[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 34, Number 24 (Monday, June 15, 1998)]
[Pages 1085-1086]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Message to the Senate Transmitting the Inter-American Convention Against 
the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Ammunition, 
Explosives, and Other Related Materials With Documentation

June 9, 1998

To the Senate of the United States:

    With a view to receiving the advice and consent of the Senate to 
ratification, I transmit herewith the Inter-American Convention Against 
the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Ammunition, 
Explosives, and Other Related Materials (the ``Convention''), adopted at 
the Special Session of the General Assembly of the Organization of 
American States (OAS) at Washington on November 13, 1997. The Convention 
was signed by the United States and 28 other OAS Member States on 
November 14, 1997, at the OAS Headquarters in Washington. So far, 31 
States have signed the Convention and one (Belize) has ratified it. In 
addition, for the information of the Senate, I transmit the report of 
the Department of State with respect to the Convention.
    The Convention is the first multilateral treaty of its kind in the 
world. The provisions of the Convention are explained in the 
accompanying report of the Department of State. The Convention should be 
an effective tool to assist in the hemispheric effort to combat the 
illicit manufacturing and trafficking in firearms, ammunition, 
explosives, and other related materials, and could also enhance the law 
enforcement efforts of the States Parties in other areas, given the 
links that often exist between those offenses and organized criminal 
activity, such as drug trafficking and terrorism.
    The Convention provides for a broad range of cooperation, including 
extradition, mutual legal assistance, technical assistance, and 
exchanges of information, experiences, and training, in relation to the 
offenses covered under the treaty. The Convention also imposes on the 
Parties on obligation to criminalize the offenses set forth in the 
treaty if

[[Page 1086]]

they have not already done so. The Convention will not require 
implementing legislation for the United States.
    This treaty would advance important U.S. Government interests, and 
would enhance hemispheric security by obstructing the illicit flow of 
weapons to criminals such as terrorists and drug traffickers. In 
addition, ratification of this Convention by the United States would be 
consistent with, and give impetus to, the active work being done by the 
United States Government and this subject in other fora, such as the 
United Nations, the P-8 Group, and the OAS Inter-American Drug Abuse 
Control Commission (CICAD).
    I recommend that the Senate give early and favorable consideration 
to the Convention, and that it give its advice and consent to 
ratification.
                                            William J. Clinton
The White House,
June 9, 1998.