[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 29, Number 49 (Monday, December 13, 1993)]
[Pages 2541-2542]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 6634--International Year of the Family, 1994

 December 6, 1993

By the President of the United States

of America

A Proclamation

    Families are fundamental to the lifeblood and strength of our world. 
They are the nurturers, caregivers, role models, teachers, counselors, 
and those who instill our values. Generation upon generation have first 
experienced love through family bonds. We all must work toward the goal 
of preserving these ties, society's most valuable resource. In 
recognition of the vital links that connect us, the United States joins 
with other members of the United Nations in proclaiming 1994 as the 
International Year of the Family.
    By honoring families, we are acknowledging the crucial role that 
they play in developing the character of our collective communities--on 
the local, national, and global lev- 

[[Page 2542]]

els. The fabric of the United States and the world is woven together 
from many diverse ethnic and cultural family threads. Each family's 
unique traditions and teachings blend together to build the very 
foundation upon which we, as an international family, have grown and 
will continue to grow.
    The family is the central core from which we prepare our children to 
assume the positions of leadership that will take us into the next 
century. By proclaiming 1994 as the International Year of the Family, we 
rededicate ourselves to today's families and tomorrow's leaders. As the 
changing world presents new and different challenges to both nations and 
individuals, the family's role must always be to ensure unconditional 
love and acceptance. We must sustain and support our families so that 
they can continue to survive and prosper.
    The International Year of the Family seeks to raise awareness of 
family issues by addressing and reinforcing national family policies and 
programs. Additionally, the International Year of the Family strives to 
improve public and private partnerships related to family issues.
    The United Nations, in designating 1994 as the International Year of 
the Family, emphasized that ``families, as basic units of social life, 
are major agents of sustainable development at all levels of society and 
that their contribution to that process is crucial for its success.''
    Now, Therefore, I, William J. Clinton, 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 1994 as 
the International Year of the Family in the United States. I call on all 
Americans to observe this year with appropriate programs and activities.
    In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this sixth day of 
December, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-three, and 
of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and 
eighteenth.
                                            William J. Clinton

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 10:48 a.m., December 7, 
1993]

Note: This proclamation was published in the Federal Register on 
December 8.