International Agreement on the Neutrality of Laos

Background

After a brief occupation of Laos by the Japanese at the end of World War II and a declaration of independence by Laotian nationalists, the French reoccupied Laos and the rest of French Indochina, which included Vietnam and Cambodia. In the following insurgency, the Indochinese communists formed the Pathet Lao, a Laotian nationalist movement and a North Vietnamese/Viet Minh ally in the struggle against France. After the French defeat, the Geneva Accords of 1954 established Laos sovereignty. In 1960, civil war broke out between the Royal Lao Army, supported by the United States, against the Pathet Lao insurgents, supported by the communists in North Vietnam.

Agreements

John F. Kennedy proposed a negotiated settlement with the Soviet Union and other interested parties. In 1962, a peace conference in Geneva produced a Declaration on the Neutrality of Laos and a three-part coalition government of pro-American, pro-communist, and neutralist factions.{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170706225315/http://www.jfklibrary.org/JFK/JFK-in-History/Laos.aspx |archive-date=6 July 2017 |url-status=live |access-date=2 December 2017}}

The 14 signatories pledged to respect Laotian neutrality and to refrain from direct or indirect interference in the internal affairs of Laos, drawing Laos into military alliances, or establishing military bases in Laotian territory. The Laotian government pledged to promulgate constitutionally its commitments, which would have the force of law.{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120820045626/http://hindu.com/2003/12/24/stories/2003122401601000.htm |archive-date=20 August 2012 |url-status=dead |access-date=2 December 2017}}

Aftermath

The agreement was contravened almost immediately by the United States, the Soviet Union, the People's Republic of China, North Vietnam, and the Pathet Lao themselves. North Vietnam continued to garrison 7000 soldiers in Laos. The Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China provided military support to the Pathet Lao. The United States started a bombing campaign that supported both the Royal Laotian Government and American efforts in South Vietnam. The Pathet Lao continued to attack and to harass the neutralist forces.

The violations exemplified the conduct of all of the parties for the remainder of the Second Indochina War.

In 1959, North Vietnam had already established a supply line through "neutral" Laotian territory to supply the Viet Cong insurgency against South Vietnam government.{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303185221/http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/editorials/archives/2005/03/30/2003248384 |archive-date=3 March 2016 |url-status=live |access-date=2 December 2017}} The communists called the supply line the "Trường Sơn Strategic Supply Route (Đường Trường Sơn)." The Pathet Lao and the North Vietnamese continued to use and to improve the supply route, which would become known as the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Thousands of Vietnamese troops were stationed in Laos to maintain the road network and to provide for its security. Vietnamese military personnel also fought beside the Pathet Lao in its struggle to overthrow the neutralist government of Laos. The co-operation persisted after the war and the communist victory in Laos.

References

References

1. (1963-01-01). "The International Conference on the Settlement of the Laotian Question and the Geneva Agreements of 1962". The American Journal of International Law.
2. Benson, Fred. (March 2018). "The Unraveling of the Geneva Accords".