[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 58 (Thursday, May 12, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: May 12, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
     REMOVAL OF INJUNCTION OF SECRECRY--TREATY DOCUMENT NO. 103-25

  Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, as in executive session, I ask unanimous 
consent that the injunction of secrecy be removed from the Convention 
on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional 
Weapons (Treaty Document No. 103-25), transmitted to the Senate by the 
President today; and ask that the treaty be considered as having been 
read the first time; that it be referred, with accompanying papers, to 
the Committee on Foreign Relations and ordered to printed; and that the 
President's message be printed in the Record.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The message of the President is as follows:

To the Senate of the United States:
  I transmit herewith, for the advice and consent of the Senate to 
ratification, the Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use 
of Certain Conventional Weapons Which May Be Deemed To Be Excessively 
Injurious or To Have Indiscriminate Effects (the Convention), and two 
accompanying Protocols on Non-Detectable Fragments (Protocol I) and on 
Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Mines, Booby-Traps and Other 
Devices (Protocol II). Also transmitted for the information of the 
Senate is the report of the Department of State with respect to the 
Convention and its Protocols.
  The Convention was concluded at Geneva on October 10, 1980, was 
signed by the United States on April 8, 1982, and entered into force on 
December 2, 1983. More than 30 countries have become Party to the 
Convention. It constitutes a modest but significant humanitarian effort 
to protect the victims of armed conflict from the effects of particular 
weapons. It will supplement prohibitions or restrictions on the use of 
weapons contained in existing treaties and customary international law, 
including the prohibition on the use in war of chemical and 
bacteriological weapons in the Geneva Protocol of June 17, 1925. It 
will provide a basis for effective controls on the widespread and 
indiscriminate use of landmines, which have caused widespread civilian 
casualties in recent conflicts.
  The Convention and its Protocols restrict, for humanitarian reasons, 
the use in armed conflicts of three specific types of conventional 
weapons. Protocol I prohibits the use of weapons that rely on fragments 
not detectable by X-rays. Protocol II regulates the use of landmines 
and similar devices for the purpose of reducing the danger to the 
civilian population caused by the indiscriminate use of such weapons, 
and prohibits certain types of booby-traps. Protocol III restricts the 
use of incendiary weapons in populated areas.
  The United States signed the Convention on April 8, 1982. Since then, 
it has been subject to detailed interagency reviews. Based on these 
reviews, I have concluded that the United States should become a Party 
to the Convention and to its Protocols I and II. As described in the 
report of the Secretary of State, there are concerns about the 
acceptability of Protocol III from a military point of view that 
require further examination. I therefore recommend that in the meantime 
the United States exercise its right under Article 4 of the Convention 
to accept only Protocols I and II.
  I believe that United States ratification of the Convention and its 
Protocols I and II will underscore our commitment to the principle that 
belligerents must refrain from weapons or methods of warfare that are 
inhumane or unnecessary from a military standpoint. I am also mindful 
of the strong sense of the Congress that the Convention should be 
submitted to the Senate for advice and consent to ratification, as 
evidenced in section 1365 of the National Defense Authorization Act for 
Fiscal Year 1993 (October 23, 1992, Public Law 102-484) and section 
1423 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1994 
(November 30, 1993, Public Law 103-160).
  More specifically, by becoming Party, we will encourage the 
observance by other countries of restrictions on landmines and other 
weapons that U.S. Armed Forces and those of our allies already observe 
as a matter of humanity, common sense, and sound military doctrine. The 
United States will be able to take the lead in negotiating improvements 
to the Mines Protocol so as to deal more effectively with the immense 
threat to the civilian population caused by the indiscriminate use of 
those weapons. It will strengthen our efforts to encourage adoption of 
a moratorium on export of all anti-personnel landmines.
  I therefore recommend that the Senate give early and favorable 
consideration to the Convention and its Protocols I and II and give its 
advice and consent to ratification subject to the conditions contained 
in the report of the Department of State.
                                                  William J. Clinton.  
  The White House, May 12, 1994.
  Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. MITCHELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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