Proclamation 6545—Pan American Day and Pan American Week, 1993

Five hundred years after the first Europeans began exploring the Americas, it is appropriate to reflect on our hemisphere's unique role in this rapidly changing world and to rediscover the peoples of the Americas. On Pan American Day, the people of the Americas pledge to renew the ties that make our relationship unique. We cherish our hemisphere's proud history as we look forward to a new era of cooperation between our countries and cultures.

We have seen remarkable changes around the globe. The defeat of totalitarianism and the sweep of democratic and free market reforms have brought new opportunities and new challenges to the world. Progress toward political, economic, and social change has been dramatic in our own hemisphere.

From North to South, more and more citizens of the Americas are enjoying the benefits of liberty. Fundamental principles of democracy, including respect for human rights, continue to be embraced. It is our hope that all nations of the Americas will join in this democratic revolution and at last realize the dream of a hemisphere of democratic nations.

The need for international cooperation is greater than ever, because we face many difficult issues in this era: drug trafficking, weapons proliferation, and environmental degradation. Through a renewed partnership between nations of this hemisphere, we can develop innovative means to combat such problems, thus ensuring lasting security for future generations.

A century ago, representatives of the nations of this hemisphere met in Washington to establish the International Union of the American Republics. Accepting the principles of democracy, peace, security, and prosperity, these member nations made a firm commitment to mutual cooperation throughout the hemisphere. Its successor, the Organization of American States, has furthered this commitment. In the words of the Charter of the Organization of American States, "|the~ historic mission of America is to offer to man a land of liberty." I applaud and encourage the activity of the Organization of American States in this pursuit to ensure that worldwide changes create a hemisphere of peace and prosperity.

We can take great pride in what the Americas have already achieved. But there is much work to be done. All Americans from North to South should renew their commitment to fulfilling our forefathers' vision of an inter-America system. The hemisphere of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, of Simon Bolivar and Jose de San Martin, establishes an example of freedom for the rest of the world. With democracy as the cornerstone of a new working partnership, we can achieve a revolutionary level of cooperation among the countries of America.

Now, Therefore, I, William J. Clinton, President of the United States of America, by the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim Wednesday, April 14, 1993, as "Pan American Day" and the week of April 11 through April 17, 1993, as "Pan American Week." I urge the Governors of the 50 States, the Governor of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and 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 fourteenth day of April, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-three, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and seventeenth.

WILLIAM J. CLINTON