Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 107 Part 3.djvu/649

 PROCLAMATION 6513—DEC. 8, 1992 107 STAT. 2587 tionality, gender, or belief, and declared that "everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through fireely chosen representatives." These principles were affirmed again in 1975, when the United States, Canada, and 33 European nations joined together in signing the Helsinki Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe. While we have made great progress toward the goals set forth at Helsinki and reaffirmed at subsequent CSCE meetings in Copenhagen, Geneva, and Moscow, we know that there is still much work to do in promoting the peaceful resolution of conflicts, the establishment of stable, democratic institutions of government, and imiversal compliance with international human rights agreements. When he proposed a Bill of Rights to our Constitution in 1789, James Madison sagely noted that such a document would strengthen democracy by preventing a tyranny of the majority, in which the will of a larger niunber of citizens might be levelled against the rights of the few. The resurgence of ethnic violence and bitter nationalist rivalries has underscored the urgency of protecting the rights of minorities. As it has done consistently in the past, the United States calls on all signatories to the Helsinki Final Act and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to fulfill their solemn commitment to protect the rights of individuals, without regard to race, nationality, or creed. Recognizing that egregious human rights violations continue not only in regions encompassed within the CSCE but also in other regions of the world, the United States also denounces any attempts to dilute or distort human rights agreements through the claim of particular socioeconomic circimistances or religious and cultural traditions. Having fought so long for recognition of an international himian rights standard, one rooted in fundamental standards of morality and justice, we will not condone that consensus being undermined by those who claim that their particular economic, social, or political contexts relieve them of their obligation to protect the rights of individuals. The upcoming World Conference on Human Rights, which is to be held in June 1993, will provide the United States with another opportunity to reaffirm the universality of human rights and the common duty of all governments to uphold them. NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE 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, 1992, as Human Rights Day and December 15, 1992, as Bill of Rights Day, and call on all Americans to observe the week beginning December 10, 1992, as Human Rights Week. I urge all Americans to observe this week with appropriate ceremonies and activities. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereimto set my hand this eighth day of December, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-two, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and seventeenth. GEORGE BUSH

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