UNITED NATIONS CONVENTION TO COMBAT DESERTIFICATION IN COUNTRIES EXPERIENCING DROUGHT, PARTICULARLY IN AFRICA, WITH ANNEXES (Senate - October 18, 2000)
(Congressional Record: Page S10665)
The resolution of ratification was read as follows:
Resolved, (two thirds of the Senators present concurring therein), That the Senate advise and consent to the ratification of the United States Convention to Combat Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa, With Annexes, adopted at Paris, June 17, 1994, and signed by the United States on October 14, 1994, (Treaty Doc. 104-29) (hereinafter, `The Convention'), subject to the understandings of subsection (a), the declarations of subsection (b) and the provisos of subsection (c).
(a) Understandings: The advice and consent of the Senate is subject to the following understandings, which shall be included in the instrument of ratification of the Convention and shall be binding on the President:
(1) Foreign assistance: The United States understands that, as a `developed country,' pursuant to Article 6 of the Convention and its Annexes, it is not obligated to satisfy specific funding requirements or other specific requirements regarding the provision of any resource, including technology, to any `affected country,' as defined in Article 1 of the Convention. The United States understands that ratification of the Convention does not alter its domestic legal processes to determine foreign assistance funding or programs.
(2) Financial resources and mechanism: The United States understands that neither Article 20 nor Article 21 of the Convention impose obligations to provide specific levels of funding for the Global Environmental Facility, or the Global Mechanism, to carry out the objectives of the Convention, or for any other purpose.
(3) United states land management: The United States understands that it is a `developed country party' as defined in Article 1 of the Convention, and that it is not required to prepare a national action program pursuant to Part III, Section 1, ofthe Convention. The United States also understands that no changes to its existing land management practices and programs will be required to meet its obligations under Articles 4 or 5 of the Convention.
(4) Legal process for amending the convention: In accordance with Article 34(4), any additional regional implementation annex to the Convention or any amendment to any regional implementation annex to the Convention shall enter into force for the United States only upon the deposit of a corresponding instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession.
(5) Dispute settlement: The United States declines to accept as compulsory either of the dispute settlement means set out in Article 28(2), and understands that it will not be bound by the outcome, findings, conclusions or recommendations of a conciliation process initiated under Article 28(6). For any dispute arising from this Convention, the United States does not recognize or accept the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice.
(b) Declarations: The Senate's advice and consent is subject to the following declarations, which shall be binding on the President:
(1) Consultations: It is the sense of the Senate that the Executive Branch should consult with the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate about the possibility of United States participation in future negotiations concerning this Convention, and in particular, negotiation of any Protocols to this Convention.
(2) 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 Document Agreed Among the State Parties to the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe, approved by the Senate on May 14, 1997.
(3) Adoption of no reservation provision.--It is the sense of the Senate that the `no reservations' provision contained in Article 37 of the Convention has the effect of inhibiting the Senate in its exercise of its constitutional duty to give advice and consent to ratification of a treaty, and that the Senate's approval of the Convention should not be construed as a precedent for acquiescence to future treaties containing such provisions.
(c) Provisos.--The advice and consent of the Senate is subject to the following provisos:
(1) Report to congress.--Two years after the date the Convention enters into force for the United States, and biennially thereafter, the Secretary of State shall provide a report to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate setting forth the following:
(i) a description of the programs in each affected country party designed to implement the Convention, including a list of community-based non-governmental organizations involved, a list of amounts of funding provided by the national government and each international donor country, and the projected date for full implementation of the national action program;
(ii) an assessment of the adequacy of each national action program (including the timeliness of program submittal), the degree to which the plan attempts to fully implement the Convention, the degree of involvements by all levels of government in implementation of the Convention, and the percentage of government revenues expended on implementation of the Convention;
(iii) a list of United States persons designated as independent experts pursuant to Article 24 of the Convention, and a description of the process for mailing such designations;
(iv) an identification of the specific benefits to the United States, as well as United States persons, (including United States exporters and other commercial enterprises), resulting from United States participation in the Convention;
(v) a detailed description of the staffing levels and budget of the Permanent Secretariat established pursuant to Article 23;
(vi) a breakdown of all direct and indirect United States contributions to the Permanent Secretariat, and a statement of the number of United States citizens who are staff members or contract employees of the Permanent Secretariat;
(vii) a list of affected party countries that have become developed countries, within the meaning of the Convention; and
(viii) for each affected party country, a discussion of results (including discussion of specific successes and failures) flowing from national action plans generated under the Convention.
(2) Supremacy of the constitution.--Nothing in the Convention requires or authorizes legislation or other action by the United States of America that is prohibited by the Constitution of the United States as interpreted by the United States.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. A division has been requested.
Senators in favor of the ratification of this treaty, please raise their hand. (After a pause.) Those opposed will raise their hands.
With two-thirds of the Senators present having voted in the affirmative, the resolution of ratification is agreed to.