[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1997, Book II)]
[November 14, 1997]
[Pages 1560-1561]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks at the Signing Ceremony for the Organization of American States 
Hemispheric Arms Trafficking Convention
November 14, 1997

    Thank you very much, Mr. Gurria, Secretary General Gaviria, 
President Zedillo, distinguished permanent representatives of the 
Organization of American States, to all my fellow Americans who are 
here, and especially to two Members of our Congress, Senator Dodd and 
Congressman Gilman.
    Today our 34 democracies are speaking with one voice, acting with 
one conviction, leading toward one goal, to stem the flow of illegal 
guns, ammunitions, and explosives in our hemisphere. Three years ago at 
the United Nations, the United States called on others to work with us 
to shut down the gray markets that outfit terrorists, drug traffickers, 
and criminals with guns.
    Here at home we have prohibited arms dealers from acting as 
middlemen for illicit sales overseas, strengthened residency 
requirements for gun purchasers, banned foreign visitors from buying 
guns here in the United States, tightened export licenses to make sure 
that legally exported weapons are not diverted to illegal uses. But in 
an era where our borders are all more open to the flow of legitimate 
commerce, problems like trafficking in weapons and explosives simply 
cannot be solved by one nation alone.
    Last May in Mexico, President Zedillo and I pledged to work together 
for a hemispherewide agreement to curb the illegal arms trade. I thank 
President Zedillo for Mexico's leadership. Mr. Secretary General, I 
thank you and the OAS member states for concluding this agreement in 
record time. We understand the magnitude of the problem. In the last 
year alone, thousands of handguns and rifles, hundreds of thousands of 
rounds of ammunition destined for illegal export have been seized in our 
nations.
    The illegal export of firearms is indeed not just a hemispheric but 
a worldwide problem and demands an international response. Last year, 
the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms received 
approximately 30,000 requests just from OAS member states to trace 
weapons used in crimes. Gun trafficking is an issue of national security 
for all of us and a matter of neighborhood security for the Americas.
    This convention will neither discourage nor diminish the lawful 
sale, ownership, or use of

[[Page 1561]]

guns, but it will help us to fight the unlawful trade in guns that 
contributes to the violence associated here in America with drugs and 
gangs.
    If we want also here in America to see the powerful trend of 
democracy and free markets and peace in our hemisphere continue, we must 
also help our neighbors to fight the illegal trade in guns so that the 
foundations of democracies will not be eroded by violent crime and 
corruption.
    Now, this convention mandates four key steps to achieve our common 
goals:
    First, it requires countries to establish and maintain a strong 
system of export, import, and international transit licenses for arms, 
ammunitions, and explosives to make sure that weapons won't move without 
explicit permission from all the countries concerned.
    Second, other nations will join us in putting markings on firearms, 
not only when they're made but also when they're imported. If guns are 
diverted from legal purposes, we will then be better able to trace their 
path and find out exactly when and how they got into the wrong hands.
    Third, nations will adopt laws that criminalize illicit arms 
production and sales as we have already done, so that those who seek to 
profit from illegal trade in guns know they will pay a stiff penalty in 
jail.
    Fourth, we will step up every level of information sharing from 
common routes used by arms traffickers to ways that smugglers are 
concealing their guns and tips on how to detect them. If we work 
together, we can put the black market in weapons out of business.
    Let me say in a larger sense to all of you that this agreement 
underscores the new spirit of the Americas and the new dynamism of this 
organization. The mood of the negotiations was not one of recrimination 
but of cooperation on behalf of a common goal. We need more of that. Our 
hemisphere is setting a new standard for the world in taking on global 
challenges, last year with our pathbreaking convention against 
corruption, today with this arms trafficking agreement. Together, we're 
showing the way of the 21st century world: democratic partners working 
together to improve the prosperity and security of all their people.
    I'm especially pleased to be joined today, and to join you today, 
with President Zedillo. The United States and Mexico are working hard to 
forge a true partnership founded on mutual respect, a partnership as 
broad as our border is long. We see it taking shape in the creation of 
NAFTA, in our common commitment to the firearms convention, in our 
alliance against drug-trafficking, in our work with other American 
nations to increase multilateral cooperation and strengthen our 
hemispheric institutions to combat the scourge of drugs.
    Over the last 2 days, the United States and Mexico have reached an 
agreement on extradition that will allow cross-border criminals to be 
tried in both countries while the evidence is still fresh. We've pledged 
to build a new Rio Grande bridge to help link our people together. We've 
taken an important step to fully demarcate our common border and agreed 
to promote environmental commercial cooperation. We've agreed also to 
work together to combat climate change, because developed and developing 
countries must reduce greenhouse gas emissions, together, that are 
warming the atmosphere.
    Witnessing the signing of this important convention, I am especially 
proud of the renewed vitality of the OAS and the renewed deep 
cooperation between the United States and Mexico. It can make a 
difference for our entire community of nations, to build a better, safer 
future for all our people.
    And now I'd like to ask you to join me in welcoming our good friend 
President Ernesto Zedillo of Mexico.

Note: The President spoke at 12:32 p.m. in the Hall of the Americas at 
the Organization of American States. In his remarks, he referred to Jose 
Angel Gurria, Mexican Secretary of Foreign Affairs; and Cesar Gaviria, 
Secretary General, Organization of American States.