Proclamation 6784

By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation

The peoples of the Americas today live in a world of great promise. Fundamental democratic principles, such as the rule of law and free and fair elections, are being embraced throughout the hemisphere. In perhaps one of the most eloquent expressions of the commitment of American nations to democratic rule, Jean Bertrand Aristide was restored to his elected position as President of Haiti. Open markets work, democratic governments are just-and together they offer the best hope for improving the quality of life for all of us.

As we celebrate Pan American Day, 1995, we recognize that the nations of the Western Hemisphere are interdependent, and our futures are intertwined. We are bound together by our shared commitment to democracy, human rights, market economics, and effective governance. These common ideals have enabled us to form an extraordinary network of cooperation, encompassing endeavors from trade and environmental protection to science and technology.

The countries of the Americas have taken important steps to open their economies, create new jobs, and expand opportunities for their citizens. These reforms represent a historic break with the past and begin to pave the road toward higher standards of living in the 21st century. The North American Free Trade Agreement marks an additional milestone on the way to the hemispheric free trade agreement envisioned at the Summit of the Americas.

At that summit in December of this past year, the 34 democratically elected leaders of the hemisphere determined to make our governments more effective, our economic growth more sustainable, and our environments safer and healthier. Our deliberations there were guided by a vital spirit of cooperation, and we continue to move forward today with the knowledge that, now more than ever, the economic prosperity of each of our countries depends on the progress of our neighbors.

Now, Therefore, I, William J. Clinton, 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 Friday, April 14, 1995, as Pan American Day and the week of April 9 through April 15, 1995, as Pan American Week. I urge the Governors of the 50 States, the Governor of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the 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 tenth day of April, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-five, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and nineteenth.

William J. Clinton

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 5:01 p.m., April 10, 1995]