[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 66 (Thursday, April 5, 2001)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 18035-18036]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-8506]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 66 / Thursday, April 5, 2001 / 
Presidential Documents  

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 Title 3--
 The President

[[Page 18035]]

                Proclamation 7420 of April 2, 2001

                
Pan American Day and Pan American Week, 2001

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                This year on Pan American Day and during Pan American 
                Week, the nations of the Americas celebrate the 
                progress we have made toward our collective goal of a 
                hemisphere united in freedom and democracy.

                The United States and our neighboring countries in the 
                Western Hemisphere have a long history of cooperation. 
                Simon Bolivar first convened the Congress of Panama in 
                1826 with the intention of creating an association of 
                states in the hemisphere. In 1890, a Pan American 
                conference established the International Union of 
                American Republics. The Union eventually became the 
                Organization of American States (OAS), which continues 
                to faith fully serve its member states. The OAS 
                charter, in affirming the shared commitment, states 
                that ``the true significance of American solidarity and 
                good neighborliness can only mean the consolidation . . 
                . of a system of individual liberty and social justice 
                based on respect for the essential rights of man.''

                Today, we remain united through mutual interests and 
                the hope for a better future for our people. This month 
                I will join the democratically elected leaders of the 
                hemisphere in Quebec City for the third Summit of the 
                Americas. At this conference, we will build on efforts 
                at previous Summits to promote our shared objectives of 
                representative democracy, free trade, and using the 
                power of free markets to better the lives of the poor. 
                We will also build on our mutual interest in 
                encouraging respect for human rights and improving 
                relations among all the countries of the hemisphere.

                Even with our significant progress, however, challenges 
                remain. Cuba is the only country in the hemisphere that 
                will be missing from the Quebec Summit. It is my 
                sincere hope that our neighbor will soon rejoin the 
                fraternity of democracies and that the Cuban people 
                will again know freedom.

                During Pan American Week and the Summit of the 
                Americas, we reflect on and renew our common dedication 
                to ensuring that the benefits of development are 
                broadly shared. We also look forward to building even 
                closer relationships among our countries for the sake 
                of future generations. We have a responsibility to 
                leave our children a hemisphere that honors the 
                commitment of our predecessors, strengthening bonds 
                that connect us as nations and as people. We want to 
                make this the Century of the Americas.

[[Page 18036]]

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the 
                United States of America, by virtue of the authority 
                vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United 
                States, do hereby proclaim April 14, 2001, as Pan 
                American Day and April 8 through April 14, 2001, as Pan 
                American Week. I call upon all the people of the United 
                States to observe this day and week with appropriate 
                ceremonies and activities.

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                second day of April, in the year of our Lord two 
                thousand one, and of the Independence of the United 
                States of America the two hundred and twenty-fifth.

                    (Presidential Sig.)B

[FR Doc. 01-8506
Filed 3-4-01; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3195-01-P