Human Rights Day and Human Rights Week, 2016

Proclamation 9553 of December 9, 2016

Human Rights Day and Human Rights Week, 2016

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

When the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was
adopted on December 10, 1948, it set in motion a
movement to secure liberty and justice for all people.
Out of the ashes of the Second World War, the United
Nations General Assembly proclaimed that ``All human
beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.''
On Human Rights Day and during Human Rights Week, we
reflect on how far we have come in upholding these
universal rights and resolve to continue fighting to
safeguard them wherever they are threatened.

In the last few decades, our world has made great
strides in advancing human rights and the institutions
that protect them. More countries have pursued self-
government and democracy--and more people are electing
their leaders freely and fairly and holding their
governments accountable through calls for increased
transparency. Around the world, the United States has
promoted freedom: We have worked to expand the
protection of human rights, end gender-based violence,
and defend the freedoms of expression, peaceful
assembly, and the press. In promoting these liberties
and pushing back against tyranny, corruption, and
oppression, we have recognized that universal human
rights and fundamental freedoms do not stop at our
borders. They are the birthright of people everywhere.

History ultimately moves in the direction of justice
and inclusion, but despite the great progress we have
made, unprecedented and rapid change has posed great
challenges. It is our collective duty to continue
striving for a world where nobody is left behind,
forgotten, or mistreated, and where all nations
recognize that societies that draw on the contributions
of every citizen are stronger. Far too many people
around the world are still denied their human rights
and fundamental freedoms, and we must work to end the
discrimination that is too often felt by LGBT
individuals, people with disabilities, immigrants,
women and girls of all ages, and members of religious,
ethnic, and other minorities. And we must strengthen
our ongoing efforts to rid the world of violence,
oppression, and hatred.

Our relationships to one another--person to person,
nation to nation--are defined not by our differences,
but by our shared belief in the ideals enshrined in the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights. As we observe
the anniversary of the affirmation that inalienable
rights exist for every individual, we vow to ensure
these rights are afforded to every person. Together,
let us continue striving to stamp out all forms of
injustice and promote dignity, humanity, and respect
around the world.

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, 2016, as
Human Rights Day and the week beginning December 10,
2016, 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 sixteen, and of the Independence of the United
States of America the two hundred and forty-first.