[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 38, Number 50 (Monday, December 16, 2002)]
[Page 2143]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 7634--Human Rights Day, Bill of Rights Day, and Human 
Rights Week, 2002

December 9, 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 
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

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 9:05 a.m., December 11, 
2002]

Note: This proclamation was published in the Federal Register on 
December 12.