Treaties have been a part of American life since its founding, to which the American government, for example, has signed treaties with its own native Indian tribes as well as signing treaties between sovereign nations, for all sorts of different things and with all sorts of conditions. Unfortunately, despite a treaty being willingly signed by all signatories, it is amazing how often that the treaty itself ends up not being worth the paper that it is written upon. The main problem with any treaty is that if a dispute within that treaty isn't mediated by a truly neutral party with the power to make and enforce a binding agreement onto all parties, than treaties will be subject to the possible abuse of degenerating into a case in which, the side that has the power, wins the dispute, and effectively nullifies the treaty and its original purpose.
A case in point is the treatment of the United States government against native Indian tribes in America, where in case after case, treaty conditions were ignored or nullified by our government, all in the overriding purpose of manifest destiny, greed, or convenience. It isn't fair nor is it a credit to America's greatness, if treaties or agreements are ignored, simply for expediency, so that the law of land is always overridden, when it is in the perceived best interests of the State to do so.
If the United States of America will not honor or live up to its obligations in regards to legally binding agreements or treaties, how is it possible to expect honor and respect from its own citizens. Unfortunately, too often in our treaties the United States has played a game of "might is right", so that this represents a total negation of what this country is suppose to stand for, which is equal justice equally applied to all.
America has a tendency to look around this great nation, and to essentially state: "look what we have accomplished by bending or breaking the rules, so that the end truly justifies the means," but that isn't the hollow ground that America was founded upon. Sadly, this appears to be the biased theorem that America rests upon, which if played out on a global basis, essentially means that agreements, treaties, and understandings between two or more parties are at best, guidelines to be considered, and at worse, to be actively subverted.
The whole point of a treaty or an agreement is for all parties to abide by it in principle and in its effects. If that isn't the case, than there isn't any real good reason to go through that exercise in the first place. The point of rule of law, is not that it only applies when you want it to apply, but that it applies equally at all times, whether you like it to or not.
A treaty is only as good as the honor and the respect of the signatories to it. Those, without honor, will deceive those of good faith which is a significant reason why we continue to live in a world, of strife, war, and injustice. The first step towards justice is the recognition that we are all in this, together, and the sooner that we recognize this, the sooner that we will find lasting peace.