World Freedom Day, 2024, 89907-89908 [2024-26702]

Agencies

• Executive Office of the President

[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 220 (Thursday, November 14, 2024)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 89907-89908]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-26702]




                        Presidential Documents 



Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 220 / Thursday, November 14, 2024 / 
Presidential Documents

___________________________________________________________________

Title 3--
The President

[[Page 89907]]

                Proclamation 10856 of November 8, 2024

                
World Freedom Day, 2024

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                Today marks 35 years since the Berlin Wall came down. 
                Its fall was one of the greatest advances in human 
                dignity in my lifetime. As we celebrate this 
                anniversary, may we all remember that what brought the 
                Berlin Wall down and lifted the Iron Curtain is what 
                keeps the flame of liberty shining bright around the 
                world: the determination of free people everywhere who 
                never fail to stand up for their freedoms and their 
                democracy.

                I still remember when, as a young Senator, I visited 
                West Berlin and saw what it meant to live in a divided 
                city, country, and continent. Then, in 1989, along with 
                millions of people around the world, I watched the 
                70,000 brave souls gathered in Leipzig, Germany, crying 
                out for freedom. After the wall came down, some feared 
                the reunification of Germany would revive old hatreds 
                and rivalries, but leaders of America and Germany 
                dreamed together of a much better future. The 
                achievement of a Germany whole and free lives on, 
                exceeding everyone's expectations, and the dream of 
                Europe whole and free remains the work of our time. My 
                Administration is committed to pushing back against 
                Putin's vicious attack on Ukraine. It is another battle 
                in the long struggle for freedom and against aggression 
                and tyranny.

                Together with our partners and allies, the United 
                States is continuing to fight for the freedom and 
                rights of people around the world. We are working to 
                build a future where women and girls share equal rights 
                and opportunities in their communities; where 
                Indigenous groups, people with disabilities, and 
                racial, ethnic, and religious minorities live free from 
                discrimination; and where LGBTQI+ people can live lives 
                free from fear and hate. And we must all stay committed 
                to supporting democracy around the world--and at home. 
                I call on the American people to stand up in defense of 
                our democracy because every generation must do the work 
                of defending, protecting, and safeguarding it.

                The future will be won by those who unleash the full 
                potential of their people to breathe and think freely, 
                innovate and educate daringly, and live and love openly 
                and without fear. That is the soul of democracy--and I 
                have seen it all around the world, from the brave men 
                and women who brought down the Berlin Wall to the 
                people who are fighting in every region for freedom, 
                justice, and dignity. Today, may we strengthen our 
                commitment to our democracy and to one another, knowing 
                that the darkness that drives autocracy is no match for 
                the flame of liberty that lights the souls of free 
                people everywhere.

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., 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 November 9, 
                2024, as World Freedom Day. I call upon the people of 
                the United States of America to remember the hope 
                symbolized by the fall of the Berlin Wall and reaffirm 
                our dedication to freedom and democracy.

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                eighth day of November, in the year of our Lord two 
                thousand twenty-four, and of

[[Page 89908]]

                the Independence of the United States of America the 
                two hundred and forty-ninth.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 2024-26702
Filed 11-13-24; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F4-P