History of Vietnam since 1945 between France and the Viet-Minh, paving the way for the French to leave Vietnam. The Geneva Conference of 1954 ended France's colonial presence in Vietnam and partitioned the country into two states at the 17th parallel pending unification on the basis of internationally supervised free elections. Ngô Đình Diệm, a former mandarin with a strong Catholic and Confucian background, was selected as Premier of the State of Vietnam by Bảo Đại. While Diệm was trying to settle the differences between the various armed militias in the South, Bảo Đại was persuaded to reduce his power. Diệm created a referendum in
Geneva Call their commitments. They cannot become parties to relevant international treaties, and are generally precluded from participating in norm-making processes. Consequently,they may not feel bound to abide by rules that they have neither put forward nor formally adhered to. Sometimes they are simply not aware of their obligations under IHL. The "Deed of Commitment" process gives them the opportunity to formally express their agreement to abide by humanitarian norms and take ownership of these rules. To date, Geneva Call has developed three such documents: Geneva Call’s mission is currently divided into four thematic issues: banning anti-personnel mines, protecting children in armed