On this day in ...... 2001, the Association of Caribbean States concluded its 3d summit meeting with the issuance of the Declaration of Margarita, in which, among other things, they "pledge[d] to establish the region of the Greater Caribbean as a Zone of Co-operation," "appeal[ed] to the Government of the United States of America to end the application of the Helms-Burton" Act, a 1996 U.S. statute that reached transnationally to restrict trade with Cuba; called for better cooperation to combat terrorism, organized criminal activity, and corruption; urged the strengthening of trade relations; drew attention to "the urgent necessity of forging a new culture of water"; and thanked the summit host, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez.
... 1977, was the 1st day of the opening for signature of 2 treaties designed to elaborate upon the law of armed conflict. Monitored by the International Committee of the Red Cross, they are: (1) Additional Protocol I, formally titled the Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts, which entered into force in 1979 and now has 168 states parties; and (2) Additional Protocol II, formally titled the Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August
1949, and relating to the Protection of Victims of Non-International Armed Conflicts, which entered into force in 1978 and now has 164 states parties. The United States is not among them.
