Proclamation 6422—Pan American Day and Pan American Week, 1992 6422

This year, the peoples of the Americas are deeply mindful of our common heritage as we celebrate christopher Columbus's historic journeys to this region half a millennium ago. Yet today we celebrate not only the great meeting of cultures that was initiated by Columbus and his crew but also our shared commitment to democratic ideals and to the advancement of human freedom and progress throughout the Western Hemisphere. Those shared aspirations and values from the basis of the unique international alliance that we celebrate each year during Pan American Day and Pan American Week.

The Inter-American System dates back to 1890, with the establishment of the International Union of Amercian Republics -- later known as the Pan American Union. Our present commitment to inter-American solidarity and freedom is embodied by that institution's successor, the Organization of American States. Recognizing that "the historic mission of America is to offer man a land of liberty, and a favorable environment for . . . the realization of his just aspirations," signatories to the OAS Charter agreed to work together to peace and security of the American states, to prevent possible causes of difficulties among them and to facilitate the peaceful settlement of disputes, and to promote, through cooperative action, their economic, social, and cultural development. Signatories tothe OSA Charter also declared that:

. . . the true significance of American solidarity and good neighborliness can only mean the consolidation on of democratic institutions, or 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 any real and lasting progress within the Inter-American System has gone hand in hand with our commitement to this ideal.

The United States firmly believes in the value of the Inter-American System as a force for promoting peace and stability in the region. In recent years, the Organization of American States has proved to be an effective vehicle not only for the settlement of disputes but also for the promotion of representative government and human rights. With the principal exception of Castro's Cuba, we have some close to acheiving the world's first completely democratic hemisphere. Today the OAS is playing a key role in efforts to restore dmocracy in Haiti and Peru.

As part of their expressed commitment to democratic ideals, members of the OAS have recognized that all human beings have the right "to attain material well-being and spiritual growth under circumstances of liberty, dignity, equality of opportunity, and economic security." Accordingly, the United States and its friends and neighbors have also been working together to promote investment and free and fair trade in the region, to alleviate the problem of official debt, and to encourage protection of the environment. These goals form the heart of the Enterprise for the Americas Initiative, which recently took another step forward with the establishment of the Multilateral Investment Fund. This new fund will provide targeted support for Latin American Countries as they transform lumbering state-run industries into efficient private enterprises.

Because the security and well-being of our peoples -- and the stability of entire governments -- also depend on our success in the fight against drugs, we remain committed to achieving the goals of the 1990 Cartagena Declaration, which laid the foundation for the development of a comprehensive, multilateral anti-drug strategy. At our recent summit in San Antonio, the United States and six of our Latin American neighbors agreed to move beyond the achievements of Cartagena and to strengthen interdiction, alternative development, and demand reduction efforts. In these and other endeavors, we are heartened by the prospect of extending human freedom and progress throughout the hemisphere -- from Point Barrow, Alaska, to Puerto Williams, Chile, and to every point in between.

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 Tuesday, April 14, 1992, as Pan American Day and the week of April 12 through April 18, 1992, as Pan American Week. I urge the GFovernors of the fifty States and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and officials of other areas under 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 fourteenth day of April, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and inety-two, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and sixteenth.

GEORGE BUSH