    [United States Statutes at Large, Volume 133, 116th Congress, 1st Session]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    Proclamation 9910 of July 19, 2019

    Captive Nations Week, 2019

    By the President of the United States of America

    A Proclamation

    The United States has always been a source of hope to people around the
    world fighting to replace tyranny with liberty, justice, and the rule of
    law. During Captive Nations Week, we reaffirm our Nation's unwavering
    support for those who strive to be free from oppression. We condemn
    repressive regimes that deny people their God-given rights, including
    life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
    President Dwight D. Eisenhower first proclaimed Captive Nations Week in
    1959, when freedom in the United States was a bulwark against the
    totalitarianism of communist regimes in Eastern Europe and elsewhere.
    Even today, many decades since the end of the Cold War unleashed a new
    era of democratic flourishing, tyrannical and coercive governments still
    threaten the freedom and well-being of countless individuals worldwide.
    They persecute people for worshiping their God, and jail people for
    daring to speak out and for demanding even the most basic forms of
    transparency and accountability. They use food distribution as a tool of
    social control, manipulate electoral processes, and undermine the will
    and spirit of their people through intimidation and fear. The United
    States stands with repressed people around the world and urges
    governments everywhere to respect the God-given

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    rights of every individual and to embrace the establishment of
    representative government.
    As Americans, we are privileged and blessed to live in a Nation in which
    our Constitution protects fundamental rights like freedom of expression,
    association, religion, and peaceful assembly. We will continue to
    advocate for those who are unjustly denied these and other rights, and
    stand against brutality and oppression, which violate the dignity of all
    people.
    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, 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 July 21 through July
    27, 2019, as Captive Nations Week. I call upon all Americans to reaffirm
    our commitment to supporting those around the world striving for
    liberty, justice and the rule of law.
    IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this nineteenth day of
    July, in the year of our Lord two thousand nineteen, and of the
    Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-
    fourth.
    DONALD J. TRUMP