Human Rights Day and Human Rights Week, 2012

Proclamation 8915 of December 10, 2012

Human Rights Day and Human Rights Week, 2012

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

Sixty-four years ago, a group of nations emerging from
the shadow of war joined together to light a path
toward lasting peace. They adopted the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights--a revolutionary document
that recognized the inherent dignity and inalienable
rights of all people as the ``foundation of freedom,
justice, and peace in the world.'' As we mark the
anniversary of that historic act, we celebrate the
rights the Declaration recognized and recommit to
strengthening them in the 21st century.

The United States was built on the promise that freedom
and fairness are not endowed only to some--they are the
birthright of all. Ordinary Americans have fought to
fully realize that vision for more than two centuries,
courageously forging a democracy that empowers each of
us equally and affords every citizen due process under
the law. Just as we have cultivated these rights here
at home, so have we worked to promote them abroad.
Societies across the globe are reaching toward a future
where leaders are fairly and duly elected; where
everyone can get an education and make a good living;
where women and girls are free from violence, as well
as free to pursue the same opportunities as men and
boys; and where the voice of the people rings clear and
true. As they do, the United States stands with them,
ready to uphold the basic decency and human rights that
underlie everything we have achieved and all our
progress yet to come.

Men and women everywhere long for the freedom to
determine their destiny, the dignity that comes with
work, the comfort that comes with faith, and the
justice that exists when governments serve their
people. These dreams are common to people all around
the world, and the values they represent are universal.
This week, we rededicate ourselves to fortifying civil
rights in America, while reaffirming that all people
around the world should live free from the threat of
extrajudicial killing, torture, oppression, and
discrimination. And we renew our promise that the
United States will be a partner to any nation, large or
small, that will contribute to a world that is more
peaceful and more prosperous, more just and more free.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, 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, 2012, as
Human Rights Day and the week beginning December 10,
2012, 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
tenth day of December, in the year of our Lord two
thousand twelve, and of the Independence of the United
States of America the two hundred and thirty-seventh.