and television. Let us now build a peace of reconciliation President Richard Nixon He said: "Throughout the years of negotiations, we have insisted on peace with honour, I set forth the goals that we considered essential for peace with honour. "In the settlement that has now been agreed to, all the conditions that I laid down then have been met." The conditions include the release of prisoners of war within 60 days and all American forces to be withdrawn within the same time period. An international conference will be held within 30 days, probably in Vienna, to guarantee the peace.

American forces have been involved in the conflict in Vietnam for more than a decade. In 1967, there were 500,000 American troops deployed in Vietnam. For the people of South Vietnam, the president had this message: "By your courage, by your sacrifice, you have won the precious right to determine your own future and you have developed the strength to defend that right. "We look forward to working with you in future, friends in peace as we have been allies in war." To the leaders of North Vietnam, the president said: "As we have ended the war through negotiations, let us now build a peace of reconciliation. "For our part, we are prepared to make a major effort to help achieve that goal, but just as reciprocity was needed to end the war, so, too, will it be needed to build and strengthen the peace." Vietnam Peace Treaty Agreed To In Paris Vietnam Peace Treaty Agreed To In Paris By Patrick Mondout On January 23, 1971, the U.S. and North Vietnam jointly announced from Paris that the terms of a cease-fire agreement had been accepted by both sides.

The nine-point cease-fire agreement, negotiated between Henry Kissinger and North Vietnam's Le Duc Tho, was signed in Paris on January 27, 1973, to become effective on January 28. It called for the U.S. to remove all of its forces from South Vietnam and for all POWs to be returned within 60 days. Peace With Honor President Nixon hailed the agreement as meeting "the goals that we considered essential for peace with honor." Nixon ran for president in 1968 on a pledge of bringing the war to an end, but only by achieving what he called "peace with honor." He was unable to achieve it in his first term but then settled with the North Vietnamese on terms that were exactly the same as the Johnson Administration had negotiated shortly before the election in 1968. By 1975, 57,000 Americans and untold numbers of Vietnamese had died in Vietnam. The United States had spent $155 billion in Southeast Asia since 1950. The war eroded Americans' faith in their government.

Paris Peace Talks After years of arguing over such things as the size of the table they would negotiate at, both sides finally came to an agreement they could live with and the cease fire agreement was signed on January 27, 1973. NARA Image As the war escalated in the mid to late 1960's, its critics became more outspoken. University students and teachers began holding teach-ins in 1965. Hundreds of young men escaped the draft by fleeing to Canada. Protest marches happened across the country. Those opposing the war argued that the war cost too much--both in lives and dollars--and couldn't be won. Soon after the tragedy at Kent State in 1970, the majority of Americans opposed the war. Share Your Memories! Do you have any interesting thoughts or memories to share about this news story? Share your stories with the world ! (We print the best stories right here!) JUST THE FACTS President Nixon meets with Henry Kissinger in the Oval Office after the return of U.S. POWs. NARA/Nixon Library Image

Question: In which city was the peace treaty ending the Vietnam war signed?
Answer: Paris