Discovering History - The Helsinki Final Act Page 3


La Paz Agreement

Fifth Column

 

The La Paz Agreement was signed in 1983 and it created an international border region using environmental cleanup as the excuse.  With the benefit of hindsight - and a close examination of the provisions of the La Paz Agreement, it's clear that the intent was to begin the process of integration of the U.S. and Mexican governments for the purpose of harmonization of our laws in preparation for the creation of the 'International Union of American Republics' as mentioned by George Bush in his 2001 speech on Pan-American day (see page 1).  The IUAR is what researchers call the North American Union. 
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The Border XXI Program name has been changed to Border 2012, but information on XXI is still available on the EPA website:  Border XXI  - Executive Summary

The information in the panel below was originally obtained from the U.S. Mexico Embassy website, but it has since been taken down.  The pages were recovered however, and were placed in a PDF.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The 1983 La Paz Agreement/Border XXI

Signed by Presidents Ronald Reagan and Miguel de la Madrid in 1983, this breakthrough agreement established a framework for cooperation on environmental problems that has been carried forward by subsequent presidential administrations in Mexico and the U.S. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Mexico's Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (formerly SEMARNAP, now SEMARNAT) are jointly charged with searching for and implementing solutions to problems related to air, water and land pollution along the border. The commitment made in La Paz has lead to two multi-year initiatives, most recently the ambitious Border XXI Program. This effort brings together virtually all U.S. and Mexican Federal, state and local entities that are responsible for environmental and natural resource management in the border region. It places particular emphasis on public inputs, decentralization of environmental management and improved communication and cooperation among officials at all levels.

The U.S. Mexico Binational Commission Since 1981, a Mexico-U.S Binational Commission has provided stewardship over the broad array of bilateral issues. The BNC draws cabinet-level officials and other agency chiefs into intensive one-or-two-day discussions on an
annual basis. It brings into high relief unresolved issues dividing the two countries and provides opportunities to discuss remedies. BNC meetings frequently lead to breakthrough agreements and occasion brainstorming which lead to innovative programs designed to manage affairs in a broad range of border issues.

The BNC currently has 13 working groups and subgroups, which reflect the political, economic, law enforcement, social and environmental issues forming the fabric of U.S. Mexico relations.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


The environmental agenda of the agreement is not nearly as important as the statutory framework of the agreement.  In effect, what this agreement did was create divided loyalties and missions for U.S. government agencies creating a fifth column within our own government and giving it a life of it's own by allowing outside, private funding without oversight or agreement by Congress.
 

 
AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND THE UNITED MEXICAN STATES ON COOPERATION FOR THE PROTECTION AND IMPROVEMENT OF THE ENVIRONMENT IN THE BORDER AREA

The United States of America and the United Mexican States, RECOGNIZING the importance of a healthful environment to the long-term economic and social well-being of present and future generations of each country as well as of the global community;

RECALLING that the Declaration of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, proclaimed in Stockholm in 1972, called upon nations to collaborate to resolve environmental problems of common concern; NOTING previous agreements and programs providing for environmental cooperation between the two countries; BELIEVING that such cooperation is of mutual benefit in coping with similar environmental problems in each country; ACKNOWLEDGING the important work of the International Boundary and Water Commission and the contribution of the agreements concluded between the two countries relating to environmental affairs; REAFFIRMING their political will to further strengthen and demonstrate the importance attached by both Governments to cooperation on environmental protection and in furtherance of the principle of good neighborliness; Have agreed as follows:

....

ARTICLE 4
 

For the purposes of this Agreement, it shall be understood that the "border area" refers to the area situated 100 kilometers on either side of the inland and maritime boundaries between the Parties.

ARTICLE 8
 

Each Party designates a national coordinator whose principal functions will be to coordinate and monitor implementation of this Agreement, make recommendations to the Parties, and organize the annual meetings referred to in Article 10, and the meetings of the experts referred to in Article 11. Additional responsibilities of the national coordinators may be agreed to in an annex to this Agreement. In the case of the United States of America the national coordinator shall be the Environmental Protection Agency, and in the case of Mexico it shall be the Secretaria de Desarrollo Urbano y Ecologia, through the Subsecretaria de Ecologia.
 

ARTICLE 9

Taking into account the subjects to be examined jointly, the national coordinators may invite, as appropriate, representatives of federal, state and municipal governments to participate in the meetings provided for in this Agreement. By mutual agreement they may also invite representatives of international governmental or non-governmental organizations who may be able to contribute some element of expertise on problems to be solved. The national coordinators will determine by mutual agreement the form and manner of participation of non-governmental entities.
 

ARTICLE 14
 

Unless otherwise agreed, each Party shall bear the cost of its participation in the implementation of this Agreement, including the expenses of personnel who participate in any activity undertaken on the basis of it. For the training of personnel, the transfer of equipment and the construction of installations related to the implementation of this Agreement, the Parties may agree on a special modality of financing, taking into account the objectives defined in this Agreement.

 

1972 Declaration of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment

What the La Paz agreement did was to establish a fiefdom headed up by unelected government employees - giving them virtually unlimited power to expand their areas of responsibilities with the power to recruit an army of non-governmental organizations (NGO) to lobby for them.  Essentially the areas included in the La Paz fiefdom were commandeered from the states through which it runs. 

By defining the perimeters of the border region, it created a separate and independent international zone between Mexico and the U.S.  Effectively, they were internationalizing the EPA with this agreement.  They also provided a means to get financing outside the normal funding streams of the U.S. Congress - like from the United Nations for example or from private donors like David Rockefeller.  

 

Expanding Areas of Responsibility

Any organization - government or corporate that has the authority and money to expand areas of responsibilities will do so.  The La Paz Agreement gave the fiefdom of the border region that power.  Supposedly, the mandate of the EPA is health of the environment so the next power partner to add was Health and Human Services. And of course, working in an international zone with an international body, they had to establish an international section of their department.    These working group members embedded within our government are the Fifth Column. 

Office of Global Health Affairs - 2001   2006  (last entry in the archives) 
Regional Affairs - The Americas

 
 

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services - Global Affairs Office

U.S.-Mexico Border XXI Program

The Border XXI Program is a binational, interagency program aimed at protecting and improving the environment and environmental health, while fostering sustainable development in the U.S.-Mexico border area. The objectives of the Border XXI Program include public involvement, decentralization of border decision making, and increased cooperation between the different governmental agencies operating in the border region. The program is implemented through nine binational Workgroups that integrate the efforts of other participating entities and define specific projects to achieve the Program's objectives. The Workgroups are committed to encouraging active state participation in their endeavors and exploring additional mechanisms to promote border community participation and integrated regional planning.

The six Workgroups (1-6 below) that were initiated under the La Paz Agreement are (1) water, (2) air, (3) hazardous and solid waste, (4) pollution prevention, (5) contingency planning and emergency response, and (6) cooperative enforcement and compliance. Recognizing that the environment needs to be considered from a comprehensive perspective, Border XXI integrates three new Workgroups. These are (7) environmental information resources, (8) natural resources, and (9) environmental health. 

 

BORSTAR

This one was really clever.  They embedded this group within the Border Patrol itself giving the agency two diametrically opposing tasks.  No doubt the ultimate goal was/is to completely eliminate the law enforcement side of the Border Patrol in a strategy rather like the Invasion of the Body Snatchers

From an article on Daneen Peterson's website titled, "Treason Abounds":  

TJ  Bonner, president of the National Border Patrol Council, the union representing border agents said the Border Patrol's official pursuit policy handcuffs agents in the field . . . The administration is trying to intimidate front-line agents from doing their job . . . If they can't do it administratively, they'll do it with trumped-up criminal charges."  Sara A. Carter, Breaking the silence:  Convicted border agent tells his story, August 8, 2006, DailyBulletin.com, http://www.dailybulletin.com/news/ci_4141562

 

Expansion and Binational Efforts
(06/09/2003)

An agreement to expand BORSTAR along the southwest border was one of the agreements reached during a series of meetings between the United States and Mexico regarding binational efforts to promote border safety. BORSTAR Teams began providing binational training to Mexican officers in the year 2000. In 2001, team members shared basic skills and knowledge with more than 400 Mexican law enforcement officials. Binational training addressed basic search and rescue, first aid, land navigation, basic technical rescue, and aquatic safety techniques. Binational training to enhance public safety near the border has already produced dramatic results: In the last year, 1,200 people were rescued.

BORSTAR Teams are now in place in each of the nine southwest border sectors. BORSTAR is an integral part of making the border safer. The expansion and increased resources devoted to BORSTAR continue to illustrate the Border Patrol's commitment to safety and the preservation of human lives.

 
U.S. Mexico - Plan of Cooperation on Migration


Centers for Disease Control (CDC) - Border 2012 Program (next edition of Border XXI)
 

 

In 1983, the federal governments of the United States and Mexico signed the La Paz Agreement for the protection, improvement, and conservation of the environment on the U.S.-Mexico border. The border region was defined as the area within 62 miles (100 Km) on either side of the geographic border separating the two countries. Nine years later, environmental authorities of both countries released the Integrated Border Environmental Plan (IBEP), which involved six workgroups including: Air, Water, Hazardous and Solid Wastes, Pollution Prevention, Contingency Planning and Emergency Response, and Enforcement. The implementation of the IBEP was criticized because the public was not asked to help develop the plan and because little attention was given to natural resources and environmental health issues. These identified shortcomings led to the Border XXI Program, which ran from 1996 to 2000. Then in 2001, the U.S. and Mexican agencies ex+plored ways to improve binational environmental planning efforts in the region and created the Border 2012 program to address environmental issues in the region for the next 10 years.

CDC’s Environmental Hazards and Health Effects Program (EHHE) has been and continues to be active in environmental health activities along the U.S.-Mexico border. EHHE, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) [external link], and other federal agencies are involved in the Border 2012 program to address environmental health issues along the U.S.-Mexico border. Information on the Border 2012 program can be found at http://www.epa.gov/usmexicoborder/ [external link].

Public Health News and Information - Nov. 2001  (No. 43)

 

 

More on the La Paz Agreement

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