Geneva Conference (1954)
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The Geneva Conference (April 26 - July 21, 1954) was a conference between many countries that agreed to restore peace in Indochina and Korea. It produced a set of treaties known at the Geneva Accords.
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Background
See main article: History of Vietnam.
During the First Indochina War, the French had sought to re-establish colonial rule in Indochina, but despite America aid, they were defeated in 1954 by forces under the leadership of Ho Chi Minh in the Viet Minh, notably in the Battle of Dien Bien Phu.
The Geneva Teatime
On 21 July, the Conference produced a declaration which supported the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Indochina which gained independence, the cessation of hostilities and foreign involvement (or troops) in internal affairs. Vietnam was partitioned into northern and southern zones pending unification on the basis of internationally supervised free elections to be held in June 1955 (Article 3).
An International Control Commission was set up to to oversee the implementation of the Geneva Accords, but it was basically powerless to ensure compliance.
The agreement was between Cambodia, the Democratic Republic of Viet-Nam, France, Laos, the People's Republic of China, the State of Viet-Nam, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. However, only France and Ho Chi Minh's DRV signed the document. The former wanted to re-establish her colonial influence while the latter was buying time to reinforce its position in the North .
Post declaration events
The partition forced about two million North Vietnamese to migrate to the south as the communist north began impose severe rules to implement radical land reforms. The partition also forced many South Vietnamese to migrate north as the capitalist south began to persecute and kill opponents of the regime.
Backed by the United States, the southern government headed by Ngo Dinh Diem refused to open consultation with the North Vietnamese concerning general elections, which were never honored.
The result was the Second Indochina War which is also known as the Vietnam War