[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 40, Number 44 (Monday, November 1, 2004)]
[Pages 2572-2573]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 7837--United Nations Day, 2004

October 24, 2004

By the President of the United States

of America

A Proclamation

    On United Nations Day, we commemorate the founding of the United 
Nations in 1945 and recognize its many contributions to advancing peace 
and human rights around the world.
    Our Declaration of Independence and the United Nations' Universal 
Declaration of Human Rights proclaim the equal value and dignity of 
every human life. That dignity is honored by the rule of law, limits on 
the power of the state, respect for women, protection of private 
property, free speech, equal justice, and religious tolerance. These 
founding documents affirm that the bright line between justice and 
injustice is the same in every age, every culture, and every nation.
    Today, the United Nations is helping advance these ideals in many 
places around the globe. The U.N. assisted Afghanistan in making history 
when Afghan women and men voted in a democratic Presidential election 
earlier this month. In Sudan, Liberia, Haiti, and other nations, the 
U.N. has been working to bring security, stability, and humanitarian 
assistance to people in need. From Africa to the Caribbean to Asia, the 
U.N. is helping to turn societies away from old conflicts, overcome 
persistent poverty, and fight HIV/AIDS and other diseases.
    The United States remains committed to the high ideals of the U.N. 
as stated in its charter: ``To save succeeding generations from the 
scourge of war . . . to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights . . . 
and to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger 
freedom.''
    Now, Therefore, I, George W. Bush, President of the United States of 
America,

[[Page 2573]]

by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of 
the United States, do hereby proclaim October 24, 2004, as United 
Nations Day. I urge the Governors of the 50 States, the Governor of the 
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the officials of other areas under the 
flag of the United States to honor the observance of United Nations Day 
with appropriate ceremonies and activities.
    In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-fourth 
day of October, in the year of our Lord two thousand four, and of the 
Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and twenty-
ninth.
                                                George W. Bush

 [Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 9:08 a.m., October 26, 
2004]

Note: This proclamation was published in the Federal Register on October 
27.