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“REMOVAL OF INJUNCTION OF SECRECY--TREATY DOCUMENT NOS. 110-5 AND 110-6” mentioning the U.S. Dept of State was published in the Senate section on pages S11081 on Sept. 4, 2007.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
REMOVAL OF INJUNCTION OF SECRECY--TREATY DOCUMENT NOS. 110-5 AND 110-6
Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Mr. President, as in executive session, I ask unanimous consent that the injunction of secrecy be removed from the following treaties transmitted to the Senate on September 4, 2007, by the President of the United States: 1996 Protocol to Convention on Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes, Treaty Document No. 110-5; and Amendment to Convention on Physical Protection of Nuclear Material, Treaty Document No. 110-6.
I further ask consent that the treaties be considered as having been read the first time, that they be referred, with accompanying papers, to the Committee on Foreign Relations and ordered to be printed, and that the President's messages be printed in the Record.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The messages of the President are as follows:
To the Senate of the United States:
I transmit herewith, with a view to receiving advice and consent, the 1996 Protocol to the Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter (the ``London Convention''), done in London on November 7, 1996. The Protocol was signed by the United States on March 31, 1998, and it entered into force on March 24, 2006.
The Protocol represents the culmination of a thorough and intensive effort to update and improve the London Convention. The London Convention governs the ocean dumping and incineration at sea of wastes and other matter and was a significant early step in international protection of the marine environment from pollution caused by these activities.
Although the Protocol and the London Convention share many features, the Protocol is designed to protect the marine environment more effectively. The Protocol moves from a structure of listing substances that may not be dumped to a ``reverse list'' approach, which prohibits ocean dumping of all wastes or other matter, except for a few specified wastes. This approach is combined with detailed criteria for environmental assessment of those materials that may be considered for dumping and potential dumping sites.
The Protocol would be implemented through amendments to the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act (MPRSA), which currently covers London Convention obligations. There will not be any substantive changes to existing practices in the United States, and no economic impact is expected from implementation of the Protocol. I recommend that the Senate give early and favorable consideration to this Protocol and give its advice and consent to ratification, with the declaration and understanding contained in Articles 3 and 10 respectively in the accompanying report of the Department of State.
George W. Bush. The White House, September 4, 2007.
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To the Senate of the United States:
I transmit herewith for Senate advice and consent to ratification the Amendment to the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material (the ``Amendment''). A conference of States Parties to the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material, adopted on October 28, 1979, adopted the Amendment on July 8, 2005, at the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna. I transmit also, for the information of the Senate, the Department of State report on the Amendment. Legislation necessary to implement the Amendment will be submitted to the Congress separately.
The Amendment contains specific provisions to effect a coordinated international response to combating and preventing nuclear terrorism and ensuring global security. It will require each State Party to the Amendment to establish, implement, and maintain an appropriate physical protection regime applicable to nuclear material and nuclear facilities used for peaceful purposes. The aims of the regime are to protect such material against theft or other unlawful taking, to locate and rapidly recover missing or stolen material, to protect such material and facilities against sabotage, and to mitigate or minimize the radiological consequences of sabotage. The Amendment also provides a framework for cooperation among States Parties directed at preventing nuclear terrorism and ensuring punishment of offenders; contains provisions for protecting sensitive physical protection information; and adds new criminal offenses that each State Party must make punishable by law. States Parties must also either submit for prosecution or extradite any person within their jurisdictions alleged to have committed one of the offenses defined in the Convention, as amended.
This Amendment is important in the campaign against international nuclear terrorism and nuclear proliferation. I recommend, therefore, that the Senate give early and favorable consideration to this Amendment, subject to the understandings described in the accompanying report of the Department of State.
George W. Bush. The White House, September 4, 2007.
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