[United States Statutes at Large, Volume 117, 108th Congress, 1st Session]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

Proclamation 7634 of December 9, 2002
 
Human Rights Day, Bill of Rights Day, and Human Rights Week, 2002

By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation

America's commitment to individual freedom and democracy provides the
foundation for our society. As a Nation, we cherish the values of free
speech, equal justice, and religious tolerance, and we steadfastly
oppose the forces of cruelty, injustice, and tyranny. Since the founding
of our country, the Bill of Rights has served to guide our people and
our Government to ensure basic human rights and liberties. The United

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States is a country where all citizens have the opportunity to voice
their opinions, practice their faith, and enjoy the blessings of
freedom.
Today, countless people around the world cannot exercise their basic
human rights. America has pledged to support all individuals who seek to
secure their unalienable rights. Across the globe, we will continue to
stand with those who fight for fundamental freedoms, whether they be
democracy activists in Cuba, university faculty and students in Iran,
opposition leaders in Zimbabwe, journalists in Belarus, or the people of
North Korea who have never known freedom. We are leading a coalition of
more than 90 nations to defeat terror and to secure liberty and
opportunity for people throughout the world. Our fight against
oppression demonstrates our Nation's dedication to a future of hope and
understanding for all people. One year after the liberation of
Afghanistan from the clutches of terror and tyranny, we are helping the
Afghan people build institutions of democracy and tolerance that are
essential to the country's future stability, security, and prosperity.
And I hope the brave people of Iraq will soon realize their own dreams
of peace and freedom.
In commemorating Human Rights Day, Bill of Rights Day, and Human Rights
Week, we renew our pledge to uphold the vital principles of freedom,
equality, and opportunity that have made our Nation strong. By working
together to advance the rights of all people, we help to build mutual
trust and peace for all individuals across this land and around the
world.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of
America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and
laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim December 10, 2002, as
Human Rights Day; December 15, 2002, as Bill of Rights Day; and the week
beginning December 10, 2002, as Human Rights Week. I call upon the
people of the United States to honor the legacy of human rights passed
down to us from previous generations and to resolve that such liberties
will prevail in our Nation and throughout the world.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this ninth day of
December, in the year of our Lord two thousand two, and of the
Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and twenty-
seventh.
GEORGE W. BUSH