List of treaties in Star Trek

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The following is a list of treaties in the Star Trek fictional universe.

[edit] Treaty of Algeron

The Treaty of Algeron is an agreement between the United Federation of Planets and the Romulan Star Empire.

[edit] History

The fictional history of the Treaty of Algeron is learned through comments made by several different characters and spread over many episodes of the various Star Trek series. According to these characters, the Treaty of Algeron was signed in 2311,^[1] following the Tomed Incident.^[2] At least a portion of it served as a confirmation and expansion of the previous treaty, signed between the United Earth and the Romulan Empire in 2160.^[3] The Treaty of Algeron was amended once, in 2371;^[4] as the threat of the Dominion War loomed, the Romulan Empire agreed to amend the treaty in order to allow the Federation to use a cloaking device on one of their ships, to gather intelligence on their new enemy, provided that this intelligence would be shared with the Empire^[5]

One episode depicted a possible future of the Star Trek universe. In this episode, the Romulan Empire had fallen by 2395.^[6] As a consequence, the Treaty of Algeron was now void. The Neutral Zone no longer existed,^[7] and the Federation routinely used cloaking devices on its starships.^[8]

[edit] Articles and amendments

Only two articles of the Treaty of Algeron have been mentioned on-screen. Furthermore, one was amended during the run of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

The characters in Star Trek episodes most often refer to the articles of the treaty that affirm the boundaries of the Romulan Neutral Zone, and the fact that the violation of the Neutral Zone by either party constitutes an act of war.^[9] However, other characters already mentioned these facts during events that took place (in the Star Trek universe chronology) before the signing of the Treaty of Algeron. They indicate that these articles were also part of the treaty signed between the United Earth and the Romulan Empire at the end of the Earth-Romulan War.^[10]

The only other article of the treaty mentioned on-screen is the one that forbids the Federation from researching or implementing cloaking technology.^[11] An amendment to this article was mentioned on-screen, which allowed the Federation to install a Romulan cloaking device on one ship, the USS Defiant, under the supervision of a Romulan officer,^[12] and under the condition that the Federation would share its intelligence on the Dominion.^[5]

[edit] Violations

Federation and Romulan ships face-off in the Neutral Zone, both in clear violation of the Treaty of Algeron, on Stardate 42609.1^[13].

Several episodes of the Star Trek series depict both the Federation and the Romulan Empire violating the terms of the Treaty of Algeron. Although the treaty states that any one of these violations would be justification for war, no subsequent episode has shown or mentioned any consequences to these violations.

• Stardate 41986.0, by the Romulans^[14]
• Stardate 42609.1, by the Romulans and the Federation^[13]
• Stardate 43349.2, by the Romulans^[15]
• Stardate 43462.5, by the Romulans and the Federation^[16]
• Stardate 44390.1, by the Romulans and the Federation^[17]
• Stardate 45245.8, by the Romulans^[18]
• Stardate 47457.1, by the Federation^[19]
• Stardate 50975.2, by the Federation^[20]

[edit] Non-canon

Further details on the circumstances leading to the Treaty of Algeron are given in David R. George III's 2003 Star Trek novel Serpents Among the Ruins.

[edit] Khitomer Accords

The Khitomer Accords comprised a treaty set down between the Klingon Empire, the United Federation of Planets and the Romulan Empire signed on the planet Khitomer in the year 2293. The accords were formulated after the destruction of the Klingon moon Praxis earlier that year, and whose key purpose was to aid the crippled Klingon Empire from impending planetary destruction.

Delegates to the Khitomer Conference, held on the Klingon planet Khitomer, included: Ambassador Curzon Dax,^[21] the Starfleet Commander in Chief, Admiral Cartwright, and the President of the Federation; Ambassador Nanclus and Senator Pardek^[22] of Romulus; Ambassador Sarek, the Vulcan envoy to the Federation; Chancellor Azetbur of the Klingon Empire; and various delegates of other planetary nations.

The Khitomer Conference was almost sabotaged by the Klingon renegade General Chang, working in collusion with the Romulan ambassador, the Vulcan Valeris, and Starfleet officers Colonel West and Admiral Cartwright. A prototype Klingon Bird-of-prey, capable of firing photon torpedoes while cloaked, was developed and used by Chang to derail the talks. However, the Federation starships USS Enterprise-A and USS Excelsior destroyed the Bird-of-prey with Chang on board, and had the other conspirators arrested.^[23]

The Accords were overturned by Chancellor Gowron during the Klingon invasion of Cardassia in 2372, but were reinstated in 2373 when Cardassia joined the Dominion.

[edit] Second Khitomer Accords

At some point prior to 2375, a second agreement was signed at Khitomer banning the use of subspace weapons because of their inherent instability and adverse effects on the fabric of space itself. The Son'a apparently broke this accord in 2375, although it was not established that they were parties to it in the first place. ^[24]

[edit] Organian Peace Treaty

The Organian Peace Treaty was the armistice, imposed by the Organians, upon the United Federation of Planets and the Klingon Empire. This is an example of the pacifist moral tone of the show which was created at the time of the Vietnam war. ^[25]

[edit] History

The armistice was declared on stardate 3199.5 in the episode Errand of Mercy. ^[26]It stopped a potential war between the Federation and Klingon Empire and established a neutral zone between the two powers. While it prohibited violent conflict between the two powers within the zone, it also allowed for the peaceful development of less advanced cultures on planets located within the zone.

The implications of the treaty are seen in a later episode, The Trouble with Tribbles, where jurisdiction over Sherman's planet is to be awarded to the side able to manage it most efficiently. The Federation intends to secure it using a grain called quadro-triticale instead of a war fleet. also deals with .

A later series, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, abandons the use of the treaty as a plot device and the Klingon Empire and the Federation go to war with each other briefly^[27]. The reason for its disuse in the later Star Trek universe has not yet been explained.

[edit] Non-canon

The impact of the Organian Peace Treaty on the politics of the Klingon Empire are described in the limited edition comic series Star Trek: Blood will Tell.

Some apocryphal novels also allude to, but do not elaborate on, the Organians withdrawing entirely from interstellar affairs at some point. They are thus unavailable to enforce the treaty when it is violated, for example when the Federation and Klingon Empire go to war in Deep Space Nine.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Treaty of Algeron article at Memory Alpha, a Star Trek wiki
• Khitomer Accords article at Memory Alpha, a Star Trek wiki

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