[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 147 (Monday, October 1, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Page S12385]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        REMOVAL OF INJUNCTION OF SECRECY--TREATY DOCUMENT 110-8

  Mr. BROWN. Mr. President, as in executive session, I ask unanimous 
consent that the injunction of secrecy be removed from the following 
treaty transmitted to the Senate on October 1, 2007, by the President 
of the United States:
  Protocols of 2005, the Convention concerning Safety of Maritime 
Navigation and to the Protocol concerning Safety of Fixed Platforms on 
the Continental Shelf (Treaty Document 110-8).
  I further 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 Protocol of 2005 to the 
Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of 
Maritime Navigation (the ``2005 SUA Protocol'') and the Protocol of 
2005 to the Protocol for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the 
Safety of Fixed Platforms Located on the Continental Shelf (the ``2005 
Fixed Platforms Protocol'') (together, ``the Protocols''), adopted by 
the International Maritime Organization Diplomatic Conference in London 
on October 14, 2005, and signed by the United States of America on 
February 17, 2006. I also transmit, for the information of the Senate, 
the report of the Department of State with respect to the Protocols.
  The Protocols are an important component in the international 
campaign to prevent and punish maritime terrorism and the proliferation 
of weapons of mass destruction and promote the aims of the 
Proliferation Security Initiative. They establish a legal basis for 
international cooperation in the investigation, prosecution, and 
extradition of those who commit or aid terrorist acts or trafficking in 
weapons of mass destruction aboard ships at sea or on fixed platforms.
  The Protocols establish the first international treaty framework for 
criminalizing certain terrorist acts, including using a ship or fixed 
platform in a terrorist activity, transporting weapons of mass 
destruction or their delivery systems and related materials, and 
transporting terrorist fugitives. The Protocols require Parties to 
criminalize these acts under their domestic laws, to cooperate to 
prevent and investigate suspected crimes under the Protocols, and to 
extradite or submit for prosecution persons accused of committing, 
attempting to commit, or aiding in the commission of such offenses. The 
2005 SUA Protocol also provides for a ship-boarding regime based on 
flag state consent that will provide an international legal basis for 
interdiction at sea of weapons of mass destruction, their delivery 
systems and related materials, and terrorist fugitives.
  I recommend that the Senate give early and favorable consideration to 
the Protocols, subject to certain under-standings that are described in 
the accompanying report of the Department of State.
                                                      George W. Bush.  
The White House, October 1, 2007.

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