[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 21 (Tuesday, February 20, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1282-S1283]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      REMOVAL OF INJUNCTION OF SECRECY--TREATY DOCUMENT NO. 104-24

  Mr. LOTT. As in executive session, Mr. President, I ask unanimous 
consent that the injunction of secrecy be removed from the Agreement 
for the Implementation of the Provisions of the United Nations 
Convention on the Law of the Sea of December 10, 1982, relating to the 
conservation and management of straddling fish stocks and highly 
migratory fish stocks, with annexes, which was adopted by the U.N. 
headquarters in New York by consensus of the U.N. Conference on 
Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks on August 4, 
1995, and signed by the United States on December 4, 1995, (Treaty 
Document 104-24), transmitted to the Senate by the President on 
February 20, 1996; 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 be 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:
  With a view to receiving the advice and consent of the Senate to 
ratification, I transmit herewith the Agreement for the Implementation 
of the Provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the 
Sea of 10 December 1982 Relating to the Conservation and Management of 
Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks, with Annexes 
(``the Agreement''), which was adopted at United Nations Headquarters 
in New York by consensus of the United Nations Conference on Straddling 
Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks on August 4, 1995, and 
signed by the United 

[[Page S1283]]
States on December 4, 1995. I also transmit, for the information of the 
Senate, the report of the Secretary of State with respect to the 
Agreement.
  The Agreement represents a considerable achievement for the United 
States in promoting better stewardship of living marine resources. It 
strikes a sound balance between the interests of coastal States in 
protecting offshore fishery resources and those of States whose fishing 
vessels operate on the high seas. If widely ratified and properly 
implemented, the Agreement should significantly improve the prospects 
for sustainable fisheries worldwide.
  The Agreement builds directly upon, and strengthens, the fishery 
provisions contained in the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law 
of the Sea (``the Convention''), which I transmitted to the Senate for 
advice and consent on October 6, 1994. As such, the Agreement further 
reflects the central role of the Convention in governing the maritime 
relations of the international community.
  Perhaps more than any other nation, the United States stands to 
benefit from widespread adherence to this Agreement. The Agreement will 
help to ensure that the harvesting of fish by vessels of other nations 
in waters beyond our exclusive economic zone does not undermine our 
domestic management of fisheries within the U.S. jurisdiction. In 
addition, by promoting sound conservation practices generally, the 
Agreement can restore and maintain productive ocean fisheries for the 
benefit of American consumers and for U.S. fishing vessels wherever 
they operate.
  With regard to disputes concerning the interpretation or application 
of the Agreement, I intend to choose a special arbitral tribunal 
constituted in accordance with Annex VIII of the Convention, as 
recommended in the accompanying report of the Department of State.
  I recommend that the Senate give early and favorable consideration to 
the Agreement and give its advice and consent to its ratification.
                                                  William J. Clinton.  
  The White House, February 20, 1996.

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