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Organian Peace Treaty

 

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Organian Peace Treaty


 
 

The following is a list of treaties in the Star TrekStar Trek

Star Trek is an American science-fiction franchise spanning six television series, ten feature films, hundreds of novels, co...
 fictional universeFictional universe

A fictional universe is a cohesive imaginary world that serves as the setting or backdrop for one or multiple works of ficti...
.

Treaty of Algeron

The
Treaty of Algeron is an agreement between the United Federation of PlanetsUnited Federation of Planets

The United Federation of Planets widely referred to and known as the Federation is part of the Star Trek fictional u...
 and the Romulan Star Empire.

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, following the Tomed Incident. At least a portion of it served as a confirmation and expansion of the previous treaty, signed between the United EarthEarth governments (Star Trek)

In the fictional Star Trek universe, several political organisations take power over part or all of Earth....
 and the Romulan Empire in 2160. The Treaty of Algeron was amended once, in 2371; as the threat of the Dominion WarDominion War

In the fictional Star Trek universe, the Dominion War is a war between the Dominion and the Alpha Quadrant alliance of the U...
 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 According to its terms, the loaned cloak could only be used in the gamma quadrant of the galaxy.

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

Articles and amendments

Only two articles of the Treaty of Algeron have been mentioned on-screen. Furthermore, one was amended during the run of .

The characters in Star Trek episodes most often refer to the articles of the treaty that affirm the boundaries of the Romulan Neutral ZoneNeutral zone (Star Trek) Overview

In the fictional Star Trek universe, a neutral zone is a sort of "buffer zone" between the territories of two different powe...
, and the fact that the violation of the Neutral Zone by either party constitutes an act of war. 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 WarEarth-Romulan War Overview

In the Star Trek fictional universe, the Earth-Romulan War was a major conflict fought between the United Earth and the ...
.

The only other article of the treaty mentioned on-screen is the one that forbids the Federation from researching or implementing cloaking technologyCloaking device

In several science fiction universes, a cloaking device is an advanced stealth system which causes a spaceship or individual...
. 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, and under the condition that the Federation would share its intelligence on the DominionDominion (Star Trek) Summary

In the fictional Star Trek universe, the Dominion is a ruthless and militaristic Gamma Quadrant state, consisting of many di...
.

Violations

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
  • Stardate 42609.1, by the Romulans and the Federation
  • Stardate 43349.2, by the Romulans
  • Stardate 43462.5, by the Romulans and the Federation
  • Stardate 44390.1, by the Romulans and the Federation
  • Stardate 45245.8, by the Romulans
  • Stardate 47457.1, by the Federation
  • Stardate 50975.2, by the Federation

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.

Khitomer Accords

The Khitomer Accords comprised a treaty set down between the Klingon EmpireKlingon Summary

Klingons are a warrior race of humanoids in the fictional Star Trek universe....
, the United Federation of PlanetsUnited Federation of Planets

The United Federation of Planets widely referred to and known as the Federation is part of the Star Trek fictional u...
 and the Romulan EmpireRomulan

Romulans are a fictional alien species in the Star Trek universe....
 signed on the planetPlanet

The International Astronomical Union , the official scientific body for astronomical nomenclature, currently defines "plane...
 KhitomerKhitomer

In the fictional Star Trek universe, Khitomer is a planet on the Klingon side of their border with the Romulan Star Empire, ...
 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 KhitomerKhitomer

In the fictional Star Trek universe, Khitomer is a planet on the Klingon side of their border with the Romulan Star Empire, ...
, included: Ambassador Curzon DaxCurzon Dax

Curzon Dax is a fictional character from the television show Star Trek: Deep Space Nine he was played by Frank Owen Smit...
, the Starfleet Commander in ChiefFleet admiral (Star Trek)

Fleet admiral is the highest commissioned Starfleet officer rank in the fictional Star Trek universe....
, Admiral CartwrightFleet Admiral Cartwright

Fleet Admiral Cartwright is a character of the Star Trek universe who appears in two feature films, those being ' and...
, and the PresidentFederation President

In the Star Trek fictional universe, the President of the United Federation of Planets is the leader of the United F...
 of the Federation; Ambassador NanclusNanclus

In the fictional Star Trek universe, Nanclus is a Romulan ambassador to the Federation in late 23rd Century in the movie Star Trek...
 and Senator PardekPardek

Pardek, a character from the fictional television series Star Trek: The Next Generation, appeared in the episodes Unif...
 of RomulusFacts About Romulus and Remus (Star Trek)

In the fictional Star Trek universe, Romulus and Remus are the twin Romulan homeworlds....
; Ambassador SarekSarek

Sarek is a Vulcan character in the Star Trek fictional universe....
, the VulcanVulcan (Star Trek) Summary

Vulcans are a humanoid species in the fictional Star Trek universe who reside on the planet Vulcan and are noted for the...
 envoy to the Federation; ChancellorChancellor

Various governments have a Chancellor who serves as some form of junior or senior minister....
 AzetburAzetbur

In the Star Trek universe, Azetbur is the only revealed female Chancellor of the Klingon Empire....
 of the Klingon Empire; and various delegates of other planetary nations.

The Khitomer Conference was almost sabotaged by the Klingon renegade GeneralGeneral Summary

A General is an officer of high military rank....
 Chang, working in collusion with the Romulan ambassador, the Vulcan ValerisValeris

Valeris is a fictional character in the fictional Star Trek universe....
, and Starfleet officers Colonel West and Admiral Cartwright. A prototype Klingon Bird-of-prey, capable of firing photon torpedoPhoton torpedo

The photon torpedo, a fictional weapon popularized by the Science Fiction saga Star Trek, is a space torpedo armed with an a...
es while cloaked, was developed and used by Chang to derail the talks. However, the Federation starships USS Enterprise-AUSS Enterprise (NCC-1701-A)

The USS Enterprise, commissioned in 2286, is a Constitution class starship in the Star Trek fictional universe....
and USS Excelsior destroyed the Bird-of-prey with Chang on board, and had the other conspirators arrested.

The Accords were overturned by Chancellor GowronFacts About Gowron

Gowron is a fictional character of the Star Trek universe....
 during the Klingon invasion of Cardassia in 2372, but were reinstated in 2373 when Cardassia joined the DominionDominion (Star Trek) Overview

In the fictional Star Trek universe, the Dominion is a ruthless and militaristic Gamma Quadrant state, consisting of many di...
.

Second Khitomer Accords

At some point prior to 2375, a second agreement was signed at Khitomer banning the use of subspaceHyperspace (science fiction)

In science fiction, hyperspace is any region of space co-existing with our own universe which may be entered using some sort...
 weapons because of their inherent instability and adverse effects on the fabric of space itself. The Son'aSon'a

The Son'a are a space-faring race in the fictional Star Trek universe featured in the film '. ...
 apparently broke this accord in 2375, although it was not established that they were parties to it in the first place.

Organian Peace Treaty

The Organian Peace Treaty was the armistice, imposed by the Organians, upon the United Federation of PlanetsUnited Federation of Planets

The United Federation of Planets widely referred to and known as the Federation is part of the Star Trek fictional u...
 and the Klingon EmpireKlingon

Klingons are a warrior race of humanoids in the fictional Star Trek universe....
. This is an example of the pacifist moral tone of the show which was created at the time of the Vietnam warVietnam War

The Vietnam War was a conflict in which the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and its allies fought against the Republic of Vi...
.

History

The armistice was declared on stardateStardate

Stardate is a dating convention used in the fictional Star Trek universe....
 3199.5 in the episode Errand of Mercy. It stopped a potential war between the Federation and Klingon Empire and established a neutral zoneNeutral zone (Star Trek)

In the fictional Star Trek universe, a neutral zone is a sort of "buffer zone" between the territories of two different powe...
 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.

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

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.

External links