The Summit of the Americas: implementation work program - Thomas F. McLarty III, Counselor to the President and Secretary of State for the Summit of the Americas, May 23, 1995 - Transcript

US Department of State Dispatch, May 29, 1995

Steps have also been taken to combat corruption to level the playing field for U.S. business. Of special note is Colombia's recent contract with the Swiss company, SWIPCO, for the purpose of ensuring that multi-million-dollar defense-related purchases will be undertaken with transparency and fairness. This is the kind of concrete action with direct relevance to private sector activities which many summit initiatives an designed to provide.

Sustainable Development

There are numerous examples of innovative programs to foster economic growth while protecting the environment throughout the hemisphere. The Central American countries have taken an important leadership role in this area through the Central American Alliance for Sustainable Development. The United States is supporting this effort with $5 million through CONCA USA - Conjunta Centro-America-USA - part of a $22.6-million environmental initiative for the Americas funded by USAID. We are also moving forward on pollution prevention. Various countries in the hemisphere now have plans to dramatically reduce lead - one of the main causes of childhood retardation - in their gasoline.

Inter-American System

A final key achievement is the process now underway for revitalization of the inter-American system. The OAS, under the vigorous leadership of Secretary General Gaviria, is reinventing itself in response to summit mandates. The summit leaders proposed a significant increase in the budget of the Unit for Promotion of Democracy, the Inter-American Commission for Human Rights, and the Inter-American Court. They also asked that a trade unit to provide technical studies on trade integration be created. Secretary General Gaviria has been responding to these requests, and the United States is proud to have made additional voluntary contributions to the democracy unit and to the human rights bodies. We are also very pleased that the Inter-American Development Bank, under the extremely able leadership of Enrique Iglesias, has committed itself to increasing its lending in education and health - two summit priorities - by some $5 billion over the next five years. And, with First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, the Pan-American Health Organization has just launched a program to eradicate measles throughout the hemisphere, forever eliminating fear of this disease from childhood experience.

Next Steps

These are just some of the key activities drawn from an impressive list of tangible actions. Our implementation work program is expansive but focused.

In closing, however, I must add a word concerning potential stormclouds which are on the horizon. An audience as sophisticated in Latin American and Caribbean affairs as the one here today understands the importance of this hemisphere in calculations of our national interests. Latin America already represents the fastest-growing market for U.S. goods and services of any region in the world - $92 billion in exports last year, triple what it was only a decade ago. Yet legislation now being considered by Congress - H.R. 1561 - would have negative effects on our ability to conduct a vigorous hemispheric foreign policy. This legislation would violate the separation of powers and deny the executive branch adequate resources to defend U.S. foreign policy objectives and U.S. national interests in Latin America and the Caribbean. It would put us on the path toward isolationism.