United Nations Day, 2016, 74655-74656 [2016-26071]

Agencies

• Executive Office of the President

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 207 (Wednesday, October 26, 2016)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 74655-74656]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-26071]




                        Presidential Documents 



Federal Register / Vol. 81 , No. 207 / Wednesday, October 26, 2016 / 
Presidential Documents

[[Page 74655]]


                Proclamation 9528 of October 21, 2016

                
United Nations Day, 2016

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                Seventy-one years ago, after rolling back a tide of 
                tyranny that threatened Europe and the world, members 
                of the international community came together to sign 
                the United Nations Charter--advancing a promise to 
                replace the ravages of war with the possibilities of 
                diplomacy. On United Nations Day, we reflect on the 
                progress we have made in the time since, resolve to 
                carry this progress forward, and reaffirm our 
                commitment to international cooperation rooted in the 
                rights and responsibilities of nations across the 
                globe.

                Today, because of the international order the United 
                Nations has helped anchor for more than seven decades, 
                we live in a global community that, together, has 
                overcome the greatest financial crisis of our time, 
                lifted billions of people out of poverty, promoted the 
                emergence of more democracies, and taken meaningful 
                steps toward leaving our children with a world that is 
                safer, cleaner, and more stable. Yet the same forces of 
                integration that have helped forge closer ties and 
                stronger partnerships among the world's nations also 
                have exposed deep fault lines that we must address. In 
                too many places around the world, perpetrators of 
                atrocities go unpunished and those who violate 
                international law face no consequences. Climate change 
                remains a serious threat--even after we officially 
                crossed the threshold for the Paris Agreement to take 
                effect earlier this month. Too many governments still 
                silence journalists, quash dissent, and censor vital 
                flows of information. And in camps and cities around 
                the world, families live as refugees, surviving on aid 
                and the compassion of others. These issues present 
                crises of our shared security and challenges to our 
                international system in which all nations must share in 
                our collective responsibilities. Our world is too 
                small, and our destinies too intertwined, for us not to 
                see ourselves in one another. By upholding the values 
                upon which the United Nations was founded--pluralism, 
                diversity, human rights, and togetherness--we can 
                ensure we pass these tests of our common humanity. And 
                by continuing to build a more capable and effective 
                United Nations, we strengthen the world's capacity to 
                respond to global crises, keep peace in fragile 
                societies, and tackle unprecedented humanitarian 
                challenges.

                The international community relies on the United 
                Nations today more than ever before. Now in its eighth 
                decade, this institution--and those selfless 
                individuals who devote their lives to sustaining it--is 
                vital to our mission of shaping a better world: one 
                defined by cooperation over confrontation, a shared 
                sense of purpose, and the understanding that the future 
                of a child in America is inextricably linked to that of 
                a child in Afghanistan. On this day, let us pay tribute 
                to the staff of the United Nations, particularly the 
                more than 100,000 uniformed personnel serving in 
                peacekeeping missions, for their selfless service to 
                the cause of promoting international peace and 
                prosperity, and as citizens of the world, let us renew 
                our shared commitment to forging a brighter tomorrow 
                for all.

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, 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 October 24, 2016,

[[Page 74656]]

                as United Nations Day. I urge the Governors of the 50 
                States, and the officials of all other areas under the 
                flag of the United States, to observe United Nations 
                Day with appropriate ceremonies and activities.

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                twenty-first day of October, in the year of our Lord 
                two thousand sixteen, and of the Independence of the 
                United States of America the two hundred and forty-
                first.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 2016-26071
Filed 10-25-16; 11:15 am]
Billing code 3295-F7-P