Proclamation 6271—Pan American Day and Pan American Week, 1991

Just two months ago the Caribbean island nation of Haiti enjoyed, after decades of dictatorship, the inauguration of a President chosen in free, secure, and credible elections. This milestone in the history of Haiti marked yet another significant stride toward a completely democratic Western Hemisphere. Indeed, with the principal exception of Castro's Cuba, the nations of the Americas are experiencing a great resurgence of democracy. From Tierra del Fuego to Hudson Bay, from the Lesser Antilles to the Galapagos, courageous and determined peoples are reaping the blessings of liberty and self-government.

Today, after several successive free elections in the vast majority of countries in the hemisphere, the nations of the Americas have an historic opportunity to set an exemple of sustained and effective represntative democracy and economic development. Indeed, it seems fitting that the hemisphere of George Washington and Toussaint L'Ouverture, of Thomas Jefferson and Simon Bolivar, of James Madison and Jose de San Martin, should help to lead the way to a freer, more prosperous future for all mankind.

The devotion to democratic ideals shared by the peoples of the Americas forms the cornerstone of the unique international alliance whose anniversary we celebrate this week. Just over a century ago, the nations of this hemisphere established the International Union of American Republics, later known as the Pan American Union. Today its successor, the Organization of American States, is working to promote transitions from dictatorship to democracy throughout the hemisphere.

Signatories to the OAS Charter, adopted in 1948, expressed their conviction that "the true significance of American solidarity and good neighborliness can only mean the consolidation on this continent . . . of a system of individual liberty and social justice based on respect for the essential rights of man." After a century of partnership, we know that the proudest days of the inter-American community have been those when it has faithfully upheld these ideals. Accordingly, the United States will continue working to promote respect for human rights and the rule of law throughout the region.

Through the OAS Charter, members of the inter-American community also agreed to "promote, by cooperative action, their economic, social, and cultural development." To help achieve this goal, I have proposed the Enterprise for the Americas Initiative, which will promote free and fair trade, investment, debt reduction, and growth, as well as environmental protection, in Latin America and the Caribbean. In addition, we will implement the commitments of the Cartagena Declaration. Illicit drug trafficking and violence pose a grave threat to the stability of nations as well as to the freedom and safety of millions of individuals throughout the Americas. The United States remains firmly committeed to working with other members of the inter-American community in the areas of interdiction, law enforcement, and crop substitution.

Now, Therefore, I, George Bush, 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 Sunday, April 14, 1991, as Pan American Day and the week of April 14 through April 20, 1991, as Pan American Week. I urge the Governors of the fifty States and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and officials of other areas udner the flag of the United States, to honor these observances with appropriate ceremonies and activities.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 17th day of April, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-one, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and fifteenth.

GEORGE BUSH