Treaty of 2552
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| Treaty of 2552 | |
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 Arbiter Thel 'Vadam and Fleet Admiral Terrence Hood shake hands to symbolize peace between their species
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End of the Human-Covenant War (see terms below) |
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- "I promise this to every man, woman and child on Earth and in its colonies. While we will continue to strive for a peaceful coexistence with other species, humanity will never again allow itself to be the victim of aggression. This is the moment we start to reclaim our rightful place in the universe."
- — President Ruth Charet's inaugural speech[1]
The Treaty of 2552, also known as the Ceasefire of 2552,[2] is an agreement of peace between the Unified Earth Government and the Fleet of Retribution—or more generally, most of humanity and Sangheili—that brought an end to the Human-Covenant War. Although the war officially ended on March 3, 2553, the fighting between humanity and the Covenant ended on December 11, 2552.[3] The treaty's title refers to the peace agreement and alliance developed between the Sangheili and the United Nations Space Command in 2552, although the Treaty of 2552 was formally ratified in February 2553 with the Swords of Sanghelios.[1] The era following the war is referred to as the Treaty period by some individuals.[4]
The Swords of Sanghelios are the only known ex-Covenant group to maintain diplomatic relations with the Unified Earth Government (UEG); for example, no formal treaties existed between the UEG and Kig-Yar governments as of March 2553.[5] However, the majority of the former Covenant species at large are no longer aggressive toward humanity, and Kig-Yar, for example, continue to trade with humans and Sangheili.[6][7] The UEG and the Swords of Sanghelios attempted to form a peace treaty with a Jiralhanae clan led by Chieftain Lydus on Ealen IV in March of 2558, but these peace talks were disrupted by a mercenary group.[8][9]
Terms[edit]
The Treaty of 2552 declared the cessation of hostilities between humanity and the Sangheili. The peace treaty forbids any party of the agreement from landing on the remains of Installation 04[10] and a 500 light-second exclusion zone was established around Threshold, with both Sangheili and human warships patrolling the region.[11] However, Sangheili and UNSC forces continue to monitor Installation 07 and worked together to prevent potential Flood outbreaks,[12] while the UNSC has established research facilities orbiting Installations 03 and 05.[13] Regions of space held cooperatively between the Unified Earth Government and the Swords of Sanghelios, called Joint Occupation Zones, were established,[14] as were research and military pacts formed between the two governments.[15] Terrorist groups and splinter cells continued to directly violate the treaty's terms by attacking the parties of the treaty.[2][10]
History[edit]
The Human-Covenant War lasted just over twenty-eight years. The war, primarily occurring in the Orion Arm of the Milky Way galaxy, led to the destruction of a majority of the Unified Earth Government's colonies, over 23 billion human causalities,[16] and the dissolution of the massive Covenant empire. In the final year of the war, the remaining Hierarchs of the Covenant replaced the Sangheili with the Jiralhanae in an effort to gain an unquestioning military.[17] This led to the Great Schism and the entire Sangheili species was ejected from the Covenant. The most organized group of Sangheili was led by Arbiter Thel 'Vadam and Special Operations Commander Rtas 'Vadum. Recognizing that the Sangheili were too disorganized to properly seek revenge against the Covenant, 'Vadam and 'Vadum reluctantly agreed to work together with members of the UEG's United Nations Space Command to defeat the Covenant.[18] Initially, however, there was no truce between humanity and the Sangheili species at large; at the onset of the Great Schism, the Sangheili on High Charity continued to engage both Covenant and UNSC forces in the midst of the confusion, additionally Xytan 'Jar Wattinree's forces at Joyous Exultation remained hostile to both Covenant and UNSC as well.[19] Ultimately, the UNSC and the Sangheili Fleet of Retribution were able to work together to dissolve the Covenant at Installation 00 and stop a potential galactic Flood outbreak.[3][20] With the war over, relative peace was finally seen by humanity for the first time in years. Fleet Admiral Lord Terrence Hood was invited to Sanghelios by the Arbiter to formalize the peace treaty between the UEG and the newly established Swords of Sanghelios, ratifying the Treaty of 2552.[1] The official treaty was signed and ratified by Hood and 'Vadam. On March 3, 2553, 'Vadam and 'Vadum were invited to Earth for the Voi Memorial, a tribute to the soldiers that lost their lives in the war.[3][21]
After the signing of the treaty, the Arbiter traveled across Sanghelios and visited each state to make his case for permanent peace with humanity throughout early 2553. He reminded the Sangheili that if anyone disagreed with him, they could attempt an assassination as per Sangheili tradition.[1] In