Presidential Documents

79375 

Federal Register 

Vol. 85, No. 237 

Wednesday, December 9, 2020 

Title 3— 

The President 

Proclamation 10124 of December 4, 2020 

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

Week, 2020 

By the President of the United States of America 

A Proclamation 

Nearly 250 years ago, heroes of our Revolution signed the Declaration of 

Independence, offering a bold enumeration of inalienable rights endowed 

to us by our Creator. In time, with independence secured from a tyrannical 

monarchy, our Nation etched these principles of liberty and equality into 

the law of our fledgling Nation when we ratified our Constitution. The 

revolutionary idea they embodied—that certain individual rights are beyond 

the reach of government—has resonated around the world. Today, and this 

week, we celebrate our sacred rights and the example they have set for 

the rest of history. 

James Madison, who drafted the Bill of Rights text, was initially skeptical 

of the need to secure specific rights explicitly in the Constitution, believing 

the checks and balances inherent in our system of government would operate 

to achieve that objective. But he came to recognize the value that the 

Bill of Rights could provide and worked to ensure that the individual 

rights and freedoms of Americans were precisely enumerated in the highest 

law of the land. Madison was acutely aware that, while a government 

formed to serve its people is just and legitimate, ‘‘power, lodged as it 

must in human hands, will ever be liable to abuse.’’ Accordingly, he worked 

to imprint essential human rights, including the rights to peaceful assembly, 

freedom of speech, and free exercise of religion in our foundational legal 

text, empowering generations of Americans by protecting them from government abuses. 

The revolutionary understanding of human rights reflected in the Declaration 

of Independence and encoded in our Constitution has provided a blueprint 

for the world in advancing individual human rights. In 1948, looking to 

our Bill of Rights as a model, the United Nations General Assembly established the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which recognizes the 

‘‘inherent dignity’’ and ‘‘equal and inalienable rights’’ of mankind. Earlier 

this year, we also celebrated the 45th anniversary of the signing of the 

Helsinki Accords, in which the Western World acknowledged similar fundamental human freedoms in defiance of the Soviet Union. 

Despite these milestones, the world is still plagued by tragic human rights 

abuses, including the oppression of women, forced labor, racism, and ethnic 

and religious persecution. My Administration continues to fight these injustices on all fronts while calling on other sovereign nations to respect the 

unalienable rights of their people. Earlier this year, I signed an Executive 

Order on Preventing Online Censorship, which protects and fosters freedom 

of expression for Americans on social media and other platforms and also 

seeks to combat human rights abuses abroad like the mass imprisonment 

of religious minorities in China, which are often obscured by a cloud of 

false information online. Additionally, I recently signed an Executive Order 

on Advancing International Religious Freedom, which prioritizes this fundamental freedom in American diplomacy and recognizes that advancing religious freedom abroad is vital to combating rising levels of violence and 

crimes against humanity around the globe. There is no greater defender 


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79376 Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 237 / Wednesday, December 9, 2020 / Presidential Documents 

of liberty than the United States, and we will remain steadfast in our 

efforts. 

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

we cherish the unique story of our Nation and celebrate the patriots who 

helped our country secure our fundamental rights, freedoms, and values 

for ourselves and our posterity. We also take pride in the role that this 

heritage has played in advancing and protecting human rights around the 

world. America’s commitment to individual liberty and human dignity is 

at our very core. We acknowledge that the principles set forth in the Bill 

of Rights are foundational, and we recommit to ensuring their legacy in 

our country as we continue to lead the way toward stronger human rights 

protections around the world. 

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, 2020, 

as Human Rights Day; December 15, 2020, as Bill of Rights Day, and the 

week beginning on December 6, 2020, 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 fourth day 

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

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

[FR Doc. 2020–27242 

Filed 12–8–20; 11:15 am] 

Billing code 3295–F1–P 


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