Presidential Document2024-16399
Captive Nations Week, 2024
Primary source
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Published
July 24, 2024
Signed
July 19, 2024
Issuing agencies
Executive Office of the President
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 142 (Wednesday, July 24, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 142 (Wednesday, July 24, 2024)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 59813-59814]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-16399]
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 142 / Wednesday, July 24, 2024 /
Presidential Documents
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Title 3--
The President
[[Page 59813]]
Proclamation 10785 of July 19, 2024
Captive Nations Week, 2024
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
During Captive Nations Week, we remember all those
around the world living under oppression and fighting
for their liberty. They remind us that freedom is never
free and that even the most brutal regime cannot erase
the human yearning for dignity and self-determination.
As we marked the 80th anniversary of D-Day this year,
we were reminded of the dark forces that the United
States and its allies fought against in World War II,
like aggression, greed, and the desire to dominate and
change borders by force. Still today, the struggle
between dictatorship and freedom continues. We see it
in various places around the world, where rulers govern
with contempt for basic human rights, the rule of law,
and democratic governance. In countries like Belarus,
Cuba, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Iran,
Nicaragua, the People's Republic of China, Syria,
Russia, Venezuela, and more, millions live without
basic freedoms.
In Europe, we see another stark example. Russia is
waging an illegal, unjustifiable, and unprovoked war of
aggression against Ukraine. For 2 years, the Ukrainian
people have fought with extraordinary courage and
bravery. The United States is standing with them,
alongside a coalition of more than 50 countries, and we
will not walk away or bow down. The autocrats of the
world are watching closely to see what happens in
Ukraine and if we will let this illegal aggression go
unchecked. We cannot let that happen. That is why I
signed a national security package into law that
provided $61 billion to the people of Ukraine to meet
their urgent security and defense needs, ensuring they
have the support they need to defend their country.
At the same time, we support the equal and inalienable
rights of all people everywhere. That is why my
Administration has been working with the Congress to
provide up to $11.8 billion through the end of Fiscal
Year 2025 to strengthen democracies across the globe.
This year, at the Third Summit for Democracy, the
United States and countries around the world came
together to strengthen democratic resilience, respect
for human rights, and good governance globally. But
there is still so much we must do. We must continue
working to ensure that women and girls enjoy equal
rights and equal participation. We must ensure that
Indigenous groups; racial, ethnic, and religious
minorities; and people with disabilities do not have
their potential stifled by systemic discrimination. We
must remember wrongfully detained Americans around the
world. And we must ensure that LGBTQI+ people are not
targeted with violence because of who they are. When
human rights are not upheld, the effects are felt
everywhere. They are essential to the advancement of
human progress that brings us together.
The challenges of our time remind us that we must
continue to secure our freedom and democracy here at
home. I signed an Executive Order to promote access to
voter registration and election information so every
American has an opportunity to exercise their right to
vote. And I signed the Electoral Count Reform Act to
ensure that our elections answer to the will of the
people. I continue to call on the Congress to pass the
[[Page 59814]]
Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights
Advancement Act, which would further protect the sacred
right to vote.
As Americans, we represent something special to the
world. We are the only Nation on Earth founded on the
idea that all men and women are created equal. Both at
home and abroad, our actions every day will ensure that
our democracy endures, the soul of our Nation endures,
and the free world remains free. This week, we recommit
to ensuring that democracy is preserved, is defended,
and prevails.
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, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of
the United States of America, do hereby proclaim July
21 through July 27, 2024, as Captive Nations Week. I
call upon all Americans to reaffirm our commitment to
championing those around the world who are working,
often at great personal risk, to secure liberty and
justice for all.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
nineteenth day of July, in the year of our Lord two
thousand twenty-four, and of the Independence of the
United States of America the two hundred and forty-
ninth.
<GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT>
(Presidential Sig.)
[FR Doc. 2024-16399
Filed 7-23-24; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F4-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on July 24, 2024.
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