[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 33, Number 46 (Monday, November 17, 1997)]
[Pages 1755-1756]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Message to the Senate on Transmitting Agreement Establishing the South 
Pacific Regional Environment Programme and Documentation

November 7, 1997

To the Senate of the United States:

    I transmit herewith, for the advice and consent of the Senate to 
ratification, the Agreement Establishing the South Pacific Regional 
Environment Programme, done at Apia on June 16, 1993 (``the 
Agreement''). The report of the Department of State with respect to the 
Agreement is attached for the information of the Senate.
    The South Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) has existed 
for almost 15 years to promote cooperation in the South Pacific region, 
to protect and improve the South Pacific environment and to ensure 
sustainable development in that region. Prior to the Agreement, SPREP 
had the status of an informal institution housed within the South 
Pacific Commission. When this institutional arrangement began to prove 
inefficient, the United States and the nations of the region negotiated 
the Agreement to allow SPREP to become an intergovernmental organization 
in its own right and enhance its ability to promote cooperation among 
its members.

[[Page 1756]]

    The Agreement was concluded in June 1993 and entered into force in 
August 1995. Nearly every nation--except the United States--that has 
participated in SPREP and in the negotiation of the Agreement is now 
party to the Agreement. As a result, SPREP now enjoys a formal 
institutional status that allows it to deal more effectively with the 
pressing environmental concerns of the region. The United States and its 
territories can only participate in its activities as official 
observers.
    The Agreement improves the ability of SPREP to serve the interests 
of American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and 
Guam. Its ratification is supported by our territories and will 
demonstrate continued United States commitment to, and concern for, the 
South Pacific region.
    Under its terms, the Agreement entered into force on August 31, 
1995. To date, Australia, Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, 
Fiji, France, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, New Zealand, Niue, 
Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tonga, and Western Samoa have become 
parties to the Agreement.
    I recommend that the Senate give early and favorable consideration 
to the Agreement and give its advice and consent to ratification.
                                            William J. Clinton
The White House,
November 7, 1997.

Note: This item was not received in time for publication in the 
appropriate issue.