[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 4 (Monday, January 7, 2013)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 1123-1124]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-00203]



[[Page 1121]]

Vol. 78

Monday,

No. 4

January 7, 2013

Part III





The President





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Proclamation 8924--National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention 
Month, 2013



Proclamation 8925--National Stalking Awareness Month, 2013
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  Federal Register / Vol. 78 , No. 4 / Monday, January 7, 2013 / 
Presidential Documents  

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 Title 3--
 The President

[[Page 1123]]

                Proclamation 8924 of December 31, 2012

                
National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention 
                Month, 2013

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                This month, we rededicate ourselves to stopping one of 
                the greatest human rights abuses of our time. Around 
                the world, millions of men, women, and children are 
                bought, sold, beaten, and abused, locked in compelled 
                service and hidden in darkness. They toil in factories 
                and fields; in brothels and sweatshops; at sea, abroad, 
                and at home. They are the victims of human 
                trafficking--a crime that amounts to modern-day 
                slavery.

                As Americans, we have long rejected such cruelty. We 
                have recognized it as a debasement of our common 
                humanity and an affront to the principles we cherish. 
                And for more than a century, we have made it a national 
                mission to bring slavery and human trafficking to an 
                end.

                My Administration has been deeply committed to carrying 
                this legacy forward--beginning with trafficking that 
                happens on our own shores. We have strengthened 
                protections so all workers know their rights, expanded 
                efforts to identify and serve domestic victims, devoted 
                new resources to dismantling trafficking networks, and 
                put more traffickers behind bars than ever before. In 
                the months ahead, we will continue to take action by 
                empowering investigators and law enforcement with the 
                training they need, and by engaging businesses, 
                advocates, and students in developing cutting-edge 
                tools people can use to stay safe. We will invest in 
                helping trafficking victims rebuild their lives. And as 
                one of the world's largest purchasers of goods and 
                services, the Federal Government will keep leading by 
                example, further strengthening protections to help 
                ensure that American tax dollars never support forced 
                labor.

                Our commitment to stopping human trafficking does not 
                end at our borders. As a leader in the global movement 
                to combat this scourge, the United States has renewed 
                sanctions on governments that harbor the worst 
                offenders. We have partnered with groups around the 
                world to help men, women, and children escape their 
                abusers. And recognizing that no country can meet this 
                challenge alone, we have aided others in addressing 
                modern slavery's root causes, and encouraged nations 
                across the globe to pass comprehensive anti-trafficking 
                laws, enforce them rigorously, and care for survivors.

                We know the road ahead is long, and change will not 
                come easily. But as we renew our pledge to erase modern 
                forms of slavery from the face of this earth, let us 
                also draw strength from the movements of the past. We 
                recall the words of the Emancipation Proclamation--that 
                every life saved is ``an act of justice,'' worthy of 
                ``the considerate judgment of mankind, and the gracious 
                favor of an Almighty God.'' We reflect on the Amendment 
                that wrote abolition into law, the decades of struggle 
                to make its promise real, and the Universal Declaration 
                of Human Rights that has drawn nations together in the 
                pursuit of equality and justice. These achievements 
                once seemed impossible--but on this day, let us 
                remember that they were not, and let us press on toward 
                the future we know is possible.

[[Page 1124]]

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the 
                United States of America, by virtue of the authority 
                vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the 
                United States, do hereby proclaim January 2013 as 
                National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention 
                Month, culminating in the annual celebration of 
                National Freedom Day on February 1. I call upon 
                businesses, organizations, faith-based groups, 
                families, and all Americans to recognize the vital role 
                we can play in ending all forms of slavery and to 
                observe this month with appropriate programs and 
                activities.

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                thirty-first day of December, in the year of our Lord 
                two thousand twelve, and of the Independence of the 
                United States of America the two hundred and thirty-
                seventh.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 2013-00203
Filed 1-4-13; 11:15 am]
Billing code 3295-F3