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“EXECUTIVE REPORTS OF COMMITTEE” mentioning the U.S. Dept of Labor was published in the Senate section on pages S5262-S5264 on May 13, 1999.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
EXECUTIVE REPORTS OF COMMITTEE
The following executive reports of committees were submitted:
By Mr. HELMS, for the Committee on Foreign Relations:
Treaty Doc. 105-1(A) Amended Mines Protocol (Exec. Rept. 106-2).
Text of the Committee-Recommended Resolution of Advice and Consent
Resolved (two-thirds of the Senators present concurring therein),
SECTION 1. SENATE ADVICE AND CONSENT SUBJECT TO A
RESERVATION, UNDERSTANDINGS, AND CONDITIONS.
The Senate advises and consents to the ratification of the Amended Mines Protocol (as defined in section 5 of this resolution), subject to the reservation in section 2, the understandings in section 3, and the conditions in section 4.
SEC. 2. RESERVATION.
The Senate's advice and consent to the ratification of the Amended Mines Protocol is subject to the reservation, which shall be included in the United States instrument of ratification and shall be binding upon the President, that the United States reserves the right to use other devices (as defined in Article 2(5) of the Amended Mines Protocol) to destroy any stock of food or drink that is judged likely to be used by an enemy military force, if due precautions are taken for the safety of the civilian population.
SEC. 3. UNDERSTANDINGS.
The Senate's advice and consent to the ratification of the Amended Mines Protocol is subject to the following understandings, which shall be included in the United States instrument of ratification and shall be binding upon the President:
(1) United states compliance.--The United States understands that--
(A) any decision by any military commander, military personnel, or any other person responsible for planning, authorizing, or executing military action shall only be judged on the basis of that person's assessment of the information reasonably available to the person at the time the person planned, authorized, or executed the action under review, and shall not be judged on the basis of information that comes to light after the action under review was taken; and
(B) Article 14 of the Amended Mines Protocol (insofar as it relates to penal sanctions) shall apply only in a situation in which an individual--
(i) knew, or should have known, that his action was prohibited under the Amended Mines Protocol;
(ii) intended to kill or cause serious injury to a civilian; and
(iii) knew or should have known, that the person he intended to kill or cause serious injury was a civilian.
(2) Effective exclusion.--The United States understands that, for the purposes of Article 5(6)(b) of the Amended Mines Protocol, the maintenance of observation over avenues of approach where mines subject to that Article are deployed constitutes one acceptable form of monitoring to ensure the effective exclusion of civilians.
(3) Historic monuments.--The United States understands that Article 7(1)(i) of the Amended Mines Protocol refers only to a limited class of objects that, because of their clearly recognizable characteristics and because of their widely recognized importance, constitute a part of the cultural or spiritual heritage of peoples.
(4) Legitimate military objectives.--The United States understands that an area of land itself can be a legitimate military objective for the purpose of the use of landmines, if its neutralization or denial, in the circumstances applicable at the time, offers a military advantage.
(5) Peace treaties.--The United States understands that the allocation of responsibilities for landmines in Article 5(2)(b) of the Amended Mines Protocol does not preclude agreement, in connection with peace treaties or similar arrangements, to allocate responsibilities under that Article in a manner that respects the essential spirit and purpose of the Article.
(6) Booby-traps and other devices.--For the purposes of the Amended Mines Protocol, the United States understands that--
(A) the prohibition contained in Article 7(2) of the Amended Mines Protocol does not preclude the expedient adaptation or adaptation in advance of other objects for use as booby-traps or other devices;
(B) a trip-wired hand grenade shall be considered a
``booby-trap'' under Article 2(4) of the Amended Mines Protocol and shall not be considered a ``mine'' or an ``anti-personnel mine'' under Article 2(1) or Article 2(3), respectively; and
(C) none of the provisions of the Amended Mines Protocol, including Article 2(5), applies to hand grenades other than trip-wired hand grenades.
(7) Non-lethal capabilities.--The United States understands that nothing in the Amended Mines Protocol may be construed as restricting or affecting in any way non-lethal weapon technology that is designed to temporarily disable, stun, signal the presence of a person, or operate in any other fashion, but not to cause permanent incapacity.
(8) International tribunal jurisdiction.--The United States understands that the provisions of Article 14 of the Amended Mines Protocol relating to penal sanctions refer to measures by the authorities of States Parties to the Protocol and do not authorize the trial of any person before an international criminal tribunal. The United States shall not recognize the jurisdiction of any international tribunal to prosecute a United States citizen for a violation of the Protocol or the Convention on Conventional Weapons.
(9) Technical cooperation and assistance.--The United States understands that--
(A) no provision of the Protocol may be construed as affecting the discretion of the United States to refuse assistance or to restrict or deny permission for the export of equipment, material, or scientific or technological information for any reason; and
(B) the Amended Mines Protocol may not be used as a pretext for the transfer of weapons technology or the provision of assistance to the military mining or military counter-mining capabilities of a State Party to the Protocol.
SEC. 4. CONDITIONS.
The Senate's advice and consent to the ratification of the Amended Mines Protocol is subject to the following conditions, which shall be binding upon the President:
(1) Pursuit deterrent munition.--
(A) Understanding.--The Senate understands that nothing in the Amended Mines Protocol restricts the possession or use of the Pursuit Deterrent Munition, which is in compliance with the provisions in the Technical Annex.
(B) Certification.--Prior to deposit of the United States instrument of ratification, the President shall certify to the Committee on Armed Services and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and to the Speaker of the House of Representatives that the Pursuit Deterrent Munition shall continue to remain available for use by the United States Armed Forces at least until January 1, 2003, unless an effective alternative to the munition becomes available.
(C) Effective alternative defined.--For purposes of subparagraph (B), the term ``effective alternative'' does not mean a tactic or operational concept in and of itself.
(2) Humanitarian demining assistance.--The Senate makes the following findings:
(A) United states efforts.--The United States contributes more than any other country to the worldwide humanitarian demining effort, having expended more than $153,000,000 on such efforts since 1993.
(B) Development of detection and clearing technology.--The Department of Defense has undertaken a program to develop improved mine detection and clearing technology and has shared this improved technology with the international community.
(C) Expansion of united states humanitarian demining programs.--The Department of Defense and the Department of State have expanded their humanitarian demining programs to train and assist the personnel of other countries in developing effective demining programs.
(3) Limitation on the scale of assessment.--
(A) Limitation on assessment for cost of implementation.--Notwithstanding any provision of the Amended Mines Protocol, and subject to the requirements of subparagraphs (B) and (C), the portion of the United States annual assessed contribution for activities associated with any conference held pursuant to Article 13 of the Amended Mines Protocol may not exceed
$1,000,000.
(B) Recalculation of limitation.--
(i) In general.--On January 1, 2000, and at 3-year intervals thereafter, the Administrator of General Services shall prescribe an amount that shall apply in lieu of the amount specified in subparagraph (A) and that shall be determined by adjusting the last amount applicable under that subparagraph to reflect the percentage increase by which the Consumer Price Index for the preceding calendar year exceeds the Consumer Price Index for the calendar year three years previously.
(ii) Consumer price index defined.--In this subparagraph, the term ``Consumer Price Index'' means the last Consumer Price Index for all-urban consumers published by the Department of Labor.
(C) Additional contributions requiring congressional approval.--
(i) Authority.--Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), the President may furnish additional contributions for activities associated with any conference held pursuant to Article 13 of the Amended Mines Protocol which would otherwise be prohibited under subparagraph (A) if--
(I) the President determines and certifies in writing to the appropriate committees of Congress that the failure to make such contributions would seriously affect the national interest of the United States; and
(II) Congress enacts a joint resolution approving the certification of the President under subclause (I).
(ii) Statement of reasons.--Any certification made under clause (i) shall be accompanied by a detailed statement setting forth the specific reasons therefor and the specific activities associated with any conference held pursuant to Article 13 of the Amended Mines Protocol to which the additional contributions would be applied.
(4) United states authority for technical cooperation and assistance.--Notwithstanding any provision of the Amended Mines Protocol, no funds may be drawn from the Treasury of the United States for any payment or assistance (including the transfer of in-kind items) under Article 11 or Article 13(3)(d) of the Amended Mines Protocol without statutory authorization and appropriation by United States law.
(5) Future negotiation of withdrawal clause.--It is the sense of the Senate that, in negotiations on any treaty containing an arms control provision, United States negotiators should not agree to any provision that would have the effect of prohibiting the United States from withdrawing from the arms control provisions of that treaty in a timely fashion in the event that the supreme national interests of the United States have been jeopardized.
(6) Land mine alternatives.--Prior to the deposit of the United States instrument of ratification, the President shall certify to Congress that--
(A) the President, in pursuing alternatives to United States anti-personnel mines or mixed anti-tank systems, will not limit the types of alternatives to be considered on the basis of any criteria other than those specified in subparagraph (B); and
(B) in pursuit of alternatives to United States anti-personnel mines, or mixed anti-tank systems, the United States shall seek to identify, adapt, modify, or otherwise develop only those technologies that--
(i) are intended to provide military effectiveness equivalent to that provided by the relevant anti-personnel mine, or mixed anti-tank system; and
(ii) would be affordable.
(7) Certification with regard to international tribunals.--Prior to the deposit of the United States instrument of ratification, the President shall certify to Congress that, with respect to the Amended Mines Protocol, the Convention on Conventional Weapons, or any future protocol or amendment thereto, the United States shall not recognize the jurisdiction of any international tribunal over the United States or any of its citizens.
(8) Tactics and operational concepts.--It is the sense of the Senate that development, adaptation, or modification of an existing or new tactic or operational concept, in and of itself, is unlikely to constitute an acceptable alternative to anti-personnel mines or mixed anti-tank systems.
(9) Finding regarding the international humanitarian crisis.--The Senate finds that--
(A) the grave international humanitarian crisis associated with anti-personnel mines has been created by the use of mines that do not meet or exceed the specifications on detectability, self-destruction, and self-deactivation contained in the Technical Annex to the Amended Mines Protocol; and
(B) United States mines that do meet such specifications have not contributed to this problem.
(10) Approval of modifications.--The Senate reaffirms the principle that any amendment or modification to the Amended Mines Protocol other than an amendment or modification solely of a minor technical or administrative nature shall enter into force with respect to the United States only pursuant to the treaty-making power of the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, as set forth in Article II, section 2, clause 2 of the Constitution of the United States.
(11) Further arms reductions obligations.--The Senate declares its intention to consider for approval an international agreement that would obligate the United States to reduce or limit the Armed Forces or armaments of the United States in a militarily significant manner only pursuant to the treaty-making power as set forth in Article II, section 2, clause 2 of the Constitution of the United States.
(12) Treaty interpretation.--The Senate affirms the applicability to all treaties of the constitutionally-based principles of treaty interpretation set forth in condition
(1) of the resolution of ratification of the INF Treaty, approved by the Senate on May 27, 1988, and condition (8) of the resolution of ratification of the CFE Flank Document, approved by the Senate on May 14, 1997.
(13) Primacy of the united states constitution.--Nothing in the Amended Mines Protocol requires or authorizes the enactment of legislation, or the taking of any other action, by the United States that is prohibited by the Constitution of the United States, as interpreted by the United States.
SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.
As used in this resolution:
(1) Amended mines protocol or protocol.--The terms
``Amended Mines Protocol'' and ``Protocol'' mean the Amended Protocol on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Mines, Booby-Traps and Other Devices, together with its Technical Annex, as adopted at Geneva on May 3, 1996 (contained in Senate Treaty Document 105-1).
(2) CFE flank document.--The term ``CFE Flank Document'' means the Document Agreed Among the States Parties to the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) of November 19, 1990, done at Vienna on May 31, 1996 (Treaty Document 105-5).
(3) Convention on conventional weapons.--The term
``Convention on Conventional Weapons'' means the Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons Which May be Deemed to be Excessively Injurious or to Have Indiscriminate Effects, done at Geneva on October 10, 1980 (Senate Treaty Document 103-25).
(4) United states instrument of ratification.--The term
``United States instrument of ratification'' means the instrument of ratification of the United States of the Amended Mines Protocol.
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