III 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 90 

Expressing the sense of the Senate regarding the Fifth Summit of the 

Americas, held in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, April 17, 18, 

and 19, 2009. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 30, 2009 

Mr. KERRY (for himself, Mr. LUGAR, Mr. DODD, Mr. MENENDEZ, and Mr. 

NELSON of Florida) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing the sense of the Senate regarding the Fifth Summit of the Americas, held in Port of Spain, Trinidad 

and Tobago, April 17, 18, and 19, 2009. 

Whereas the First Summit of the Americas, held in December 1994 in Miami, Florida, resulted in a comprehensive 

Plan of Action, issued by the region’s democracies, which 

included initiatives on strengthening democracy, promoting human rights, combating corruption, furthering 

sustainable economic development, encouraging environmental conservation, and committing to access to universal basic education and health care throughout the 

Americas; 

Whereas 3 Summits of the Americas and 2 Special Summits 

of the Americas have been convened since 1994, resulting 


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•SRES 90 IS 

in additional initiatives on sustainable development, 

strengthening democratic practices and good governance, 

the environment, economic relations, combating HIV/ 

AIDS and other diseases, and numerous other areas of 

mutual interest and shared responsibility throughout the 

Western Hemisphere; 

Whereas, on July 21, 2008, the Draft Declaration of Commitment by the Summit Implementation Review Group 

proposed an agenda for the Fifth Summit of the Americas to discuss promoting human prosperity, energy security, environmental sustainability, public security, democratic governance, and the Summit’s implementation and 

review process; and 

Whereas, on February 10, 2009, President Barack Obama 

stated that he would attend the Fifth Summit of the 

Americas to ‘‘create the kind of partnership based on respect that the people of Latin America are looking for 

and that will be beneficial to the United States’’: Now, 

therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate— 

2 (1) to express support for the Fifth Summit of 

3 the Americas as an effective multilateral forum, con4 vened in the spirit of cooperation and partnership 

5 for the 34 democratically elected heads of state of 

6 the region to address shared challenges and foster 

7 collaboration throughout the Western Hemisphere; 

8 (2) that the Fifth Summit provides the United 

9 States with an early opportunity to reinvigorate and 


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•SRES 90 IS 

1 strengthen its engagement with the countries of the 

2 Western Hemisphere, especially in— 

3 (A) finding common solutions to the global 

4 economic crisis; 

5 (B) promoting energy security; and 

6 (C) combating threats to public and per7 sonal security, including threats from terrorism, 

8 international narcotics cartels, and organized 

9 criminal groups; 

10 (3) that the United States is prepared to work 

11 with the countries of the Western Hemisphere on 

12 advancing an agenda of human prosperity, includ13 ing— 

14 (A) encouraging multilateral development 

15 institutions to invest in micro- to medium-sized 

16 enterprises; 

17 (B) continuing the fight against HIV/ 

18 AIDS, vector-borne, and noncommunicable dis19 eases; 

20 (C) raising the standard of living of the 

21 people in the region who currently live in pov22 erty; 

23 (D) eradicating child labor; 

24 (E) recommitting to the Millennium Devel25 opment Goals; and 


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•SRES 90 IS 

1 (F) supporting investment in public health 

2 and education throughout the Western Hemi3 sphere; 

4 (4) that the United States should use the Fifth 

5 Summit of the Americas to strengthen cooperation 

6 by working with other nations to formulate and im7 plement a regional energy strategy to promote— 

8 (A) increased technology and information 

9 sharing; 

10 (B) regulatory harmonization; 

11 (C) integration; and 

12 (D) renewable and alternative energy 

13 sources; 

14 (5) to welcome civil society and nongovern15 mental organizations at the Fifth Summit, and to 

16 encourage their observation and active participation 

17 in the Summit’s decisionmaking process to strength18 en democratic governance, the rule of law, freedom 

19 of the press, and civil society in the Western Hemi20 sphere; and 

21 (6) to set achievable and measurable goals, 

22 based on areas of consensus, and to strengthen fol23 lowup mechanisms to review the implementation, re24 porting, and progress of Summit initiatives. 

Æ 


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