[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 138 (Wednesday, July 20, 2022)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 43199-43200]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-15590]
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 138 / Wednesday, July 20, 2022 /
Presidential Documents
___________________________________________________________________
Title 3--
The President
[[Page 43199]]
Proclamation 10423 of July 15, 2022
Captive Nations Week, 2022
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
America has firmly set its sights on the ideals of
freedom, democracy, equality, liberty, and justice for
all. We have never fully lived up to that founding
promise, but we have never walked away from it either.
These core values have also moved us to support people
around the world--especially those who live under
oppressive regimes--so that they can freely exercise
their rights. As a long-standing democracy, the United
States carries a responsibility to show the world how
representative governance delivers benefits for all
people. During Captive Nations Week, we reaffirm our
commitment to supporting and amplifying the voices of
the courageous individuals around the world who are
striving to advance the universal principles of
freedom, democracy, justice, and the rule of law while
living under oppression.
Today, defending democracy is more vital and more
urgent than ever. Around the world, we bear witness to
alarming trends--autocratic nations brutally invading
the territory of their neighbors, backsliding of
democratic values, intrusive digital surveillance,
widespread human rights abuses, and increasing acts of
transnational repression. These practices and policies
imperil the essential work of activists, journalists,
and defenders of human rights, and they oppress average
citizens. Increasingly, repressive regimes in Russia,
Iran, Belarus, Syria, Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua, the
Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the People's
Republic of China, and elsewhere are seeking to
subjugate not only those within their own borders but
also those in other countries. They reach across
borders to surveil, harass, threaten, and even kill
human rights defenders, media workers, and civilians in
other sovereign nations. It is an outrage and an
affront to the rules-based order that underwrites
international peace and security. The world's
democracies must stand together and show the strength
of our resolve to put an end to these injustices.
With the first Summit for Democracy in December 2021
and the ongoing Year of Action, the United States
launched an effort to bring together governments around
the world to counter authoritarianism, defend
democracy, and safeguard the human rights and
fundamental freedoms that foster peace, security, and
prosperity. Collectively, we are working to bolster
sustainable and independent media, protect and support
civil society, and insist on the rule of law and
accountability for those who commit abuses.
As Russia relentlessly wages its brutal and unprovoked
war against the people of Ukraine, our Nation has led a
global response to hold Russia accountable and denounce
its inhumanity and its contempt for international law.
We honor the valor and sacrifice of the people of
Ukraine, who have reminded the world through their
courage of the universal yearning for freedom. We will
continue to stand with them as they defend their
country, their liberty, and their democracy.
During Captive Nations Week, we stand in solidarity
with the brave human rights and pro-democracy advocates
around the world--many of whom risk their lives each
day to protect the rights of others. We remain
committed
[[Page 43200]]
to ensuring that all those who are oppressed around the
globe are heard, supported, and protected.
May Captive Nations Week reinvigorate our efforts to
live up to our ideals by championing justice, dignity,
and freedom for all.
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, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., 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 July 17
through July 23, 2022, as Captive Nations Week. I call
upon all Americans to reaffirm our commitment to
championing those around the world who are working,
often at great personal risk, to secure liberty and
justice for all.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
fifteenth day of July, in the year of our Lord two
thousand twenty-two, and of the Independence of the
United States of America the two hundred and forty-
seventh.
(Presidential Sig.)
[FR Doc. 2022-15590
Filed 7-19-22; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F2-P