[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 29, Number 15 (Monday, April 19, 1993)]
[Pages 591-592]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 6545--Pan American Day and Pan American Week, 1993

 April 14, 1993

By the President of the United States

of America

A Proclamation

    Five hundred years after the first Europeans began exploring the 
Americas, it is appropriate to reflect on our hemisphere's unique role 
in this rapidly changing world and to rediscover the peoples of the 
Americas. On Pan American Day, the people of the Americas pledge to 
renew the ties that make our relationship unique. We cherish our 
hemisphere's proud history as we look forward to a new era of 
cooperation between our countries and cultures.
    We have seen remarkable changes around the globe. The defeat of 
totalitarianism and the sweep of democratic and free market reforms have 
brought new opportunities and new challenges to the world. Progress 
toward political, economic, and social change has been dramatic in our 
own hemisphere.
    From North to South, more and more citizens of the Americas are 
enjoying the benefits of liberty. Fundamental principles of democracy, 
including respect for human rights, continue to be embraced. It is our 
hope that

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all nations of the Americas will join in this democratic revolution and 
at last realize the dream of a hemisphere of democratic nations.
    The need for international cooperation is greater than ever, because 
we face many difficult issues in this era: drug trafficking, weapons 
proliferation, and environmental degradation. Through a renewed 
partnership between nations of this hemisphere, we can develop 
innovative means to combat such problems, thus ensuring lasting security 
for future generations.
    A century ago, representatives of the nations of this hemisphere met 
in Washington to establish the International Union of the American 
Republics. Accepting the principles of democracy, peace, security, and 
prosperity, these member nations made a firm commitment to mutual 
cooperation throughout the hemisphere. Its successor, the Organization 
of American States, has furthered this commitment. In the words of the 
Charter of the Organization of American States, ``[the] historic mission 
of America is to offer to man a land of liberty.'' I applaud and 
encourage the activity of the Organization of American States in this 
pursuit to ensure that worldwide changes create a hemisphere of peace 
and prosperity.
    We can take great pride in what the Americas have already achieved. 
But there is much work to be done. All Americans from North to South 
should renew their commitment to fulfilling our forefathers' vision of 
an inter-America system. The hemisphere of George Washington and Thomas 
Jefferson, of Simon Bolivar and Jose de San Martin, establishes an 
example of freedom for the rest of the world. With democracy as the 
cornerstone of a new working partnership, we can achieve a revolutionary 
level of cooperation among the countries of America.
    Now, Therefore, I, William J. Clinton, President of the United 
States of America, by the authority vested in me by the Constitution and 
the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim Wednesday, April 14, 
1993, as ``Pan American Day'' and the week of April 11 through April 17, 
1993, as ``Pan American Week.'' I urge the Governors of the 50 States, 
the Governor of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and officials of other 
areas under the flag of the United States of America to honor these 
observances with appropriate ceremonies and activities.
    In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this fourteenth day 
of April, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-three, and 
of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and 
seventeenth.
                                            William J. Clinton

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 4:20 p.m., April 15, 
1993]

Note: This proclamation was released by the Office of the Press 
Secretary on April 15, and it was published in the Federal Register on 
April 19.