Proclamation 5793 -- Pan
American Day and Pan American Week, 1988
April 11, 1988
By
the President of the United States of
America
A
Proclamation
For
nearly six decades, observance of the annual Pan American Day has told the
world that the nations of the Western Hemisphere share a unique harmony of
ideals -- the love of liberty, independence, and democracy; the willingness to
seek these treasures and to preserve them wherever they are found; and firm and
profound opposition to totalitarianism. Each year the United States joins with countries
throughout the Americas in pledging fidelity to
these ideals so vital to our future.
Almost
a century ago, in Washington, D.C., the First
International Conference of American States made the idea of hemispheric unity
a reality by establishing the International Union of American Republics, the
predecessor of the Organization of American States (OAS). The common
aspirations of the peoples of the Americas for freedom,
independence, democracy, peace, security, and prosperity inspire the OAS, which
is charged with upholding and defending these critical objectives within the Inter-American
System.
The
past decade has witnessed several victories for freedom and democracy in the Americas. Ten years ago, the
great majority of Latin Americans lived under oppression; today, more than 90
percent of the people of the Americas live under democratic
government. We can all be truly grateful for these transformations to
democracy.
On
April 30, the OAS will celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the signing of its
Charter in Bogota in 1948 -- a Charter that declares,
``the solidarity of the American States and the high aims which are sought
through it require the political organization of those States on the basis of
the effective exercise of representative democracy.'' This principle continues
to encourage brave men and women in the fight for liberty and democracy.
The
OAS Charter establishes the basis for hemispheric cooperation in the peaceful
settlement of disputes, economic and social development, education, and the
protection of human rights. In recent years, the OAS has added a new dimension
to its regional problem-solving by creating the OAS Drug Abuse Control
Commission to combat narcotics trafficking and drug abuse. The United States of
America accords special priority to the crucial work of
the OAS in the fields of human rights and narcotics control.
The
foundations of the Inter-American System emerged from the Americas' independence
movements, but its consolidation dates from the signing of the OAS Charter; so
it is especially fitting that we renew our commitment to the principles of the
Organization of American States and its Specialized Agencies on Pan American
Day this year as 40th Anniversary celebrations take place.
Now,
Therefore, I, Ronald Reagan, 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 Thursday,
April 14, 1988, as Pan American Day, and the week of April 10 through April
16, 1988,
as Pan American Week. I urge the Governors of the fifty 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 eleventh day of April, in the
year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty-eight, and of the Independence of the United States of
America the two hundred and
twelfth.
Ronald
Reagan
[Filed with the Office
of the Federal Register, 10:55 a.m., April 12, 1988]