[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 238 (Wednesday, December 13, 2023)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 86257-86258]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-27485]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 238 / Wednesday, December 13, 2023 / 
Presidential Documents  

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 Title 3--
 The President

[[Page 86257]]

                Proclamation 10684 of December 8, 2023

                
Human Rights Day and Human Rights Week, 2023

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                Seventy-five years ago, the Universal Declaration of 
                Human Rights captured a remarkable act of collective 
                hope. Drafted by a committee representing different 
                regions, faiths, and philosophies and adopted by the 
                United Nations General Assembly, the rights enumerated 
                in the declaration are universal and enduring. On Human 
                Rights Day and during Human Rights Week, we reaffirm 
                our commitment to upholding the equal and inalienable 
                rights of all.

                The United States was founded on an idea, at once the 
                simplest and the most powerful idea in the history of 
                the world: that we are all created equal and endowed 
                with certain inalienable rights. Generations later, in 
                the wake of World War II and the Holocaust, the United 
                States joined countries around the world to create the 
                United Nations and enshrine that same idea in the 
                Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

                Today, the United States--together with our partners 
                and allies--continues to defend fundamental freedoms 
                and human rights wherever they are under threat. We 
                stand with people everywhere defending their rights 
                against the forces of autocracy--demonstrating to the 
                world that the flame of liberty still lights the souls 
                of free people everywhere.

                This year, we also affirmed our commitment to 
                democratic renewal globally at the second Summit for 
                Democracy, bringing together nearly 100 government 
                leaders and hundreds of representatives from civil 
                society and the private sector as well as journalists, 
                technologists, and youth leaders from around the world. 
                The Summit galvanized progress to protect human rights, 
                bolster democratic reforms, fight corruption, support 
                free and independent media, advance technology that 
                works for democracy, combat the misuse of technology, 
                and defend free and fair elections and political 
                processes.

                I have often said that one of America's greatest 
                strengths is that we lead not by the example of our 
                power but by the power of our example. We are strongest 
                in the world when we live by our values at home, and we 
                must never cease working to uphold the dignity and 
                protect the rights of every person in this country and 
                promote protection of those same rights globally. That 
                is why my Administration has established the White 
                House Gender Policy Council, which works to ensure 
                women and girls enjoy equal rights and equal 
                participation in society by advancing the women, peace 
                and security agenda, preventing and responding to 
                gender-based violence, and more. We have worked to 
                strengthen civil rights for LGBTQI+ people at home and 
                around the world and to protect same-sex marriage. We 
                have led an intensive effort to counter the 
                proliferation and misuse of commercial spyware that has 
                enabled human rights abuses around the world. We are 
                working to address systemic racism, advance racial 
                equity, bolster support for underserved communities 
                throughout the Federal Government, address inequities 
                in our law enforcement and criminal justice systems, 
                and expand accessibility for people with disabilities. 
                As we look at today's global challenges online and 
                offline, from conflict, democratic backsliding, and 
                global pandemics to misinformation, the misuse of 
                technology, the climate crisis, and food insecurity, 
                the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a bedrock

[[Page 86258]]

                upon which we must tackle these issues and promote the 
                full enjoyment of all human rights.

                Today, as we celebrate Human Rights Day, the start of 
                Human Rights Week, and the 75th anniversary of the 
                Universal Declaration of Human Rights, may we all 
                recommit to securing the equal rights of every member 
                of the human family and working together for the 
                advancement of all humankind. Together, we can--and we 
                will--bend the arc of history toward a freer and more 
                just world for all.

                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 December 10, 
                2023, as Human Rights Day and the week beginning 
                December 10, 2023, as Human Rights Week. I call upon 
                the people of the United States to mark these 
                observances 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 twenty-three, and of the Independence of the 
                United States of America the two hundred and forty-
                eighth.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 2023-27485
Filed 12-12-23; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F4-P