[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 240 (Tuesday, December 15, 1998)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 68989-68990]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-33347]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 240 / Tuesday, December 15, 1998 / 
Presidential Documents  

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 Title 3--
 The President

[[Page 68989]]

                Proclamation 7158 of December 10, 1998

                
Human Rights Day, Bill of Rights Day, and Human 
                Rights Week, 1998

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                Thanks to the foresight of our Founding Fathers and 
                their commitment to human rights, we live in a Nation 
                founded upon the principles of equality, justice, and 
                freedom--principles guaranteed to us by our 
                Constitution. With the memory of tyranny fresh in their 
                minds, the members of the First Congress of the United 
                States proposed constitutional amendments known as the 
                Bill of Rights, making explicit and forever protecting 
                our Nation's cherished freedoms of religion, speech, 
                press, and assembly.

                But human rights have never been solely a domestic 
                concern. Americans have always sought to share these 
                rights with oppressed people around the world. In his 
                annual message to the Congress, on January 6, 1941, 
                President Franklin Delano Roosevelt articulated this 
                desire: ``In the future days, which we seek to make 
                secure, we look forward to a world founded upon four 
                essential human freedoms. The first is freedom of 
                speech and expression--everywhere in the world. The 
                second is freedom of every person to worship God in his 
                own way--everywhere in the world. The third is freedom 
                from want . . . . The fourth is freedom from fear . . . 
                anywhere in the world . . . . The world order which we 
                seek is the cooperation of free countries, working 
                together in a friendly, civilized society.''

                Fifty years ago, on December 10, 1948, the world 
                reached a major milestone toward FDR's vision when the 
                United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of 
                Human Rights. This Declaration--drafted by the U.N. 
                Commission on Human Rights under the leadership of 
                Eleanor Roosevelt--established an international 
                standard that recognized the ``inherent dignity'' and 
                the ``equal and inalienable rights of all members of 
                the human family . . . .'' It denounced past 
                ``disregard and contempt for human rights [that] have 
                resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the 
                conscience of mankind . . . .''

                 Today, a majority of the world's people live in 
                democracies and exercise their right to freely choose 
                their own governments. International war crimes 
                tribunals seek justice for victims and their families 
                by working to ensure that war crimes, crimes against 
                humanity, and genocide do not go unpunished. And we are 
                heartened by the progress toward peace made in Northern 
                Ireland, the Middle East, and elsewhere, which advances 
                the cause of human rights. But there are still many 
                areas where human rights abuses are committed with 
                impunity--unchecked and unpunished.

                To reaffirm our Nation's unequivocal commitment to 
                upholding human rights, today I am issuing an Executive 
                order to create an interagency working group to help 
                enforce the human rights treaties we have already 
                ratified and to make recommendations on treaties we 
                have yet to ratify. In addition, my Administration is 
                working to establish a genocide early warning center 
                and to fund nongovernmental organizations that respond 
                rapidly in human rights emergencies. The Department of 
                State is working to provide additional assistance for 
                Afghan women and girls under the oppressive rule of the 
                Taliban. We are also supporting the work of the 
                International Labor Organization in its efforts to 
                eliminate child labor. Finally, the Immigration and

[[Page 68990]]

                Naturalization Service is issuing guidelines on how to 
                handle cases where children seek asylum in the United 
                States.

                This year, as we come together to celebrate the 
                Declaration's 50th anniversary, let us not forget the 
                driving force behind its creation. We are grateful that 
                Eleanor Roosevelt brought her prodigious energies and 
                talents to this task. And it is fitting that we have 
                established the Eleanor Roosevelt Award for Human 
                Rights, honoring others for their important 
                contributions to protecting human rights around the 
                world.

                Eleanor Roosevelt once said that ``the future belongs 
                to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.'' 
                Her accomplishments serve as an inspiration to us all, 
                and each of us can play a part in preserving and 
                promoting her enduring legacy. Let us each embrace the 
                Declaration's promise by striving to uphold its 
                principles and defending the rights it embodies.

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the 
                United States of America, by virtue of the authority 
                vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United 
                States, do hereby proclaim December 10, 1998, as Human 
                Rights Day; December 15, 1998, as Bill of Rights Day; 
                and the week beginning December 10, 1998, as Human 
                Rights Week. I call upon the people of the United 
                States to celebrate these observances with appropriate 
                activities, ceremonies, and programs that demonstrate 
                our national commitment to the Bill of Rights, the 
                Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the 
                promotion and protection of human rights for all 
                people.

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                tenth day of December, in the year of our Lord nineteen 
                hundred and ninety-eight, and of the Independence of 
                the United States of America the two hundred and 
                twenty-third.

                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 98-33347
Filed 12-14-98; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3195-01-P