Presidential Documents

64021 

Federal Register 

Vol. 83, No. 238 

Wednesday, December 12, 2018 

Title 3— 

The President 

Proclamation 9832 of December 7, 2018 

Human Rights Day, Bill of Rights Day, and Human Rights 

Week, 2018 

By the President of the United States of America 

A Proclamation 

Our Nation was founded on the idea that our Creator endows each individual 

with certain unalienable rights. In the Declaration of Independence, Thomas 

Jefferson identified life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness as among 

these fundamental human rights. Our Nation has enshrined these and other 

rights, which Americans continue to enjoy today, in the Bill of Rights. 

On Bill of Rights Day, we recognize the key role of the Bill of Rights 

in protecting our individual liberties and limiting the power of government. 

The Founding Fathers understood the real threat government can pose to 

the rights of the people. James Madison, who introduced the Bill of Rights 

in the Congress, stated that the ‘‘essence of Government is power; and 

power, lodged as it must be, in human hands, will ever be liable to abuse.’’ 

That is why those first 10 Amendments to the Constitution, among others, 

protected the right to speak freely, the right to freely worship, the right 

to keep and bear arms, the right to be free from unreasonable searches 

and seizures, and the right to due process of law. As a part of the Constitution, 

the supreme law of the land, the Bill of Rights has protected our rights 

effectively against the abuse of government power for 227 years. 

The Bill of Rights has served as a model for other countries in helping 

them develop their own safeguards for fundamental human rights. Seventy 

years ago, on December 10, 1948, as the world was emerging from the 

catastrophic destruction of World War II, the Bill of Rights inspired the 

United Nations General Assembly to adopt the Universal Declaration of 

Human Rights. Similar to the Bill of Rights, the Universal Declaration of 

Human Rights enumerates many basic rights that are essential to preserving 

the dignity and liberty of all people. Today, the United States continues 

to respect the sovereign right of each country to chart its own social, economic, and cultural advancement. We also, however, recognize the universal 

truth that those countries that strive to honor and defend human rights 

are more likely to achieve long-term, sustainable prosperity and peace. 

During Human Rights Day, Bill of Rights Day, and Human Rights Week, 

we vow to fiercely protect the eternal flame of liberty. Since there will 

always be a temptation for government to abuse its power, we reaffirm 

our commitment to defend the Bill of Rights and uphold the Constitution. 

We also remember all those around the world whose God-given rights have 

been violated and disregarded by authoritarian regimes, and we express 

our desire for the rule of law and liberty to one day triumph over all 

forms of oppression. 

NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, 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, 2018, 

as Human Rights Day; December 15, 2018, as Bill of Rights Day; and the 

week beginning December 9, 2018, as Human Rights Week. I call upon 

the people of the United States to mark these observances with appropriate 

ceremonies and activities. 


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64022 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 238 / Wednesday, December 12, 2018 / Presidential Documents 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this seventh day 

of December, in the year of our Lord two thousand eighteen, and of the 

Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and fortythird. 

[FR Doc. 2018–27096 

Filed 12–11–18; 11:15 am] 

Billing code 3295–F9–P 


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