This dyad belongs to the conflict Ecuador - Peru

Summary of conflict Ecuador - Peru

In 1941, Ecuador and Peru engaged in a military dispute over a section of their common border. Under pressure from outside parties, an accord was signed in 1942, awarding the territory to Peru. The border was however never clearly demarcated, and Ecuador later denounced the accord. Sporadic border clashes occurred in the following decades, and in 1995 armed conflict broke out between the two countries. The border was finally demarcated in 1999, concluding the territorial dispute.

Background to the 1995 fighting

Following the end of the Spanish Empire, the newly independent states of Ecuador and Peru began what would be the longest-lasting territorial dispute in the Western Hemisphere. The original area of dispute was a 350 000 square kilometers large area (about the size of Spain or France covering the mountain range Cordillera del Condor and the Cenepa Valley. In a 1941 clash, the weaker Ecuadorian army fell, opening up the southern part of the country to occupation by Peru. Through third-party intervention, the foreign ministers of Peru and Ecuador met in 1942 and signed the Protocol of Peace, Friendship and Boundaries (commonly called the Rio Protocol). Ratified by both Ecuador and Peru, the countries of Brazil, Argentina, U.S. and Chile agreed to act as guarantors to the agreement. A demarcation commission commenced work and succeeded in demarcating 90-95% of the border, but new aerial photographs complicated the situation and soon Ecuador began to claim that it had signed the Protocol under duress. Ecuador soon renounced the Protocol, a decision that neither Peru nor the guarantors accepted. Sporadic clashes continued to occur along the border in the following decades, most notably in 1981.

Ecuador and Peru engage in armed conflict

In 1995, fighting broke out in Cenepa Valley and the realities of modern technological warfare increased the level of international concern over conflict escalation. Both countries had called on their armies, air force and navy and casualties quickly ran into the hundreds. The situation provoked the immediate concern of the guarantor nations who called for a ceasefire and negotiations. On 17 February 1995, Peru and Ecuador signed the Declaration of Peace of Itamaraty, which authorized an immediate separation of troops, demilitarisation and a military observer mission to be carried out by the guarantor nations. The agreement, however, did not address the underlying territorial issues.

Termed MOMEP (Military Observer Mission for Ecuador and Peru), the mission was launched on 12 March 1995, and was tasked with the separation and disarmament of the combatants, with organizing the withdrawal of troops, and with establishing a demilitarised zone. In the fall of 1995, Ecuador and Peru were integrated into MOMEP (which is sometimes called MOMEP II thereafter) and MOMEP continued to maintain the peace by observation, verification and reporting from its outposts in the conflict zone. The conflict was not coded as active after 1995.

On 26 October 1998 the Presidents of Ecuador and Peru signed the Brasilia Presidential Act, which resolved the remaining impasses concerning the border dispute. The border was formally demarcated on 13 May 1999 and the mission closed on 17 June 1999.