    [United States Statutes at Large, Volume 132, 115th Congress, 2nd Session]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    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 Dec

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    laration 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.
    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.
    DONALD J. TRUMP