[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 142 (Wednesday, July 24, 2013)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 44869-44870]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-17956]



[[Page 44867]]

Vol. 78

Wednesday,

No. 142

July 24, 2013

Part VI





The President





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Proclamation 8998--Captive Nations Week, 2013
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  Federal Register / Vol. 78 , No. 142 / Wednesday, July 24, 2013 / 
Presidential Documents  

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 Title 3--
 The President

[[Page 44869]]

                Proclamation 8998 of July 19, 2013

                
Captive Nations Week, 2013

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                As citizens of the oldest democracy on earth, we 
                believe that all people are created equal with certain 
                inalienable rights, including life, liberty, and the 
                pursuit of happiness. Together, we have kept that most 
                basic promise shining bright for more than two 
                centuries--upholding civil rights and expanding their 
                reach, advancing freedom's march and widening the 
                circle of opportunity for all.

                Our commitment to universal rights is also a foundation 
                for American leadership abroad. In the course of our 
                Nation's history, countries worldwide have pledged 
                themselves to a Universal Declaration of Human Rights. 
                Corrupt dictatorships have given way to new 
                democracies, forcing out the stale air of authoritarian 
                rule with a fresh breath of freedom.

                We know that work is not yet complete. Even as the 
                light of liberty and justice has spread across the 
                globe, too many people still labor in the darkness of 
                tyranny and oppression. In too many parts of the world, 
                fundamental freedoms remain unrealized, and the 
                protections of law extend only to a privileged few.

                Captive Nations Week is an opportunity to reaffirm 
                America's role in advancing human rights worldwide. It 
                is a task that can begin here, with the example we set 
                and the understanding that we are stronger when all our 
                people are granted opportunity--no matter what they 
                look like, where they worship, or who they love. And it 
                can continue by extending a hand to those who reach for 
                freedom abroad. Different peoples will determine their 
                own paths. But we must reject the notion that those who 
                live in distant places do not yearn for freedom, self-
                determination, dignity, and the rule of law, just as we 
                do.

                When President Dwight D. Eisenhower first marked this 
                day, he noted that it should recur ``until such time as 
                freedom and independence shall have been achieved for 
                all the captive nations of the world.'' We have come a 
                long way since then--but despite our progress, that 
                time has not yet come. So let us keep striving to bring 
                it about--supporting those who seek the same freedoms 
                we enjoy as Americans, and extending the blessings of 
                peace and prosperity here at home and around the world.

                The Congress, by joint resolution approved July 17, 
                1959 (73 Stat. 212), has authorized and requested the 
                President to issue a proclamation designating the third 
                week of July of each year as ``Captive Nations Week.''

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the 
                United States of America, do hereby proclaim July 21 
                through July 27, 2013, as Captive Nations Week. I call 
                upon the people of the United States to reaffirm our 
                deep ties to all governments and people committed to 
                freedom, dignity, and opportunity for all.

[[Page 44870]]

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

[FR Doc. 2013-17956
Filed 7-23-13; 11:15 am]
Billing code 3295-F3