[United States Statutes at Large, Volume 127, 113th Congress, 1st Session]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

 
PROCLAMATION 8998--JULY 19, 2013

Proclamation 8998 of July 19, 2013

Captive Nations Week, 2013
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
As citizens of the oldest democracy on earth, we believe that all people
are created equal with certain inalienable rights, including life,
liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Together, we have kept that most
basic promise shining bright for more than two centuries--upholding
civil rights and expanding their reach, advancing freedom's march and
widening the circle of opportunity for all.
Our commitment to universal rights is also a foundation for American
leadership abroad. In the course of our Nation's history, countries




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worldwide have pledged themselves to a Universal Declaration of Human
Rights. Corrupt dictatorships have given way to new democracies, forcing
out the stale air of authoritarian rule with a fresh breath of freedom.
We know that work is not yet complete. Even as the light of liberty and
justice has spread across the globe, too many people still labor in the
darkness of tyranny and oppression. In too many parts of the world,
fundamental freedoms remain unrealized, and the protections of law
extend only to a privileged few.
Captive Nations Week is an opportunity to reaffirm America's role in
advancing human rights worldwide. It is a task that can begin here, with
the example we set and the understanding that we are stronger when all
our people are granted opportunity--no matter what they look like, where
they worship, or who they love. And it can continue by extending a hand
to those who reach for freedom abroad. Different peoples will determine
their own paths. But we must reject the notion that those who live in
distant places do not yearn for freedom, self-determination, dignity,
and the rule of law, just as we do.
When President Dwight D. Eisenhower first marked this day, he noted that
it should recur ``until such time as freedom and independence shall have
been achieved for all the captive nations of the world.'' We have come a
long way since then--but despite our progress, that time has not yet
come. So let us keep striving to bring it about--supporting those who
seek the same freedoms we enjoy as Americans, and extending the
blessings of peace and prosperity here at home and around the world.
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, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of
America, do hereby proclaim July 21 through July 27, 2013, as Captive
Nations Week. I call upon the people of the United States to reaffirm
our deep ties to all governments and people committed to freedom,
dignity, and opportunity for all.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this nineteenth day of
July, in the year of our Lord two thousand thirteen, and of the
Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-
eighth.
BARACK OBAMA