Pan American Day and Pan American Week, 2016

Proclamation 9420 of April 8, 2016

Pan American Day and Pan American Week, 2016

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

A decade before the turn of the 19th century,
representatives of countries from across the Western
Hemisphere formed what would become the Organization of
American States, striving to ensure peace and democracy
through unity and cooperation among our nations. As we
mark 126 years since its founding, we also celebrate
the 15th anniversary of the Inter-American Democratic
Charter--a declaration of our belief in democracy as
the common form of government for all countries in our
hemisphere. On Pan American Day and during Pan American
Week, we reflect on the progress our countries have
made together, and we recommit to reaching for a
brighter day for all our peoples.

Throughout our hemisphere, increased integration has
generated greater growth and prosperity. Since I took
office, exports and imports between the United States
and the rest of the hemisphere have increased by more
than 50 percent. We are involved in more trade and
economic partnerships that reduce poverty, spur
opportunity, and empower young people with the skills
and job training they need to compete in the global
economy. Our nations have partnered to develop clean,
affordable, and reliable energy sources and ensure all
countries have open access to data to combat climate
change--a reality that threatens all our peoples and
that we addressed in Paris late last year, when the
world came together to negotiate the most ambitious
climate agreement in history.

The nations of the Americas have made tremendous
progress on important issues, and our work remains
rooted in the bonds of friendship and family between
our peoples. For too long, the United States and Cuba
remained isolated, and while our governments will
continue to have areas of disagreement, our people have
long shared common values and ideals. That is why we
reestablished diplomatic relations between our
countries--for the first time in over 50 years, the
American flag flies above our reopened embassy in
Havana; and I recently visited our neighbor 90 miles to
the South, becoming the first United States President
to do so in nearly nine decades. By extending a new
hand of friendship to the Cuban people, we mark the
beginning of a relationship that will offer fresh hope
for both our futures and improve the lives of those
living in both our countries. Following my trip to
Cuba, I visited Argentina, which has begun advancing
ambitious reforms to spur economic growth and has
pledged to help address important global challenges,
such as peacekeeping and the Syrian refugee crisis.

Across the board, the United States has deepened our
engagement in the Americas. We initiated the 100,000
Strong in the Americas initiative to encourage more
exchanges between our hemisphere's students. Last year,
I launched the Young Leaders of the Americas
Initiative, which will address opportunity gaps that
persist for too many of our neighboring nations' youth
by empowering them with the tools and resources they
need to reach their full potential. Just as our
countries must foster hope and prosperity, we must also
address serious challenges. We will continue defending
and strengthening civil society, because when all our
people have a voice in

shaping the future of our hemisphere, we all do better.
The United States is working with Colombia to reduce
violence and achieve peace, as we do throughout Central
America. We will also keep coordinating with the
nations of the Americas to prevent, detect, and respond
to the spread of Zika. And later this year, I look
forward to joining other leaders of the Asia-Pacific
Economic Cooperation forum in Peru for the next
Economic Leaders' meeting.

Millions of people in the United States are tied to the
rest of the countries in our hemisphere through
commerce and family. We are more than just nations--we
are neighbors, bound in common cause and possibility
not by our leaders, but by the citizens of the Americas
and the interests we share. Let us move forward, as one
people, in a spirit of unity and cooperation. Together,
we can reach a future in which every young person--from
Argentina to Alaska--knows peace, dignity, and
opportunity, and can embark on paths that stretch
beyond their neighborhood and into the wider Western
Hemisphere and the entire world.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the
United States of America, by virtue of the authority
vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the
United States, do hereby proclaim April 14, 2016, as
Pan American Day and April 10 through April 16, 2016,
as Pan American Week. I urge the Governors of the 50
States, the Governor of the Commonwealth of Puerto
Rico, and the officials of the 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
eighth day of April, in the year of our Lord two
thousand sixteen, and of the Independence of the United
States of America the two hundred and fortieth.