[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 34, Number 15 (Monday, April 13, 1998)]
[Pages 631-632]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 7081--Pan American Day and Pan American Week, 1998

April 10, 1998

By the President of the United States

of America

A Proclamation

    Today, the nations of the Americas stand at the forefront of a 
promising new era of exciting growth and global cooperation. Americans 
north and south of the equator are communicating, interacting, and 
trading with one another more than ever before. All the nations in our 
hemisphere but one enjoy freely elected governments that promote human 
rights, free enterprise, and sustainable economic development through 
free trade. These vibrant democracies continue to seek opportunities to 
work together for the security, prosperity, and general welfare of all 
our citizens.
    In keeping with this spirit of cooperation, the leaders of the 34 
American democracies will meet in Santiago, Chile, on April 18 and 19 
for the second Summit of the Americas. The United States hosted the 
first such summit in Miami in December 1994, and we look forward to 
strengthening our involvement in what is becoming a mature partnership 
that is fostering increased prosperity and security for our country. We 
hope to reach agreements in Santiago that will enhance hemispheric 
collaboration in more than 20 areas--including education, economic 
integration, democracy, justice, counternarcotics, security, poverty, 
and human rights.
    This month also marks the 50th anniversary of the founding of the 
Organization of American States (OAS), a cornerstone of cooperation in 
our hemisphere. The most recent successes of the OAS include agreements 
against corruption and illegal firearms trafficking and ratification of 
the Washington Protocol, which provides for the suspension from the OAS 
of any country whose democracy has been overthrown by force. We applaud 
the crucial role the OAS plays in promoting and preserving democracy and 
human rights in the Americas. We look forward to its continued success 
in multilateral efforts to deepen the roots of democracy in this 
hemisphere and create new possibilities for progress in the next 
millennium.
    The peoples of the Americas stand united in a commitment to 
democratic values and to increased regional cooperation and 
understanding. The partnership among our countries is laying the 
foundations for lasting freedom, prosperity, and peace in our hemisphere 
and bringing to reality our shared vision of a brighter future.
    Now, Therefore, I, William J. Clinton, 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 Tuesday, 
April 14, 1998, as Pan American Day and April 12 through April 18, 1998, 
as Pan American Week. I urge the Governors of the 50 States, the 
Governor of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the 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 tenth day of 
April, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-eight, and of 
the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and 
twenty-second.
                                            William J. Clinton

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 8:45 a.m., April 14, 
1998]

Note: This proclamation will be published in the Federal Register on 
April 15.

[[Page 632]]