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UNITED STATES RATIFIES ANTI-TERRORISM TREATY

  November 15, 2005

The government of the United States will formally ratify the Inter-American Convention against Terrorism today at the headquarters of the Organization of American States (OAS). Thomas A. Shannon, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, and the U.S. Ambassador to the OAS, John Maisto, will attend the ceremony in the office of OAS Secretary General José Miguel Insulza.

The U.S. Senate gave its advice and consent to ratification of the treaty on October 7. President George W. Bush subsequently signed the instrument of ratification, which will be deposited at the OAS today.

The Inter-American Convention against Terrorism – the first such international treaty negotiated after the September 11 attacks – provides the legal framework for cooperation among the 34 OAS member states in the fight against terrorism. The United States will be the fourteenth OAS member state to become a party to the treaty, which was adopted by the OAS General Assembly in 2002 and entered into effect in 2003.


What: United States to deposit instrument of ratification of the Inter-American Convention against Terrorism

Who: Thomas A. Shannon, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs
Ambassador John Maisto, Permanent Representative of the United States to the OAS
OAS Secretary General José Miguel Insulza

When: Tuesday, November 15, 2005
12 noon

Where: Office of the Secretary General
OAS Headquarters
17th St. & Constitution Ave. NW
Washington, D.C.


Reference: AVI-125/05