1
Peace Events of the 20th and 21st Centuries*
The 20th century witnessed the most destructive wars in human history. Perhaps as many as twenty-
five million people died and countless others were wounded; millions more suffered from famine, plague,
dislocation, devastation and all the other hardships war can bring.
Yet the 20th century also saw the most concerted efforts ever attempted to limit and even prevent war,
to constrain arms proliferation, to advance peaceful means of resolving conflicts, to protect human rights,
to prosecute war crimes, to prevent genocide, and to promote peace. Listed below in chronological order
are some of the more important measures undertaken during the 20th century and the first decade of the
21st century in the ongoing worldwide struggle to achieve these goals.
Included in the listing are such disparate events as efforts to create global and regional international
bodies and other mechanisms for the peaceful resolution of disputes and conflicts; major armistices which
sought not only to end wars but also promote lasting peace; treaties and other agreements meant to halt or
control the spread and use of weapons, especially weapons of mass destruction; establishment of
international standards to promote human rights and discourage crimes and other atrocities against
nationalities, civilians, prisoners and combatants; and other significant events intended in one way or
another to promote peace or oppose war. Treaties proposed more to end specific conflicts than propose a
systemic and lasting peace are generally not included.
Many of the treaties and other documents for which links are provided are available from more than
one source. The links used here were selected to provide a sampling of non-commercial sources for such
documents, and their usage here should not be inferred as suggesting a preference for any source over any
other.
It is beyond the purview of this listing to provide the contemporary political, social, military and
economic contexts for the events listed here, but an understanding of the events listed here does require an
appreciation of the contexts within which they occurred.
*This introduction was originally written and the list originally compiled by Jim Cornelius, former
Information Services Librarian at the U.S. Institute of Peace. It has been updated by the Global
Peacebuilding Center at the U.S. Institute of Peace, August 2013.
2
Chronological List of Peace Events
From 1901 to 1910
From 1911 to 1920
From 1921 to 1930
From 1931 to 1940
From 1941 to 1950
From 1951 to 1960
From 1961 to 1970
From 1971 to 1980
From 1981 to 1990
From 1991 to 2000
From 2001 to 2010
From 1901 to 1910
December 10, 1901
Nobel Peace Prize first awarded. The first award was shared by Jean Henri Dunant and Frédéric
Passy.
January 16, 1906
Multinational Algeciras Conference, led to Act of Algeciras, limiting the manufacture and trade
in arms in Morocco; this was an early attempt to regulate the arms trade.
July 6, 1906
Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armies in the
Field adopted in Geneva by 32 nations. Entered into force August 9, 1907 and remained in force
until superseded by the Geneva Convention of 1929.
Henry Dunant, Swiss
philanthropist and co-founder of
the International Committee of
the Red Cross.
Photo credit: the Library of Congress,
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/
File:Jean_Henri_Dunant.jpg
Frederic Passy, French
economist.
Photo credit: Bibliothèque nationale
de France,
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/
File:Fr%C3%A9d%C3%A9ric_Passy
_1910.jpg
Soldiers wounded during the First World War are
transported by the 2
nd
Australian Light Horse Camel Field
Ambulance.
Photo credit: the Collection Database of the Australian War
Memorial,
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cacolet_AWM_J02848.jp
g
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September 11, 1906
Mohandas Gandhi began the first Satyagraha campaign in Johannesburg, South Africa, in protest
against a proposed Asiatic ordinance directed against Indian immigrants in Transvaal.
June 15, 1907
The Second Hague conference held, leading to further conventions governing the practice of war
and providing for arbitration of international disputes. The first Hague conference had produced
on July 29, 1899 a series of conventions, declarations and a final act governing the practice of
war and providing for international arbitration.
November 13-22, 1908
Mohandas Gandhi wrote Hind Swaraj, which was published in installments and later in book
form. With it, Gandhi argued not only for Indian self-rule, but decried the use of violence to
achieve it; the book is a seminal work in the development of Gandhi’s critique of western
civilization and his espousal of the adoption of nonviolence as the means for political change.
November 25, 1910
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace established by Andrew Carnegie to “hasten the
abolition of international war, the foulest blot upon our civilization.”
From 1911 to 1920
December 1914
Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR) formed in Cambridge, England. FOR is a worldwide
interfaith peace organization and may be the largest and oldest such organization.
Mohandas Gandhi with leaders of the
Satyagraha campaign in South Africa.
Photo credit: mahatma.org,
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gandhi_gro
up_South-Africa.jpg
First international meeting of the Fellowship of
Reconciliation (FOR). Bilthoven, Nederland,
1919.
Photo credit: the IFOR Archives,
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1919-IFOR-
c.png
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December 25, 1914
Soldiers on World War I’s Western Front temporarily stopped fighting and made peace to
celebrate Christmas during the Christmas Truce of 1914.
January 1915
Woman’s Peace Party (WPP) formed by Jane Addams and other women peace activists to protest
the start of World War I. A few months later, the WPP joined with other prominent women in the
International Suffrage Alliance to create the Women’s International League for Peace and
Freedom (WILPF). WILPF is still in existence today.
1917
Mohandas Gandhi led the first successful satyagraha campaign, for the rights of peasants on
indigo plantations in Champaran region of India.
April 1917
American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) formed in Philadelphia to promote peace and
reconciliation. With another Quaker organization, the British Friends Service Council, AFSC won
the Nobel Peace Prize in 1947.
British and German troops meet each
other in No Man’s Land during the
Christmas Truce of 1914.
Photo by Lt C A F Drummond, credit: the
Imperial War Museums,
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Christ
mas_Truce_1914_IWM_HU_35801.jpg
Jane Addams is recognized as a leader in social work, the
peace movement, and the suffrage movement. She was the
first American woman to receive a Nobel Peace Prize,
winning in 1931. Learn more about Jane Addams here.
Photo credit: the United States Library of Congress’s Prints and
Photographs division,
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jane_Addams_profile.jpg
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January 18, 1919
Paris Peace Conference convened in the wake of World War I (which ended on November 11,
1918), and involved 32 nations including the allied powers, but not Germany. The League of
Nations covenant and the peace treaties concluding World War I emerged from the Conference.
April 28, 1919
League of Nations covenant signed. League inaugurated Jan. 16, 1920.
June 28, 1919
Treaty of Versailles signed, ending World War I. Among other purposes, the treaty defined post-
war Germany’s borders, limited German armaments, and provided for war reparations.
September 10, 1919
The Convention for the Control of the Trade in Arms and Ammunition, also known as the St.
Germain Convention, was intended to restrict the international arms trade and prohibit the export
of arms to Africa and parts of Asia, but was never put into force due to U.S. objections.
February 9, 1920
Svalbard treaty signed in Paris by nine states originally, and by 99 by the end of the century. The
treaty demilitarized Spitzbergen, awarded sovereignty over the archipelago to Norway, and
regulated mining on the islands. The treaty entered into force August 14, 1925.
From 1921 to 1930
December 13, 1921
The League of Nations ratified the Permanent Court of International Justice, the predecessor of
the International Court of Justice. The PCIJ allowed states to clarify and develop international
law.
February 6, 1922
Five Power Naval Limitation Treaty signed (the major treaty of the Washington Naval
Conference treaties of 1921-1922, limiting naval armaments for the major powers).
May 4, 1925
The Convention for Supervision of the International Trade in Arms and Ammunition and in
Implements of War was signed by the League of Nations in Geneva on June 17, 1925; intended to
regulate the international arms trade, the convention was never implemented, but the related
protocol prohibiting the use of poisonous gas was, as noted below.
The Big Four at the Paris Peace Conference, from left to right:
Lloyd George of Great Britain, Vittorio Orlando of Italy,
Georges Clemenceau of France, and Woodrow Wilson of the
United States.
Photo credit: the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library Archives,
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Big_Four,_Paris_peace_c
onference.jpg
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June 16, 1925
Protocol for the Prohibition of the Use in War of Asphyxiating Gas, and of Bacteriological
Methods of Warfare signed in Geneva; entered into force February 8, 1928. The United States
ratified the treaty on April 10, 1975.
October 16, 1925
Locarno Pact signed in Locarno by major European powers. It was intended to fix Germany's
western borders, demilitarize the Rhineland and renounce war in Western Europe.
September 25, 1926
Slavery Convention signed in Geneva prohibiting slavery and the slave trade; entered into force
March 9, 1927.
August 27, 1928
Kellogg-Briand Pact (Pact of Paris) signed, renouncing war as an instrument of national policy.
Signatories included the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and nine others.
July 27, 1929
Third Geneva Convention, pertaining to the treatment of prisoners of war, signed by 47 nations in
Geneva. Entered into force August 4, 1932.
March 12, 1930
Mohandas Gandhi begins the all-India non-violent civil-disobedience campaign known as the Salt
March intended to break the British monopoly on salt in India.
Signatories of the Kellogg-Briand
Pact, including, standing from left to
right, Calvin Coolidge, Herbert
Hoover, and Frank B. Kellogg, in the
White House East Room.
Photo credit: the Library of Congress,
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kel
logg_Briand_Pact.jpg
Mohandas Gandhi picks up sand at the end of the Salt March at
Dandi, South Gujarat.
Photo: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Salt_March.jpg
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April 22, 1930
London Naval Treaty signed by Great Britain, the United States and Japan, regulating submarine
warfare, enacting a moratorium on battleship construction until 1937, and limiting construction of
other ships among other provisions. France and Italy refused to sign.
From 1931 to 1940
1932-34
First world Disarmament Conference, convened under the League of Nations in Geneva, which
attempted to renounce war, limit military expenditures, prohibit chemical and biological warfare,
and govern the arms trade.
October 10, 1933
Anti-War Treaty of Non-Aggression and Conciliation (Saavedra Lamas Treaty) signed in Rio de
Janeiro by Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Mexico and Uruguay, with U.S. adherence.
Entered into force November 13, 1935. The Treaty provided for conciliation in international
disputes within Latin America.
March 25, 1936
Second London Naval Treaty signed by Great Britain, the United States, and France. Japan
withdrew from discussions, and Italy refused to sign, which limited the scope of the agreement,
but the treaty did place limitations on ship size and armament on the signatories.
From 1940 to 1950
August 14, 1941
United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Great Britain Prime Minister Winston S.
Churchill issued the Atlantic Charter. This joint agreement affirmed their mutual hope for a better
future and set the stage for world organization.
March, 1945
Pax Christi, an international Catholic peace movement, founded in France by Marthe Dortel-
Claudot. Pax Christi is active in over 30 countries, with sections in 19 countries, plus additional
associated groups and affiliated organizations. Pax Christi USA was formed in 1972.
British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and U.S. President
Franklin D. Roosevelt on board the USS Augusta days before
issuing the Atlantic Charter.
Photo: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Atlantic_charter.jpg
8
July 17, 1945
Potsdam Conference began, involving the United States, Soviet Union, and Great Britain,
establishing post-World War II Allied policy regarding the defeated Axis Powers. Among other
provisions, the protocols of the conference defined Germany’s borders and the allies’ zones of
occupation within Germany and Austria, and provided for the demilitarization, denazification,
democratization, decentralization, and deindustrialization of Germany and the prosecution of war
criminals. The conference concluded August 2, 1945.
February 1945
The United States, Soviet Union, and United Kingdom discussed the war’s progress and the
postwar world during the Yalta Conference, making decisions on the future of Germany, Eastern
Europe, and the United Nations.
May 8, 1945
End of World War II in Europe.
1945
End of World War II in Pacific.
June 26, 1945
Charter of the United Nations signed in San Francisco. Chapter VI of the charter provides for the
pacific settlement of disputes, and Chapter VII establishes the mechanism for the United Nations
to respond to threats to peace, or breaches of the peace or acts of aggression, while authorizing
member states to engage in self-defense and collective defense against armed attacks. The United
Nations was established October 24, 1945.
October 18, 1945
Nuremberg War Crimes Tribunal begins, trying Nazi war crimes suspects. Documents pertaining
to the trials, including the proceedings volumes of the Trial of the Major War Criminals Before
the International Military Tribunal, are available throughout the Avalon Project at Yale Law
School.
November 3, 1946
The modern Japanese constitution promulgated, renouncing war and the threat of force as means
of settling international disputes. Entered into effect March 3, 1947.
June 5, 1947
In a speech at Harvard University, U.S. Secretary of State George C. Marshall proposed a plan for
the economic reconstruction of Europe. On December 19, 1947, President Truman proposed
European Recovery Program legislation, which was enacted April 3, 1948 as the Economic
Cooperation Act but became popularly known as the Marshall Plan.
Preamble to the Charter of the United Nations.
Photo credit: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration,
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:UNITED_NATIONS_-
_PREAMBLE_TO_THE_CHARTER_OF_THE_UNITED_NATIONS_-_NARA_-_515901.jpg
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April 30, 1948
Charter of the Organization of American States (OAS), which includes most states in the western
hemisphere, signed in Bogota. The OAS goals include maintenance of peace within the region
and prevention of intervention by outside states.
May 29, 1948
First United Nations peacekeeping force established. This force, the United Nations Truce
Supervision Organization (UNTO) was sent to observe the ceasefire between Israel and the Arab
states engaged against it. UNSTO continued operating throughout the rest of the century. By the
end of the century, 53 United Nations peacekeeping forces had been deployed. United Nations
peacekeepers were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1988.
June 26, 1948
United States and Britain began flying food and other supplies into Berlin to circumvent the
Soviet blockade of that city. The Berlin airlift was accompanied by an embargo on strategic
exports from Eastern Europe. The airlift continued until the blockade was lifted on May 12, 1949,
and beyond, until October 6 of that year.
December 9, 1948
Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide adopted by United
Nations General Assembly; entered into force on Jan. 12, 1951.
December 10, 1948
Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by United Nations General Assembly.
August 12, 1949
Approval of four conventions of the fourth Geneva Convention. The four conventions entered
into force October 21, 1950.
Convention I, pertaining to the treatment of the wounded of armed forces on land
First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt looks at the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights (UDHR) in Spanish. Eleanor Roosevelt
chaired the UDHR drafting committee and was considered the
“driving force behind the Declaration’s adoption.” See
http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/history.shtml to learn
more.
Photo credit: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration,
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Eleanor_Roosevelt_and_United
_Nations_Universal_Declaration_of_Human_Rights_in_Spanish_text_-
_NARA_-_195981.tif
United Nations peacekeepers from Jordan help
women in Haiti move bags of food as part of the
humanitarian response to the 2010 earthquake.
Photo credit: U.S. Department of Defense,
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:A_United_Nation
s_peacekeeper_from_Jordan_assists_a_Haitian_woman_ca
rrying_a_100-pound_bag_of_rice_outside_Port-au-
Prince,_Haiti_100213-N-HX866-003.jpg
10
Convention II, pertaining to the treatment of the wounded and shipwrecked of armed forces at sea
Convention III, pertaining to the treatment of prisoners of war
Convention IV, pertaining to the protection of civilians during war
From 1951 to 1960
July 28, 1951
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees adopted by the United Nations. Entered into force
April 22, 1954.
July 27, 1953
Korean armistice agreement signed in Panmunjom, ending combat in the Korean War.
December 1, 1955
Rosa Parks arrested in Montgomery, Alabama for refusing to give up her seat to a white
passenger on a segregated bus, sparking not only the Montgomery bus boycott but the non-violent
campaigns of civil disobedience against segregation in the American South.
November 5, 1956
First armed U.N. peacekeeping force established. This first United Nations Emergency Force
(UNEF I) was intended to secure and monitor a ceasefire ending the Sinai war between Israel,
Signing of the Korean War armistice agreement.
Photo credit: the U.S. Department of Defense, http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Korean_War_armistice_agreement_1953.jpg
Rosa Parks with Martin Luther King Jr., around 1955. While Parks is
best known for refusing to give up her seat on a bus, she had been
actively working for civil rights long before her arrest. Learn more
about her commitment to civil rights here.
Photo: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rosaparks.jpg
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Britain, France and Egypt, create a buffer zone, deter military activity in border areas, and secure
an armistice agreement between Egypt and Israel. Egypt compelled UNEF I to withdraw in 1967.
July 1957
First Pugwash Conference, held in Pugwash, Nova Scotia. A response to the Bertrand
Russell/Albert Einstein manifesto of July 1955, the Pugwash Conference sought to bring together
influential scientists and public figures from around the world to work to reduce the danger of
nuclear war and promote arms control. Conferences are held at least annually, in differing locales.
1957
National Committee for a Sane Nuclear Policy (SANE) formed in New York City. SANE merged
in 1986 with the Nuclear Weapons Freeze Campaign to become SANE/FREEZE, and was
renamed Peace Action in 1993.
March 25, 1957
Treaty of Rome signed by six western European nations, establishing the European Economic
Community (EEC, or Common Market), went into effect January 1, 1958, with other nations
joining later. EEC was established to promote post-World War II reconciliation, economic
cooperation, and economic unity in western Europe.
April 29, 1957
European Convention for the Peaceful Settlement of Disputes signed by members of the Council
of Europe, in Strasbourg; entered into force April 30, 1958. The convention provides for
adjudication, conciliation or arbitration of disputes.
1958
Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament established in Britain.
Bertrand Russell, left, and Albert Einstein, right. Russell, Einstein, and 9
additional scientists invited other scientists and the public to sign the
following resolution: "In view of the fact that in any future world war
nuclear weapons will certainly be employed, and that such weapons
threaten the continued existence of mankind, we urge the governments of
the world to realize, and to acknowledge publicly, that their purpose
cannot be furthered by a world war, and we urge them, consequently, to
find peaceful means for the settlement of all matters of dispute between
them." Read the entire Russell-Einstein Manifesto here:
http://www.pugwash.org/about/manifesto.htm.
Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) march in London, 1961,
led by Bertrand Russell and his wife Edith Russell. The peace sign,
seen on the CND’s flag, was originally created in 1958 as the symbol
of the anti-nuclear movement. Learn more here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/7292252.stm.
Photo by Tony French,
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bertrand_Russell_leads_anti-
nuclear_march_in_London,_Feb_1961.jpg
Photo: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bertrand_Russell.jpg; http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Albert_Einstein_1947.jpg
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December 10, 1959
United Nations adopts the Declaration of the Rights of the Child. While not legally binding, this
declaration laid the groundwork for the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1989.
December 1, 1959
Antarctic Treaty signed in Washington and entered into force June 23, 1961. This was the first
post-World War II arms control treaty, and both internationalized and demilitarized the continent.
From 1961 to 1970
April 18, 1961
Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations adopted by the United Nations Conference on
Diplomatic Intercourse and Immunities, outlining the rules of diplomatic law.
1961
United States President John F. Kennedy creates the U.S. Peace Corps.
1961
Amnesty International, an organization dedicated to protecting the rights of people around the
world, is founded.
October 1962
Cuban missile crisis resolved.
August 28, 1963
Martin Luther King Jr. gave his “I have a dream” speech in Washington, DC.
President John F. Kennedy shakes hands with Peace Corps
Volunteers, 1961.
Listen to Kennedy introduce the Peace Corps:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:JFK_Establishment_of_the_
Peace_Corps_edit.ogg.
Photo:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kennedy_greeting_Peace_Corps_volu
nteers,_1961.jpg
250,000 people took part in the 1963 March on
Washington, during which they heard Martin Luther King
Jr. give his “I have a dream” speech.
Photo by Warren K. Leffler, credit: the Library of Congress,
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:March_on_Washington_
edit.jpg
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April 11, 1963
Encyclical Pacem in Terris (Peace on Earth), calling for peaceful coexistence, given in Rome by
Pope John XXIII.
May 25, 1963
Organization of African Unity (OAU) established, to promote international cooperation and unity
among African states, among other purposes. The OAU has mediated and attempted to mediate to
resolve a number of international and internal conflicts in Africa.
June 20, 1963
Memorandum of understanding between the U.S. and the Soviet Union establishing a direct
communications link ("Hot Line") signed in Geneva.
August 5, 1963
Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, signed in Moscow between the U.S., the Soviet Union, and the
United Kingdom. The treaty prohibits nuclear tests and other nuclear explosions in the
atmosphere, oceans or space. Entered into force October 10, 1963.
December 21, 1965
International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, prohibiting
arbitrary and unreasonable racial discrimination, adopted by the U.N. General Assembly. The
United States is a party to this convention. Entered into force January 4, 1969.
January 27, 1967
Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space
between the U.S., Soviet Union, and United Kingdom signed simultaneously in Washington,
Moscow and London. Entered into force October 10, 1967. The treaty governs the exploration of
space, including the de-militarizing of space and celestial bodies.
January 31, 1967
Protocol relating to the status of refugees adopted. The protocol extends the 1951 Geneva
Convention on the status of refugees to refugees displaced subsequent to January 1, 1951. Entered
into force October 4, 1967.
February 14, 1967
Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America (Treaty of Tlatelolco) signed in
Mexico City, prohibiting nuclear weapons in Latin America. Entered into force April 22, 1968.
On July 3, 1990, the treaty was extended to include the Caribbean. The Treaty of Tlatelolco was
the first of five regional nuclear weapons free zones established by treaty.
August 8, 1967
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) created when Indonesia, Malaysia, the
Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand signed the ASEAN Declaration, with the aim of promoting
regional peace and stability, in addition to other purposes.
Ministers of Defense from ASEAN
countries and elsewhere pose for a photo
before the first meeting of the ASEAN
Defence Minsters’ Meeting Plus in
Hanoi, Vietnam, in 2010.
Photo by Jerry Morrison,
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ASE
AN_Defense_Ministers%27_Meeting_Plus_O
ct._12,_2010,_in_Hanoi,_Vietnam.jpg
14
July 1, 1968
Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, or NPT)
signed simultaneously in Washington, Moscow and London; entered into force March 5, 1970.
From 1971 to 1980
Feburary 11, 1971
Treaty prohibiting placement of nuclear weapons or other weapons of mass destruction on the
ocean floor signed simultaneously in Washington, Moscow and London. Entered into force May
18, 1972.
February 21-28, 1972
Richard Nixon is the first U.S. president to visit China, in a visit called “the week that changed
the world.”
April 10, 1972
Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological
and Toxin Weapons and on Their Destruction signed; entered into force March 26, 1975.
May 25, 1972
Agreement on the Prevention of Incidents on and over the High Seas, between U.S. and U.S.S.R.
signed in Moscow. Entered into force May 25, 1972.
May 26, 1972
Treaty on the Limitation of Anti-Ballistic Missile Systems (ABM Treaty) signed in Moscow
between the United States and the Soviet Union, which established strict limits on ABM
deployments. Entered into force October 3, 1972. The United States withdrew from the treaty
December 13, 2001.
May 26, 1972
Interim Agreement on Certain Measures with Respect to the Limitation of Strategic Offensive
Arms (SALT I) between United States and the Soviet Union, signed in Moscow. The treaty
established limits on the numbers of strategic ballistic missiles permitted each country. Entered
into force October 3, 1972.
June 22, 1973
Agreement on the Prevention of Nuclear War, between the United States and the Soviet Union,
signed in Washington.
President and Mrs. Nixon on the Great Wall during their 1972
trip to China.
Photo by Byron E. Schumaker, credit: the U.S. National Archives and
Records Administration,
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:President_and_Mrs._Nixon_vi
sit_the_Great_Wall_of_China.jpg
15
January 27, 1973
Paris Peace Treaty, between United States, North Vietnam, South Vietnam and Viet Cong,
intended to end Vietnam War.
July 3, 1974
Treaty on the Limitation of Underground Nuclear Weapon Tests (Threshold Test Ban Treaty),
between the United States and the Soviet Union, signed in Moscow. Entered into force December
11, 1990.
November 24, 1974
Vladivostok Accord, a joint United States/Soviet Union statement establishing principles and
goals for subsequent strategic arms limitations talks.
August 1, 1975
Helsinki Final Act signed in Helsinki by all European nations except Albania, as well as by the
United States and Canada. The Act established what became known as the “Helsinki Process” or
“CSCE Process,” providing for balanced progress in the areas of European security, disarmament,
confidence-building, humanitarian affairs, economics, technology, and other matters.
May 28, 1976
PNE Treaty (Treaty Between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist
Republics on Underground Nuclear Explosions for Peaceful Purposes) signed in Moscow. The
PNE Treaty governs all nuclear explosions outside of designated weapons test sites specified
under the Threshold Test Ban Treaty of June 3, 1974, including their use in third countries.
Entered into force December 11, 1990.
May 18, 1977
Environmental Modification (ENMOD) Convention signed in Geneva prohibiting military or
other hostile use of environmental modification techniques; entered into force October 5, 1978.
June 8, 1977
Two protocols amending the 1949 Geneva Conventions adopted by the Diplomatic Conference of
Geneva. Protocol I and Protocol II extend to anticolonial and other non-international wars the
rules of war and protections of the victims of war provided in the case of international conflicts
by the 1949. Both protocols entered into effect December 7, 1978.
Signing of the Paris Peace Treaty.
Photo by Robert L. Knudsen, credit: the
National Archives and Records Administration,
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vietna
m_peace_agreement_signing.jpg
16
September 17, 1978
Camp David Accords, reached in Camp David between Israel, Egypt and the United States,
establishing the framework for a peace treaty between Egypt and Israel, and for a broader peace
in the Middle East.
March 26, 1979
Peace treaty between Israel and Egypt signed in Washington, DC.
June 18, 1979
Treaty on the Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms (Strategic Arms Limitation Talks, or SALT
II) between the United States and the Soviet Union, signed in Vienna. The treaty was never
ratified, but its terms, which set equal limits on strategic arms and prohibited certain types of
arms improvements, were observed.
December 18, 1979
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, adopted by the
United Nations General Assembly. Entered into effect September 3, 1981. The United States is a
signatory.
From 1981 to 1990
November 30, 1981
September 21 established by the United Nations General Assembly as the International Day of
Peace.
Right, Anwar Sadat, Jimmy Carter, and Menahem
Begin hold a meeting on the patio at Camp David.
Photo credit: the U.S. National Archives and Records
Administration,
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Anwar_Sadat,_Jim
my_Carter_and_Menahem_Begin_hold_one_of_their_Camp
_David_meetings_on_the_Aspen_Cabin_patio._-_NARA_-
_181114.tif
Left, members of the Israeli, Egyptian, and U.S. delegations at one
of their meetings.
Photo credit: the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration,
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Members_of_the_U.S.,_Egyptian_
and_Israeli_delegations_meet_at_Camp_David._-_NARA_-_181245.tif
17
April 10, 1981
United Nations Convention prohibiting and restricting certain types of weapons, such as anti-
personnel mines and the use of incendiary weapons against civilians, signed in New York.
August 1, 1982
Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) Document on Confidence-Building
Measures in Europe, signed in Helsinki, requiring advance notice of major troop movements in
Europe.
January 1983
A regional diplomatic initiative (Contradora Process) to resolve conflicts in Central America
began on Contadora Island off the Pacific coast of Panama. The Contradora Process was led by
Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia, and Panama, and produced a draft treaty, the Contadora Act for
Peace and Cooperation in Central America (The Contradora Acta), which was formally presented
on September 12 and 13, 1985. The process was unofficially suspended in June, 1986, and was
superseded by direct negotiations.
October 19, 1984
The United States Institute of Peace (USIP) Act passed by Congress and signed into law by
President Ronald Reagan, establishing USIP as a national institution chartered to "serve the
American people and the federal government through the widest possible range of education and
training, basic and applied research opportunities, and peace information services on the means to
promote international peace and the resolution of conflicts among the nations and peoples of the
world without recourse to violence."
December 10, 1984
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
(the “Torture Convention”) adopted by the United Nations General Assembly.
August 6, 1985
South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone Treaty (Treaty of Rarotonga) signed at Rarotonga, Cook Island,
by Australia, New Zealand, and 11 other, smaller Pacific island nations. Entered into force
December 11, 1986.
September 22, 1986
Stockholm Conference on Security-Building Measures and Disarmament in Europe signed in
Stockholm by the member states of the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe
(CSCE). Among other measures, the agreement called for notification of large-scale military
maneuvers, and on-site inspection. The official signing date was September 16, but the actual
date was six days later. Participating countries included all European states except Albania, and
included the Soviet Union and the United States.
A USIP staff member works with women civil society leaders in
Darfur, Sudan, in 2006.
Photo credit: U.S. Institute of Peace, http://www.buildingpeace.org/train-
resources/multimedia/photos/usip-field/new
18
1987
Founding of Women in International Security (WIIS), a global network of women dedicated to
increasing support and opportunities for women in international peace and security leadership
roles. WIIS’s network continues to operate around the world today.
July 29, 1987
Indo-Sri Lankan accord signed in Colombo by the governments of India and Sri Lanka.
August 7, 1987
Esquipulas Peace Agreement signed by Central American leaders, creating a regional peace and
democratization plan.
December 8, 1987
Treaty on the Elimination of Intermediate and Shorter-Range Missiles (INF, or Intermediate-
Range Nuclear Forces Treaty), between the U.S. and the Soviet Union signed in Washington.
Entered into force June 1, 1988.
November 9, 1989
The Berlin Wall falls, leading to the peaceful reunification of East and West Germany on October
3, 1990.
December 3, 1989
Malta Summit ends the Cold War.
November 19, 1990
Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) signed in Paris to limit NATO and
Warsaw Pact aircraft, artillery and armor forces in Europe. Entered into force November 9, 1992.
November 21, 1990
Charter of Paris for a New Europe signed in Paris by the member states of the Conference on
Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE).
U.S. President George H.W. Bush and U.S.S.R. President
Mikhail S. Gorbachev at the Malta Summit, 1989.
Photo by David Valdez, credit: the George Bush Library,
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bush_and_Gorbachev_at_the_M
alta_summit_in_1989.gif
Madeleine Albright, chair of the WIIS Global Leadership
Council, became the first female United States Secretary of
State in 1997.
Photo credit: United States Government,
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Secalbright.jpg
19
From 1991 to 2000
July 31, 1991
Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty between the United States and the Soviet Union providing for
the reduction and limitation of strategic armaments (START I) signed in Moscow. The treaty
provided for the elimination of certain strategic weapons to a level of 6,000 deployed warheads.
January 30, 1992
Joint Declaration of the Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula signed in Vienna by the two
Korean governments. Entered into force February 19, 1992.
Feburary 7, 1992
Treaty on European Union (Maastricht Treaty) signed in Maastricht, Netherlands, by European
Community (EC) members. The Maastricht Treaty created the European Union (EU) out of the
EC, which itself was an outgrowth of the European Economic Community. The treaty provided
EU citizenship to citizens of all EC member states, a central banking system, a common currency
(the Euro), and committed EC members to implementing common foreign and security policies.
January 3, 1993
A second Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START II) between the United States and the Soviet
Union and providing for the further limitation of strategic offensive arms was signed in Moscow.
Among other provisions, the treaty required strategic arsenals to be reduced to a maximum of
3,500 warheads. Final ratification came on April 14, 2000.
January 13, 1993
Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical
Weapons and on Their Destruction signed in Paris. Entered into force April 29, 1997.
September 13, 1993
Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements (Oslo Accords), between the
Palestinian Liberation Organization and Israel, signed in Washington.
May 4, 1994
Agreement on the Gaza Strip and the Jericho Area signed in Cairo by Israel and the Palestine
Liberation Organization. Among other provisions, this agreement provided for establishment of a
Palestinian Authority and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Jericho area and Gaza.
U.S. President George H.W. Bush and U.S.S.R. President
Mikhail S. Gorbachev sign the Strategic Arms Reduction
Treaty in Moscow, 1991.
Photo credit: the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration,
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:President_Bush_and_Presiden
t_Gorbachev_sign_the_Strategic_Arms_Reduction_Treaty_%28STAR
T%29_in_the_Kremlin_in_Moscow..._-_NARA_-_186435.tif
20
July 25, 1994
Washington Declaration signed by Israel, Jordan and the United States committing Israel and
Jordan to working towards a peace agreement on the basis of the Agreed Common Agenda of
September 14, 1993.
August 29, 1994
Agreement on the preparatory transfer of powers and responsibilities signed by Israel and the
Palestine Liberation Organization providing for the transfer of certain powers in the West Bank
and Gaza from Israeli military government to the Palestinian Authority, signed at Erez.
October 26, 1994
Peace treaty between Israel and Jordan signed at the Arava/Araba Crossing Point.
October 21, 1994
Agreed Framework between the United States and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea
(D.P.R.K., or North Korea) signed in Geneva. The Agreed Framework established a process for
negotiation of an overall resolution of nuclear proliferation and energy issues on the Korean
Peninsula.
September 4-15, 1995
United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing, China, to discuss a range of
issues concerning women. It is widely considered a pivotal moment in defining the protection and
promotion of women’s human rights. United Nations Fourth World Conferences were held in
2000 and in 2005 to review progress on commitments made in 1995.
September 28, 1995
Interim Agreement on the West Bank and Gaza Strip signed in Washington, furthering the Oslo
process.
November 21, 1995
General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Dayton Peace Accords)
initialed in Dayton, Ohio, and signed December 14, 1995 in Paris.
President Slobodan Milosevic of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia,
President Alija Izetbegovic of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina,
and President Franjo Tudjman of the Republic of Croatia sign the Dayton
Peace Accords, following peace talks held at Wright-Patterson Air Force
Base, 1995.
Photo by U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Brian Schlumbohm,
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:DaytonAgreement.jpg
Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin of Israel and King Hussein of Jordan sign the
Washington Declaration with U.S. President Bill Clinton on the White House lawn,
1994.
Photo: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Flickr_-
_Government_Press_Office_%28GPO%29_-
_PM_YITZHAK_RABIN_AND_JORDAN%27S_KING_HUSSEIN_SIGN_THE_PEACE_T
REATY.jpg
21
December 15, 1995
Central American Democratic Security Treaty signed in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, by Costa
Rica, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Panama. The treaty is intended to
promote regional democracy, protect human rights, reduce narcotics trafficking, and promotes
arms control and peace.
December 15, 1995
Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone (Treaty of Bangkok) signed in Bangkok by 10 nations
of Southeast Asia. Entered into force March 27, 1997.
April 11, 1996
The African Nuclear-Weapon-Free-Zone Treaty (Treaty of Pelindaba) signed by 50 African
nations in Cairo. Not yet in force.
September 10, 1996
Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty opened for signature in New York, but is not yet in force. It
would prohibit nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosives tests.
December 3, 1997
Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel
Mines and on Their Destruction opened for signature in Ottawa. The convention bans and
restricts the use of land mines. Entered into force March 1, 1999.
April 10, 1998
Multilateral Northern Ireland Peace Agreement (Good Friday Agreement) signed, involving the
governments of the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, and most of the major political
parties of Northern Ireland, including both Republicans and Loyalists. The agreement provided
for creation of power-sharing and cross-border bodies, as well as other matters.
July 17, 1998
Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court signed in Rome, establishing the International
Criminal Court. Entered into force July 1, 2002.
October 23, 1998
Wye River Memorandum between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization and intended
to facilitate implementation of the Sept. 28, 1995 Interim Agreement on the West Bank and Gaza
Strip, signed in Washington, D.C.
Mine Detection Dogs with the Marshall Legacy Institute sniff
out land mines that litter the regions where conflict has taken
place. Watch the Witnesses to Peacebuilding video here:
http://www.buildingpeace.org/teach-visit-us-and-
learn/exhibits/witnesses-peacebuilding/dogs-detecting-
landmines-building-peace.
Photo credit: U.S. Institute of Peace
The Good Friday Agreement brought peace
to Northern Ireland in 1998. Watch the
Witnesses to Peacebuilding video here:
http://www.buildingpeace.org/teach-visit-us-
and-learn/exhibits/witnesses-
peacebuilding/george-mitchell-building-
peace-northern-ir.
Photo credit: U.S. Institute of Peace.
22
September 4, 1999
Sharm el-Sheikh Memorandum on Implementation signed by Israel and the Palestine Liberation
Organization in Sharm el-Sheikh. Among other provisions, the memorandum provided for
resumption of permanent status negotiations and established a timeline for further steps in the
peace process.
From 2001 to 2010
May 25, 2000
United Nations General Assembly adopts the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights
of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict, designed to protect children from
taking part in hostilities.
October 31, 2000
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 adopted, calling for increased protection of
women during conflict and for greater involvement of women in decision-making and peace
processes. Since then, individual countries have developed National Action Plans for national
implementation of Resolution 1325, including the United States in 2011.
May 24, 2002
The United States and Russia sign the Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty (SORT), limiting
their nuclear arsenal to between 1700 and 2200 warheads each.
December 20, 2005
United Nations Peacebuilding Commission established to support and coordinate post-conflict
reconstruction efforts.
September 15, 2005
Resolution supporting the “Responsibility to Protect” doctrine endorsed at the 2005 United
Nations General Assembly World Summit, stating that the prevention of genocide, crimes against
humanity, and war crimes is a global responsibility.
Skulls from victims of the Rwandan genocide are displayed in the Genocide
Memorial Church in Western Rwanda, under the slogan “Never Again.”
Photo by Adam Jones, http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Never_Again_-
_With_Display_of_Skulls_of_Victims_-_Courtyard_of_Genocide_Memorial_Church_-
_Karongi-Kibuye_-_Western_Rwanda_-_02.jpg
President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia, Africa’s first female
president, has led her country during a time of transition and
recovery following 14 years of civil war.
Learn more about the critical role Liberian women played in
bringing peace to their country:
http://www.usip.org/publications/women-s-role-in-liberia-s-
reconstruction
Photo credit: U.S. Institute of Peace, http://www.usip.org/events/liberia-
through-the-eyes-president-ellen-johnson-sirleaf
23
June 7, 2006
Geneva Declaration on Armed Violence and Development adopted, committing signatories to
recognize and act upon the responsibilities of states and civil society in preventing and reducing
armed violence, and placing armed violence within a development context. The Geneva
Declaration currently has 112 signatories.
June 15, 2007
A United Nations resolution established October 2, the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi, as the
International Day of Non-Violence.
October 2009
Kampala Convention adopted by member states of the African Union, addressing issues of and
states’ responsibilities to persons internally displaced by conflict or other causes.
April 30, 2010
Member states of the United Nations Standing Advisory Committee on Security Questions in
Central Africa signed the Kinshasa Convention, which aims to control the sale and use of small
arms in Central Africa.
August 1, 2010
The Convention on Cluster Munitions, an international treaty banning the use of cluster bombs,
adopted on May 30, 2008, enters into force.
April 8, 2010
The United States and Russia sign the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), replacing
the Treaty of Moscow (SORT).
U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian Prime
Minister Dmitry Medvedev sign the New Strategic
Arms Reduction Treaty, 2010.
Photo credit: the Presidential Press and Information Office
(Russia),
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dmitry_Medvedev_i
n_the_Czech_Republic_8_April_2010-11.jpeg