Feature of the Month: December 2007
HUMAN RIGHTS WEEK
Human Rights Day, Bill of Rights Day, and Human Rights Week, 2007
A Proclamation by the President of the United States of America
Americans value deeply our ability to speak, assemble, and worship freely. As a Nation, we can help freedom-loving people everywhere build a world in which these rights are honored and respected. During Human Rights Day, Bill of Rights Day, and Human Rights Week, we celebrate the freedoms guaranteed to all Americans and protected in our Constitution's Bill of Rights.
Many of these fundamental freedoms are still denied to people in countries around the world. The United States continues to stand with those who work to build democracy and secure the blessings of liberty. Individuals are struggling to create free societies in Cuba, Belarus, and Syria. And the day will come when they, and the citizens of other lands such as North Korea, Iran, Zimbabwe, and Sudan, will no longer be restricted from practicing their faith, voicing their opinions, and enjoying the many blessings of freedom.
Freedom and dignity are God's gifts, and during Human Rights Day, Bill of Rights Day, and Human Rights Week, we look forward with confidence to the eventual triumph of human rights for all mankind.
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, 2007, as Human Rights Day; December 15, 2007, as Bill of Rights Day; and the week beginning December 10, 2007, 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 sixth day of December, in the year of our Lord two thousand seven, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-second.
GEORGE W. BUSH
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Human Rights Day 2007 marks the start of a year-long commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
This theme for 2008, “Dignity and justice for all of us,” reinforces the vision of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) as a commitment to universal dignity and justice
A History of Human Rights Day
President Dwight D. Eisenhower proclaimed December 10 as Human Rights Day, in honor of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on December 10, 1948, by the United Nations General Assembly. Since that day the world order has been reshaped by these powerful concepts. Inspired by this Declaration, people throughout the world have embraced the principles of democracy, human rights and religious freedom. The adoption of these values have contributed largely to a freer, more prosperous, and stable global arena. A community of free nations has joined together in promoting these values.
"The destiny of human rights is in the hands of all our citizens in all our communities"
Eleanor Roosevelt
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