[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 70 (Wednesday, June 8, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: June 8, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                 TREATY REPORTED DURING THE ADJOURNMENT

  Under authority of an order of the Senate of May 18, 1994, Mr. Pell, 
for the Committee on Foreign Relations, reported favorably on June 2, 
1994, the following treaty, together with a recommended resolution of 
advice and consent to ratification with three reservations, an 
understanding, a declaration, and a proviso, and with a printed 
report--Ex. Report. 103-29: International Convention on the Elimination 
of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Ex. C, 95-2).
  The text of the ratification resolution as reported by the committee:

       Resolved (two-thirds of the Senators present concurring 
     therein), That the Senate advise and consent to the 
     ratification of the International Convention on the 
     Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, adopted by 
     the United Nations General Assembly on December 21, 1965 and 
     signed on behalf of the United States on September 28, 1966 
     (Executive C, 95-2), subject to the following Reservations, 
     Understanding, Declaration, and Proviso:
       I. The Senate's advice and consent is subject to the 
     following reservations:
       (1) That the Constitution and laws of the United States 
     contain extensive protections of individual freedom of 
     speech, expression and association. Accordingly, the United 
     States does not accept any obligation under this Convention, 
     in particular under Articles 4 and 7, to restrict those 
     rights, through the adoption of legislation or any other 
     measures, to the extent that they are protected by the 
     Constitution and laws of the United States.
       (2) That the Constitution and laws of the United States 
     establish extensive protections against discrimination, 
     reaching significant areas of non-governmental activity. 
     Individual privacy and freedom from governmental interference 
     in private conduct, however, are also recognized as among the 
     fundamental values which shape our free and democratic 
     society. The United States understands that the 
     identification of the rights protected under the Convention 
     by reference in Article 1 to fields of ``public life'' 
     reflects a similar distinction between spheres of public 
     conduct that are customarily the subject of governmental 
     regulation, and spheres of private conduct that are not. To 
     the extent, however, that the Convention calls for a broader 
     regulation of private conduct, the United States does not 
     accept any obligation under this Convention to enact 
     legislation or take other measures under paragraph (1) of 
     Article 2, subparagraphs (1) (c) and (d) of Article 2, 
     Article 3 and Article 5 with respect to private conduct 
     except as mandated by the Constitution and laws of the United 
     States.
       (3) That with reference to Article 22 of the Convention, 
     before any dispute to which the United States is a party may 
     be submitted to the jurisdiction of the International Court 
     of Justice under this article, the specific consent of the 
     United States is required in each case.
       II. The Senate's advice and consent is subject to the 
     following understanding, which shall apply to the obligations 
     of the United States under this Convention:
       That the United States understands that this Convention 
     shall be implemented by the Federal Government to the extent 
     that it exercises jurisdiction over the matters covered 
     therein, and otherwise by the state and local governments. To 
     the extent that state and local governments exercise 
     jurisdiction over such matters, the Federal Government shall, 
     as necessary, take appropriate measures to ensure the 
     fulfillment of this Convention.
       III. The Senate's advice and consent is subject to the 
     following declaration:
       That the United States declares that the provisions of the 
     Convention are not self-executing.
       IV. The Senate's advice and consent is subject to the 
     following proviso, which shall not be included in the 
     instrument of ratification to be deposited by the President:
       Nothing in this Convention requires or authorizes 
     legislation, or other action, by the United States of America 
     prohibited by the Constitution of the United States as 
     interpreted by the United States.

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