[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 238 (Wednesday, December 12, 2018)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 64021-64022]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-27096]



[[Page 64019]]

Vol. 83

Wednesday,

No. 238

December 12, 2018

Part III





The President





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Proclamation 9832--Human Rights Day, Bill of Rights Day, and Human 
Rights Week, 2018
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  Federal Register / Vol. 83 , No. 238 / Wednesday, December 12, 2018 / 
Presidential Documents  

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 Title 3--
 The President

[[Page 64021]]

                Proclamation 9832 of December 7, 2018

                
Human Rights Day, Bill of Rights Day, and Human 
                Rights Week, 2018

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                Our Nation was founded on the idea that our Creator 
                endows each individual with certain unalienable rights. 
                In the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson 
                identified life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness 
                as among these fundamental human rights. Our Nation has 
                enshrined these and other rights, which Americans 
                continue to enjoy today, in the Bill of Rights.

                On Bill of Rights Day, we recognize the key role of the 
                Bill of Rights in protecting our individual liberties 
                and limiting the power of government. The Founding 
                Fathers understood the real threat government can pose 
                to the rights of the people. James Madison, who 
                introduced the Bill of Rights in the Congress, stated 
                that the ``essence of Government is power; and power, 
                lodged as it must be, in human hands, will ever be 
                liable to abuse.'' That is why those first 10 
                Amendments to the Constitution, among others, protected 
                the right to speak freely, the right to freely worship, 
                the right to keep and bear arms, the right to be free 
                from unreasonable searches and seizures, and the right 
                to due process of law. As a part of the Constitution, 
                the supreme law of the land, the Bill of Rights has 
                protected our rights effectively against the abuse of 
                government power for 227 years.

                The Bill of Rights has served as a model for other 
                countries in helping them develop their own safeguards 
                for fundamental human rights. Seventy years ago, on 
                December 10, 1948, as the world was emerging from the 
                catastrophic destruction of World War II, the Bill of 
                Rights inspired the United Nations General Assembly to 
                adopt the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. 
                Similar to the Bill of Rights, the Universal 
                Declaration of Human Rights enumerates many basic 
                rights that are essential to preserving the dignity and 
                liberty of all people. Today, the United States 
                continues to respect the sovereign right of each 
                country to chart its own social, economic, and cultural 
                advancement. We also, however, recognize the universal 
                truth that those countries that strive to honor and 
                defend human rights are more likely to achieve long-
                term, sustainable prosperity and peace.

                During Human Rights Day, Bill of Rights Day, and Human 
                Rights Week, we vow to fiercely protect the eternal 
                flame of liberty. Since there will always be a 
                temptation for government to abuse its power, we 
                reaffirm our commitment to defend the Bill of Rights 
                and uphold the Constitution. We also remember all those 
                around the world whose God-given rights have been 
                violated and disregarded by authoritarian regimes, and 
                we express our desire for the rule of law and liberty 
                to one day triumph over all forms of oppression.

                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, 2018, as 
                Human Rights Day; December 15, 2018, as Bill of Rights 
                Day; and the week beginning December 9, 2018, as Human 
                Rights Week. I call upon the people of the United 
                States to mark these observances with appropriate 
                ceremonies and activities.

[[Page 64022]]

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

[FR Doc. 2018-27096
Filed 12-11-18; 11:15 am]
Billing code 3295-F9-P