Presidential Documents

34017 

Federal Register 

Vol. 83, No. 138 

Wednesday, July 18, 2018 

Title 3— 

The President 

Proclamation 9767 of July 13, 2018 

Captive Nations Week, 2018 

By the President of the United States of America 

A Proclamation 

Two hundred and forty-two years ago, America was founded on the fundamental principle that all men and women are created equal and share 

an inherent dignity that government must value, respect, and protect. The 

founding of our great country lit a spark of freedom that spread around 

the world, unleashing human potential and lifting billions out of poverty. 

Today, we continue this sacred legacy. We hold in common the responsibility 

to strengthen the bonds of liberty for future generations to inherit and 

carry forward. 

At the same time, we recognize that many around the world continue 

to live under the dark shadow of oppression and despotism. During Captive 

Nations Week, we remember that the rights and privileges we enjoy in 

the United States are not held by all. We stand in solidarity with those 

who continue to suffer under governments that stifle basic freedoms and 

deny the opportunity to build a better life. 

President Dwight D. Eisenhower proclaimed the first Captive Nations Week 

in 1959 during the height of the Cold War. At that time, the United States 

was locked in an enduring struggle to preserve and advance freedom for 

nations held captive by totalitarian communist regimes in Eastern Europe, 

Asia, and elsewhere. These regimes dismissed the very idea of individual 

rights. Then, as it does today, the United States blazed as a beacon of 

hope for the oppressed, for lovers of freedom and justice, and for those 

who strive for the rule of law. 

When the citizens of East Germany tore down the Berlin Wall in 1989, 

it was a defining moment for freedom. But much work remains unfinished. 

In many countries today, people remain subject to unjust arrest, detention, 

and execution. Individual rights, such as freedom of expression, freedom 

of association, and freedom to assemble, which are necessary to hold governments accountable, are significantly circumvented or denied entirely. The 

United States stands with the repressed and continues to encourage despotic 

regimes to turn away from authoritarianism and respect the God-given rights 

of life and liberty. 

As we observe Captive Nations Week, let us recall the words of President 

Ronald Reagan, declared on this occasion in 1983: ‘‘Free people, if they 

are to remain free, must defend the liberty of others.’’ Let us today resolve 

to continue the work of those who came before: to ensure that America 

remains the world’s brightest example of liberty; to do justice; to respect 

the rule of law; and to never, ever give up on liberty. 

The Congress, by Joint Resolution approved July 17, 1959 (73 Stat. 212), 

has authorized and requested the President to issue a proclamation designating the third week of July of each year as ‘‘Captive Nations Week.’’ 

NOW, THERFORE, 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 July 15 through 

July 21, 2018, as Captive Nations Week. I call upon all Americans to reaffirm 


amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with PRES DOCS
34018 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 138 / Wednesday, July 18, 2018 / Presidential Documents 

our commitment to those around the world striving for liberty, justice, 

and the rule of law. 

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

of July, in the year of our Lord two thousand eighteen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-third. 

[FR Doc. 2018–15509 

Filed 7–17–18; 11:15 am] 

Billing code 3295–F8–P 


amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with PRES DOCSTrump.EPS</GPH>