[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 238 (Wednesday, December 13, 2017)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 58699-58700]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-27033]



[[Page 58697]]

Vol. 82

Wednesday,

No. 238

December 13, 2017

Part II





The President





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Proclamation 9685--Human Rights Day, Bill of Rights Day, and Human 
Rights Week, 2017



Executive Order 13816--Revising the Seal for the National Credit Union 
Administration



Memorandum of December 8, 2017--Delaying Submission of the Small 
Business Administration Report Under the Trade Facilitation and Trade 
Enforcement Act of 2015
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  Federal Register / Vol. 82 , No. 238 / Wednesday, December 13, 2017 / 
Presidential Documents  

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 Title 3--
 The President

[[Page 58699]]

                Proclamation 9685 of December 8, 2017

                
Human Rights Day, Bill of Rights Day, and Human 
                Rights Week, 2017

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                Our great country was forged in the fires of a 
                revolution to overthrow the rule of a tyrant, by a free 
                people who understood the fundamental truth that 
                liberty is best secured when the state's power is 
                carefully limited. From the Declaration of 
                Independence, to the Constitution, and through the Bill 
                of Rights, our country and our people have always known 
                the true, God-given nature of liberty and the ability 
                of law to safeguard it against the state. For 226 
                years, the final piece of this freedom-sustaining 
                bulwark--the Bill of Rights--has formed the bedrock of 
                the constitutional protections every American holds 
                dear as their birthright.

                On Bill of Rights Day, we recognize the importance of 
                the first 10 Amendments to our Constitution to 
                protecting our liberty and freedom against the 
                inevitable encroachment of government. Our Founding 
                Fathers understood the threat of expansive, omnipresent 
                government. From the beginning of our republic, 
                therefore, they endeavored to enhance the Constitution 
                with a bill of rights, a specific enumeration of 
                fundamental rights that would prevail even against a 
                future government inclined to abuse the power it has 
                over the lives of citizens.

                On June 8, 1789, James Madison, originally skeptical of 
                the need for a bill of rights, introduced in the 
                Congress several amendments to the Constitution that 
                would eventually form the Bill of Rights. During the 
                ensuing debates, Madison told the Congress that because 
                ``all power is subject to abuse'' it was worth taking 
                steps to ensure that such abuse ``may be guarded 
                against in a more secure manner.'' Many of the rights 
                set forth in the amendments Madison introduced that day 
                are quite familiar to us as Americans: the right to 
                worship as we please; the right to speak our minds and 
                consciences; the right to firearms to protect ourselves 
                and our loved ones; the right to be free from 
                unwarranted government searches and seizures; the right 
                to a jury of our fellow citizens when accused of legal 
                wrongdoing. Others--like the right to object to housing 
                troops in our homes during peacetime--are often thought 
                of as relics of a bygone era. Regardless of their 
                familiarity or applicability to our daily lives, 
                however, each clause of the Bill of Rights addresses 
                profound and real abuses the Founders faced and each is 
                crafted and locked into law to protect us and future 
                generations from their repetition.

                Since its adoption, the reach of the Bill of Rights has 
                spread far beyond America's shores. As George 
                Washington rightfully said: ``Liberty, when it begins 
                to take root, is a plant of rapid growth.'' For 
                example, in the wake of the devastation of World War 
                II, the spirit of the Bill of Rights inspired the 
                United Nations General Assembly to adopt the Universal 
                Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. Just like the Bill 
                of Rights, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is 
                grounded in the recognition that just governments must 
                respect the fundamental liberty and dignity of their 
                people. By enumerating core rights that should be 
                immune from government encroachment, both the Bill of 
                Rights and the Universal Declaration of Human

[[Page 58700]]

                Rights have helped fuel remarkable prosperity and 
                achievement around the world.

                During Human Rights Day, Bill of Rights Day, and Human 
                Rights Week, we rededicate ourselves to steadfastly and 
                faithfully defending the Bill of Rights and human 
                rights. Our God-given, fundamental rights are soon 
                overcome if not safeguarded by the people. We, 
                therefore, also reflect upon the many individuals who 
                are unable to enjoy the God-given rights that we as 
                Americans know are secure. We remember those suffering 
                under the yolk of authoritarianism and extremism for 
                doing nothing more than standing up to injustice or 
                daring to profess or practice their religion, and we 
                acknowledge those imprisoned or in peril simply because 
                of their political views or their sex.

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, 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 December 10, 2017, as 
                Human Rights Day; December 15, 2017, as Bill of Rights 
                Day; and the week beginning December 10, 2017, as Human 
                Rights Week. I call upon the people of the United 
                States to mark this observance with appropriate 
                ceremonies and activities.

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

[FR Doc. 2017-27033
Filed 12-12-17; 11:15 am]
Billing code 3295-F8-P