[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
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 83 , No. 238 / Wednesday, December 12, 2018 /
Presidential Documents
___________________________________________________________________
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