The '''Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance''' (commonly known as the '''Rio Treaty''', the '''Rio Pact''', or by the Spanish-language acronym '''TIAR''' from ''Tratado Interamericano de Asistencia Recíproca)'' was an agreement made in 1947 in Rio_de_Janeiro among many American countries. The central principle contained in its articles is that an attack against one is to be considered an attack against them all; this was known as the "hemispheric defense" doctrine.
The treaty was ratified in 1948, with Bahamas as the last country to sign and ratify in 1982.
==Signatories==
:Argentina, Bahamas, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa_Rica, Cuba, Dominican_Republic, Ecuador, El_Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Trinidad_and_Tobago, United_States, Uruguay, Venezuela
==Background==
The treaty was the formalisation of the Act of Chapultepec, adopted at the Inter-American Conference on the Problems of War and Peace in 1945 in Mexico_City. The United_States had maintained a hemispheric defense policy under the Monroe_Doctrine, and during the 1930s had been alarmed by Axis overtures toward military cooperation with Latin American governments, in particular apparent strategic threats against the Panama_Canal. During the war Washington had been able to secure Allied support from all individual governments except Uruguay, which remained neutral, and wished to make those commitments permanent.
With the exceptions of Trinidad and Tobago (1967) and the Bahamas (1982), no countries that became independent after 1947 have joined the treaty.
==History==
The treaty was invoked numerous times during the 1950s and 1960s, but fell into disuse as Cold_War threats subsided. During the Falklands War actions favoring the United_Kingdom by the United_States, obligated to the Rio Treaty as well as NATO, effectively violated the provisions of the treaty. In 2001, the United_States invoked the Rio Treaty after the September 11 attacks. In 2002, citing the Falklands example and anticipating the Iraq_War, Mexico formally withdrew from the treaty; after the requisite two years, Mexico ceased to be a signatory in September_2004.
==External link==
*The treaty text hosted by the Organization of American States
Category:Treaties
De:TIAR
Es:Tratado_Interamericano_de_Asistencia_Recíproca