Pan American Day and Pan American Week, 2001

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Title 3--
The President

Proclamation 7420 of April 2, 2001

Pan American Day and Pan American Week, 2001

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

This year on Pan American Day and during Pan American
Week, the nations of the Americas celebrate the
progress we have made toward our collective goal of a
hemisphere united in freedom and democracy.

The United States and our neighboring countries in the
Western Hemisphere have a long history of cooperation.
Simon Bolivar first convened the Congress of Panama in
1826 with the intention of creating an association of
states in the hemisphere. In 1890, a Pan American
conference established the International Union of
American Republics. The Union eventually became the
Organization of American States (OAS), which continues
to faith fully serve its member states. The OAS
charter, in affirming the shared commitment, states
that ``the true significance of American solidarity and
good neighborliness can only mean the consolidation . .
. of a system of individual liberty and social justice
based on respect for the essential rights of man.''

Today, we remain united through mutual interests and
the hope for a better future for our people. This month
I will join the democratically elected leaders of the
hemisphere in Quebec City for the third Summit of the
Americas. At this conference, we will build on efforts
at previous Summits to promote our shared objectives of
representative democracy, free trade, and using the
power of free markets to better the lives of the poor.
We will also build on our mutual interest in
encouraging respect for human rights and improving
relations among all the countries of the hemisphere.

Even with our significant progress, however, challenges
remain. Cuba is the only country in the hemisphere that
will be missing from the Quebec Summit. It is my
sincere hope that our neighbor will soon rejoin the
fraternity of democracies and that the Cuban people
will again know freedom.

During Pan American Week and the Summit of the
Americas, we reflect on and renew our common dedication
to ensuring that the benefits of development are
broadly shared. We also look forward to building even
closer relationships among our countries for the sake
of future generations. We have a responsibility to
leave our children a hemisphere that honors the
commitment of our predecessors, strengthening bonds
that connect us as nations and as people. We want to
make this the Century of the Americas.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, 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 April 14, 2001, as Pan
American Day and April 8 through April 14, 2001, as Pan
American Week. I call upon all the people of the United
States to observe this day and week with appropriate
ceremonies and activities.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
second day of April, in the year of our Lord two
thousand one, and of the Independence of the United
States of America the two hundred and twenty-fifth.

(Presidential Sig.)B