The 1998 Peru–Ecuador Peace Settlement

The Rio Protocol had followed the Peru–Ecuador war of 1941 and defined a border whose physical demarcation later broke down. Fighting recurred in areas where the line remained unsettled, culminating in serious combat in the Cenepa region in 1995. The four guarantor governments helped arrange a ceasefire and troop separation, creating the security conditions in which a final negotiation could proceed. [1]

Military personnel from the United States, Brazil, Argentina, and Chile served in an international observation force in the disputed border area between Peru and Ecuador. As guarantors of the Rio Protocol, the four countries worked for three years to keep the ceasefire intact while their special envoys supported negotiations. [2]

Bilateral talks still needed assistance when Presidents Alberto Fujimori of Peru and Jamil Mahuad of Ecuador went together to the White House. On 9 October 1998, they asked Bill Clinton and the four guarantor countries to help them reach a final settlement. [2]

Fujimori and Mahuad signed the settlement in Brasília on 26 October with the support of the guarantor countries. The agreement closed a dispute that had repeatedly brought Peru and Ecuador into armed conflict. [2]

The negotiating agenda connected boundary demarcation with commerce and navigation, mutual security, and development along the frontier. The presidents' appeal to the guarantors came when much of that package had been negotiated but the territorial decision still blocked completion. [1] [2]

Related Diplomats

1. Ricardo Luna Mendoza [4] [5] [6] [7]

Related Reading

• Peru and the United States