[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 9]
[Senate]
[Page 12719]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




REMOVAL OF INJUNCTION OF SECRECY--TREATY DOCUMENTS NUMBERED 107-9, 107-
                             10, AND 107-11

  Mr. REID. Madam President, as in executive session, I ask unanimous 
consent that the injunction of secrecy be removed from the following 
treaty, agreement, and protocol transmitted to the Senate on July 11, 
2002, by the President of the United States:
  Treaty with Ireland on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters--
Treaty Document No. 107-9;
  Agreement with Russian Federation concerning Polar Bear Population--
Treaty Document No. 107-10;
  Second Protocol Amending the Extradition Treaty with Canada--Treaty 
Document No. 107-11.
  I further ask that the treaty, agreement, and protocol be considered 
as having been read the first time; that they be referred, with 
accompanying papers, to the Committee on Foreign Relations and ordered 
to be printed; and that the President's messages be printed in the 
Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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 between the Government 
of the United States of America and the Government of Ireland on Mutual 
Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters, signed at Washington on January 
18, 2001. I transmit also, for the information of the Senate, the 
report of the Department of State with respect to the Treaty.
  The Treaty is one of a series of modern mutual legal assistance 
treaties being negotiated by the United States in order to counter 
criminal activities more effectively. The Treaty should be an effective 
tool to assist in the prosecution of a wide variety of crimes, 
including terrorism, drug trafficking, fraud, and other white-collar 
offenses. The Treaty is self-executing.
  The Treaty provides for a broad range of cooperation in criminal 
matters. Mutual assistance available under the Treaty includes: taking 
the testimony or statements of persons; providing documents, records, 
and articles of evidence; locating or identifying persons; serving 
documents; transferring persons in custody for testimony or other 
purposes; executing requests for searches and seizures; identifying, 
tracing, freezing, seizing, and forfeiting the proceeds and 
instrumentalities of crime and assistance in related proceedings; and 
such other assistance as may be agreed.
  I recommend that the Senate give early and favorable consideration to 
the Treaty and give its advice and consent to ratification.
                                                      George W. Bush.  
The White House, July 11, 2002.
                                  ____

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 between the Government 
of the United States of America and the Government of the Russian 
Federation on the Conservation and Management of the Alaska-Chukotka 
Polar Bear Population done at Washington on October 16, 2000 (the 
``U.S.-Russia Agreement''). I also transmit, for the information of the 
Senate, the report of the Department of State with respect to that 
Agreement.
  The U.S.-Russia Agreement provides legal protections for this 
population of polar bears in addition to those found in the Agreement 
on the Conservation of Polar Bears done at Oslo, November 13, 1973 (the 
``1973 Agreement''), which was a significant, early step in the 
international conservation of polar bears. The 1973 Agreement is a 
multilateral treaty to which the United States and Russia are parties. 
(The other parties are Norway, Canada, and Denmark.) The 1973 Agreement 
provides authority for the maintenance of a subsistence harvest of 
polar bears and provides for habitat conservation.
  The proposed U.S.-Russia Agreement, which would operate as a free-
standing treaty separate from the 1973 Agreement, is the culmination of 
an 8-year effort. The U.S.-Russia Agreement builds on the 1973 
Agreement to establish a common legal, scientific, and administrative 
frame work for the conservation and management of the Alaska-Chukotka 
polar bear population, which is shared by the United States and the 
Russian Federation. For example, the U.S.-Russia Agreement provides a 
definition of ``sustainable harvest'' that will help the United States 
and Russia to implement polar bear conservation measures while 
safeguarding the interests of native people. In addition, the U.S.-
Russia Agreement establishes the U.S.-Russia Polar Bear Commission, 
which would function as the bilateral managing authority to make 
scientific determinations, establish taking limits, and carry out other 
responsibilities under the terms of the U.S.-Russia Agreement. The 
proposed U.S.-Russia Agreement would strengthen the conservation of our 
shared polar bear population through a coordinated sustainable harvest 
management program.
  Early ratification of the U.S.-Russia Agreement by the United States 
will reinforce our leadership role in international conservation of 
marine mammals and will encourage similar conservation action by other 
countries. I recommend that the Senate give early and favorable 
consideration to this Agreement and give its advice and consent to 
ratification.
                                                      George W. Bush.  
The White House, July 11, 2002.
                                  ____

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 Second Protocol Amending the 
Treaty on Extradition Between the Government of the United States of 
America and the Government of Canada, as amended, signed at Ottawa on 
January 12, 2001. In addition, I transmit, for the information of the 
Senate, the report of the Department of State with respect to the 
Second Protocol. As the report explains, the Second Protocol will not 
require implementing legislation.
  The Second Protocol amends the Extradition Treaty Between the United 
States of America and Canada, signed at Washington on December 3, 1971, 
as amended by an Exchange of Notes of June 28 and July 9, 1974, and by 
a Protocol signed at Ottawa on January 11, 1988.
  The Second Protocol, upon entry into force, will enhance cooperation 
between the law enforcement communities of both nations. The Second 
Protocol incorporates into the U.S.-Canada Extradition Treaty a 
provision on temporary surrender of persons that is a standard 
provision in more recent U.S. bilateral extradition treaties. It also 
provides for new authentication requirements for documentary evidence, 
which should streamline the processing of extradition requests.
  I recommend that the Senate give early and favorable consideration to 
the Second Protocol and give its advice and consent to ratification.
                                                      George W. Bush.  
The White House, July 11, 2002.

                          ____________________