[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 131 (Wednesday, October 18, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10664-S10666]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



   TREATY WITH UKRAINE ON MUTUAL LEGAL ASSISTANCE IN CRIMINAL MATTERS

  The resolution of ratification was read as follows:

       Resolved, (two thirds of the Senators present concurring 
     therein), That the Senate advise and consent to the 
     ratification of the Treaty Between the Government of the 
     United States of America and Ukraine on Mutual Legal 
     Assistance in Criminal Matters, signed at Kiev on July 22, 
     1998 (Treaty Doc. 106-16), subject to the understanding of 
     subsection (a), the declaration of subsection (b) and the 
     provisos of subsection (c).
       (a) Understanding.--The Senate's advice and consent is 
     subject to the following understanding, which shall be 
     included in the instrument of ratification:
       Prohibition on assistance to the international criminal 
     court.--The United States shall exercise its rights to limit 
     the use of assistance it provides under the Treaty so that 
     any assistance provided by the Government of the United 
     States shall not be transferred to or otherwise used to 
     assist the International Criminal Court contemplated in the 
     Statute adopted in Rome, Italy, on July 17, 1998, unless the 
     Statute establishing that Court has entered into force for 
     the United States by and with the advice and consent of the 
     Senate, as required by Article II, section 2 of the United 
     States Constitution.
       (b) Declaration.--The Senate's advice and consent is 
     subject to the following declaration, which shall be binding 
     on the President:
       Treaty interpretation.--The Senate affirms the 
     applicability to all treaties of the constitutionally based 
     principles of treaty interpretation set forth in Condition 
     (1) of the resolution of ratification of the INF Treaty, 
     approved by the Senate on May 27, 1988, and Condition (8) of 
     the resolution of ratification of the Document Agreed Among 
     the States Parties to the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces 
     in Europe, approved by the Senate on May 14, 1997.
       (c) Provisos.--The resolution of ratification is subject to 
     the following provisos, which shall not be included in the 
     instrument of ratification to be signed by the President:
       (1) Limitation on assistance.--Pursuant to the rights of 
     the United States under this Treaty to deny requests which 
     prejudice its essential public policy or interests, the 
     United States shall deny a request for assistance when the 
     Central Authorities, after consultation with all appropriate 
     intelligence, anti-narcotic, and foreign policy agencies, has 
     specific information that a senior government official who 
     will have access to information to be provided under this 
     Treaty is engaged in a felony, including the facilitation of 
     the production or distribution of illegal drugs.
       (2) Supremacy of the constitution.--Nothing in this Treaty 
     requires or authorizes legislation or other action by the 
     United States of America that is prohibited by the 
     Constitution of the United States as interpreted by the 
     United States.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. A division has been requested.
  Senators in favor of the ratification of this treaty, please raise 
their hand. (After a pause.) Those opposed will raise their hands.
  With two-thirds of the Senators present having voted in the 
affirmative, the resolution of ratification is agreed to.

INTER-AMERICAN CONVENTION ON MUTUAL ASSISTANCE IN CRIMINAL MATTERS WITH 
                       RELATED OPTIONAL PROTOCOL

  The resolution of ratification was read as follows:

       Resolved, (two thirds of the Senators present concurring 
     therein), That the Senate advise and consent to the 
     ratification of the Inter-American Convention on Mutual 
     Assistance in Criminal Matters (``the Convention''), adopted 
     at the Twenty-Second Regular Session of the Organization of 
     American States (``OAS'') General Assembly meeting in Nassau, 
     The Bahamas, on May 23, 1992, and the Optional Protocol 
     Related to the Inter-American Convention on Mutual Assistance 
     in Criminal Matters (``the Optional Protocol''), adopted at 
     the Twenty-Third Regular Session of the OAS General Assembly

[[Page S10665]]

     meeting in Managua, Nicaragua, on June 11, 1993, both 
     instruments signed on behalf of the United States at OAS 
     Headquarters in Washington on January 10, 1995 (Treaty Doc. 
     105-25), subject to the understandings of subsection (a), the 
     declaration of subsection (b) and the proviso of subsection 
     (c).
       (a) Understandings.--The Senate's advice and consent is 
     subject to the following understanding, which shall be 
     included in the instrument of ratification:
       (1) In general.--The United States understands that the 
     Convention and Optional Protocol are not intended to replace, 
     supersede, obviate or otherwise interfere with any other 
     existing bilateral or multilateral treaties or conventions, 
     including those that relate to mutual assistance in criminal 
     matters.
       (2) Article 25.--The United States understands that Article 
     25 of the Convention, which limits disclosure or use of 
     information or evidence obtained under the Convention, shall 
     no longer apply if such information or evidence is made 
     public, in a manner consistent with Article 25, in the course 
     of proceedings in the Requesting State.
       (3) Prohibition on assistance to the international criminal 
     court.--The United States shall exercise its rights to limit 
     the use of assistance it may provide under the Convention 
     and/or Optional Protocol so that any assistance provided by 
     the Government of the United States shall not be transferred 
     to or otherwise used to assist the International Criminal 
     Court contemplated in the Statute adopted in Rome, Italy, on 
     July 17, 1998, unless the Statute establishing that Court has 
     entered into force for the United States by and with the 
     advice and consent of the Senate, as required by Article II, 
     section 2 of the United States Constitution.
       (b) Declaration.--The Senate's advice and consent is 
     subject to the following declaration, which shall be binding 
     upon the President:
       Treaty interpretation.--The Senate affirms the 
     applicability to all treaties of the constitutionally based 
     principles of treaty interpretation set forth in Condition 
     (1) of the resolution of ratification of the INF Treaty, 
     approved by the Senate on May 27, 1988, and Condition (8) of 
     the resolution of ratification of the Document Agreed Among 
     the States Parties to the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces 
     in Europe, approved by the Senate on May 14, 1997.
       (c) Proviso.--The resolution of ratification is subject to 
     the following proviso, which shall not be included in the 
     instrument of ratification to be signed by the President:
       Supremacy of the constitution.--Nothing in this Convention 
     or the Optional Protocol requires or authorizes legislation 
     or other action by the United States of America that is 
     prohibited by the Constitution of the United States as 
     interpreted by the United States.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. A division has been requested.
  Senators in favor of the ratification of this treaty, please raise 
their hand. (After a pause.) Those opposed will raise their hands.
  With two-thirds of the Senators present having voted in the 
affirmative, the resolution of ratification is agreed to.

   UNITED NATIONS CONVENTION TO COMBAT DESERTIFICATION IN COUNTRIES 
       EXPERIENCING DROUGHT, PARTICULARLY IN AFRICA, WITH ANNEXES

  The resolution of ratification was read as follows:

       Resolved, (two thirds of the Senators present concurring 
     therein), That the Senate advise and consent to the 
     ratification of the United States Convention to Combat 
     Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing Serious 
     Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa, With 
     Annexes, adopted at Paris, June 17, 1994, and signed by the 
     United States on October 14, 1994, (Treaty Doc. 104-29) 
     (hereinafter, ``The Convention''), subject to the 
     understandings of subsection (a), the declarations of 
     subsection (b) and the provisos of subsection (c).
       (a) Understandings.--The advice and consent of the Senate 
     is subject to the following understandings, which shall be 
     included in the instrument of ratification of the Convention 
     and shall be binding on the President:
       (1) Foreign assistance.--The United States understands 
     that, as a ``developed country,'' pursuant to Article 6 of 
     the Convention and its Annexes, it is not obligated to 
     satisfy specific funding requirements or other specific 
     requirements regarding the provision of any resource, 
     including technology, to any ``affected country,'' as defined 
     in Article 1 of the Convention. The United States understands 
     that ratification of the Convention does not alter its 
     domestic legal processes to determine foreign assistance 
     funding or programs.
       (2) Financial resources and mechanism.--The United States 
     understands that neither Article 20 nor Article 21 of the 
     Convention impose obligations to provide specific levels of 
     funding for the Global Environmental Facility, or the Global 
     Mechanism, to carry out the objectives of the Convention, or 
     for any other purpose.
       (3) United states land management.--The United States 
     understands that it is a ``developed country party'' as 
     defined in Article 1 of the Convention, and that it is not 
     required to prepare a national action program pursuant to 
     Part III, Section 1, of the Convention. The United States 
     also understands that no changes to its existing land 
     management practices and programs will be required to meet 
     its obligations under Articles 4 or 5 of the Convention.
       (4) Legal process for amending the convention.--In 
     accordance with Article 34(4), any additional regional 
     implementation annex to the Convention or any amendment to 
     any regional implementation annex to the Convention shall 
     enter into force for the United States only upon the deposit 
     of a corresponding instrument of ratification, acceptance, 
     approval or accession.
       (5) Dispute settlement.--The United States declines to 
     accept as compulsory either of the dispute settlement means 
     set out in Article 28(2), and understands that it will not be 
     bound by the outcome, findings, conclusions or 
     recommendations of a conciliation process initiated under 
     Article 28(6). For any dispute arising from this Convention, 
     the United States does not recognize or accept the 
     jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice.
       (b) Declarations.--The Senate's advice and consent is 
     subject to the following declarations, which shall be binding 
     on the President:
       (1) Consultations.--It is the sense of the Senate that the 
     Executive Branch should consult with the Committee on Foreign 
     Relations of the Senate about the possibility of United 
     States participation in future negotiations concerning this 
     Convention, and in particular, negotiation of any Protocols 
     to this Convention.
       (2) Treaty interpretation.--The Senate affirms the 
     applicability to all treaties of the constitutionally based 
     principles of treaty interpretation set forth in Condition 
     (1) of the resolution of ratification of the INF Treaty, 
     approved by the Senate on May 27, 1988, and Condition (8) of 
     the resolution of ratification of the Document Agreed Among 
     the State Parties to the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces 
     in Europe, approved by the Senate on May 14, 1997.
       (3) Adoption of no reservation provision.--It is the sense 
     of the Senate that the ``no reservations'' provision 
     contained in Article 37 of the Convention has the effect of 
     inhibiting the Senate in its exercise of its constitutional 
     duty to give advice and consent to ratification of a treaty, 
     and that the Senate's approval of the Convention should not 
     be construed as a precedent for acquiescence to future 
     treaties containing such provisions.
       (c) Provisos.--The advice and consent of the Senate is 
     subject to the following provisos:
       (1) Report to congress.--Two years after the date the 
     Convention enters into force for the United States, and 
     biennially thereafter, the Secretary of State shall provide a 
     report to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate 
     setting forth the following:
       (i) a description of the programs in each affected country 
     party designed to implement the Convention, including a list 
     of community-based non-governmental organizations involved, a 
     list of amounts of funding provided by the national 
     government and each international donor country, and the 
     projected date for full implementation of the national action 
     program;
       (ii) an assessment of the adequacy of each national action 
     program (including the timeliness of program submittal), the 
     degree to which the plan attempts to fully implement the 
     Convention, the degree of involvements by all levels of 
     government in implementation of the Convention, and the 
     percentage of government revenues expended on implementation 
     of the Convention;
       (iii) a list of United States persons designated as 
     independent experts pursuant to Article 24 of the Convention, 
     and a description of the process for mailing such 
     designations;
       (iv) an identification of the specific benefits to the 
     United States, as well as United States persons, (including 
     United States exporters and other commercial enterprises), 
     resulting from United States participation in the Convention;
       (v) a detailed description of the staffing levels and 
     budget of the Permanent Secretariat established pursuant to 
     Article 23;
       (vi) a breakdown of all direct and indirect United States 
     contributions to the Permanent Secretariat, and a statement 
     of the number of United States citizens who are staff members 
     or contract employees of the Permanent Secretariat;
       (vii) a list of affected party countries that have become 
     developed countries, within the meaning of the Convention; 
     and
       (viii) for each affected party country, a discussion of 
     results (including discussion of specific successes and 
     failures) flowing from national action plans generated under 
     the Convention.
       (2) Supremacy of the constitution.--Nothing in the 
     Convention requires or authorizes legislation or other action 
     by the United States of America that is prohibited by the 
     Constitution of the United States as interpreted by the 
     United States.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. A division has been requested.
  Senators in favor of the ratification of this treaty, please raise 
their hand. (After a pause.) Those opposed will raise their hands.
  With two-thirds of the Senators present having voted in the 
affirmative, the resolution of ratification is agreed to.

[[Page S10666]]