Human Rights Day and Human Rights Week, 2014

Vol. 79

Friday,

No. 239

December 12, 2014

Part V

The President

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Proclamation 9219--Human Rights Day and Human Rights Week, 2014

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Title 3--
The President

Proclamation 9219 of December 9, 2014

Human Rights Day and Human Rights Week, 2014

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

On December 10, 1948, nations from six continents came
together to adopt the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights. This extraordinary document affirmed that every
individual is born equal with inalienable rights, and
it is the responsibility of governments to uphold these
rights. In more than 430 translations, the Declaration
recognizes the inherent dignity and worth of all people
and supports their right to chart their own destinies.
On the anniversary of this human rights milestone, we
join with all those who are willing to strive for a
brighter future, and together, we continue our work to
build the world our children deserve.

The desires for freedom and opportunity are universal,
and around the world, yearnings for the rule of law and
self-determination burn within the hearts of all women
and men. When people can raise their voices and hold
their leaders accountable, governments are more
responsive and more effective. Children who are able to
lead healthy lives and pursue an education without fear
are free to spark progress and contribute to thriving
communities. And when citizens are empowered to pursue
their full measure of happiness without restraint, they
help ensure that economies grow, stability and
prosperity spread, and nations flourish. Protecting
human rights around the globe extends the promise of
democracy and bolsters the values that serve as a basis
for peace in our world.

It is our obligation as free peoples to stand with
courageous individuals who raise their voices to demand
universal rights. Under extremely difficult
circumstances--and often at grave personal risk--brave
human rights defenders and civil society activists
throughout the world are working to actualize the
rights and freedoms that are the birthright of all
humankind. The United States will continue to support
all those who champion these fundamental principles,
and we will never stop speaking out for the human
rights of all individuals at home and abroad. It is
part of who we are as a people and what we stand for as
a Nation.

My Administration supports free and fair elections, and
we will always oppose efforts by foreign governments to
restrict the freedoms of peaceful assembly,
association, and expression. We will continue to defend
the rights of ethnic and religious minorities, call for
the release of all who are unjustly detained, and
insist that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender
persons be treated equally under the law. We will press
forward in our efforts to end the scourge of human
trafficking, our fight to ensure the protection of
refugees and other displaced persons, and our tireless
work to empower women and girls worldwide.

The United States will always lift up those who seek to
work for the world as it should be. This is part of
American leadership. On Human Rights Day and during
Human Rights Week, let us continue our urgent task of
rejecting hatred in whatever form it takes and recommit
to fostering a global community where every person can
achieve their dreams and contribute to humankind.

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, 2014, as Human Rights Day and the week
beginning December 10, 2014, 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
ninth day of December, in the year of our Lord two
thousand fourteen, and of the Independence of the
United States of America the two hundred and thirty-
ninth.