Paris Peace Accords

Explanation and Analysis of the Document

The agreement begins with a reference to the 1954 Geneva Agreements, which recognized the territorial integrity of Vietnam; the line between North and South Vietnam created by the Geneva Agreements was intended to be a line of demarcation between military forces, not a permanent political boundary. The agreement then includes four major provisions. The first was that beginning at midnight on January 27, 1973 (8:00 a.m. on the 28th in Vietnam), a cease-fire would be in place. The forces of the North and South were to hold their positions and could resupply military materials only to replace materials used in the course of the truce.

The second major provision was that U.S. and other foreign troops would begin a withdrawal from Vietnam. This withdrawal was to be completed within sixty days, and, in fact, all U.S. troops were gone by the end of March. All prisoners of war were to be returned home; of some 1,350 U.S. prisoners of war or those missing in action, 591 returned. All the parties agreed to help repatriate the remains of those killed in the war.

The third major provision was that the two parties in South Vietnam, the official government and the Provisional Revolutionary Government, were to find a political settlement that would enable the people of South Vietnam to “decide themselves the political future of South Viet-Nam through genuinely free and democratic general elections under international supervision.” Finally, the agreement called for the reunification of Vietnam “carried out step by step through peaceful means on the basis of discussions and agreements between North and South Viet-Nam, without coercion or annexation by either party, and without foreign interference.”