Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 94 Part 3.djvu/1162

 94 STAT. 3806

PROCLAMATION 4804—NOV. 14, 1980

Even in times of trial and frustration we have much to be thankful for, in our personal lives and in our Nation. As we pause on Thanksgiving to offer thanks to God, we should not forget that we also owe thanks to this country's forefathers who had the vision to join together in Thanksgiving, and who gave us so much of the vision of brotherhood that is ours today. NOW, THEREFORE, I, JIMMY CARTER, President of the United States of America, do proclaim Thursday, the 27th of November, 1980 as Thanksgiving Day. I call upon all the people of our Nation to give thanks on that day for the blessings Almighty God has bestowed upon us, and to join the fervent prayer of George Washington who as President asked God to "... impart all the blessings we possess, or ask for ourselves to the whole family of mankind." IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirteenth day of November, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and fifth. JIMMY CARTER

Proclamation 4804 of November 14, 1980

Bill of Rights Day Human Rights Day and Week, 1980 By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation On December 15, 1791, the Bill of Rights became part of the Constitution of the United States. On December 10, 1948, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Marking these anniversaries together gives us an opportunity to renew our dedication both to our own liberties and to the promotion of human rights everywhere. The Bill of Rights carries with it an implied responsibility for the governed as well as for the governing. No American citizen can rest satisfied until the Bill of Rights is a living reality for every person in the United States, irrespective of race, religion, sex, national or ethnic origin. We cannot simply rely on the decency of government or the alertness of an active free press. Each individual must shoulder his or her share of the responsibility for seeing that our freedoms will survive. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is the cornerstone of a developing international consensus on human rights. Through it, the members of the United Nations undertake to promote, respect and observe human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without discrimination. We must continuously monitor the progress of this effort and the records of governments around the world. The promise of the Declaration is remote to all those who suffer summary executions and torture, acts of genocide, arbitrary arrest and imprisonment, banishment, internal exile, forced labor, and confinement for political cause. It is remote to the countless refugees who flee their lands in response to the elimination of their human rights. It is remote to those sub-

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