[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 9]
[Senate]
[Page 11868]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




      REMOVAL OF INJUNCTION OF SECRECY--TREATY DOCUMENT NO. 109-10

  Mr. SESSIONS. 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 June 20, 2006, by the President of 
the United States:
  Protocol III to 1949 Geneva Convention and an Amendment and Protocol 
to 1980 Conventional Weapons Convention (Treaty Document No. 109-10).
  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 Additional to the 
Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the Adoption of 
an Additional Distinctive Emblem (the ``Geneva Protocol III''), adopted 
at Geneva on December 8, 2005, and signed by the United States on that 
date; the Amendment to Article 1 of the Convention on Prohibitions or 
Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons Which May be 
Deemed to be Excessively Injurious or to Have Indiscriminate Effects 
(the ``CCW Amendment''); and the CCW Protocol on Explosive Remnants of 
War (the ``CCW Protocol V''). I transmit, for the information of the 
Senate, the report of the Department of State concerning these 
treaties.
  Geneva Protocol III. Geneva Protocol III creates a new distinctive 
emblem, a Red Crystal, in addition to and for the same purposes as the 
Red Cross and the Red Crescent emblems. The Red Crystal is a neutral 
emblem that can be employed by governments and national societies that 
face challenges using the existing emblems. In addition, Geneva 
Protocol III will pave the way for Magen David Adorn, Israel's national 
society, to achieve membership in the International Red Cross and Red 
Crescent Movement. Legislation implementing Geneva Protocol III will be 
submitted to the Congress separately.
  CCW amendment. The amendment to Article 1 of the CCW, which was 
adopted at Geneva on December 21, 2001, eliminates the distinction 
between international and non-international armed conflict for the 
purposes of the rules governing the prohibitions and restrictions on 
the use of certain conventional weapons. It does not change the legal 
status of rebel or insurgent groups into that of protected or 
privileged belligerents.
  CCW Protocol V. CCW Protocol V, which was adopted at Geneva on 
November 28, 2003, addresses the post-conflict threat generated by 
conventional munitions such as mortar shells, grenades, artillery 
rounds, and bombs that do not explode as intended or that are 
abandoned. CCW Protocol V provides for the marking, clearance, removal, 
and destruction of such remnants by the party in control of the 
territory in which the munitions are located.
  Conclusion. I urge the Senate to give prompt and favorable 
consideration to each of these instruments and to give its advice and 
consent to their ratification. These treaties are in the interest of 
the United States, and their ratification would advance the 
longstanding and historic leadership of the United States in the law of 
armed conflict.
                                                      George W. Bush.  
The White House, June 19, 2006.

                          ____________________