Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 109 Part 2.djvu/891

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PROCLAMATION 6856—DEC. 6, 1995 109 STAT. 1863 Fourth World Conference on Women in September of this year, the First Lady underscored our commitment to defending the rights of women and families, and we have undertaken a range of initiatives to raise awareness of child exploitation, to oppose child labor, and to assist young victims of war. We live in an era of great advances for freedom and democracy. Yet, sadly, it also remains a time of ongoing suffering and hardship in many countries. As a Nation long committed to promoting individual rights and human dignity, let us continue our efforts to ensure that people in all regions of the globe enjoy the same freedoms and basic human rights that have always made America great. NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, 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, 1995, as Human Rights Day, December 15, 1995, as Bill of Rights Day, and December 10 through December 16, 1995, as Human Rights Week. I call upon the people of the United States to celebrate these observances with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities that demonstrate our national commitment to the Constitution and the promotion of human rights for all people. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this fifth day of December, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-five, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and twentieth. WILLIAM J. CLINTON Proclamation 6856 of December 6, 1995 National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, 1995 By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation America's involvement in World War II began 54 years ago as dawn was shattered by a surprise attack on our forces stationed at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. In the words of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, "December 7, 1941—a date which will live in infamy" began at 7:55 a.m. when Japan launched an offensive to destroy the United States Pacific Fleet. The losses suffered that day shocked our Nation with the realization that American soil was not immune to the ravages of war—at the end of the attack, more than 3,000 Americans were dead, missing, or wounded. We resolved to boldly defend our shores against further devastation. Just 4 years later, the same fleet that the Japanese had attempted to destroy at Pearl Harbor sailed triumphantly into Tokyo Bay. The attack of Pearl Harbor marked the beginning of America's total mobilization against a common enemy, and the United States soon became the world's "Arsenal of Democracy." Citizens worked together toward a common goal as the "We Can Do It" attitude spread across the country. The landscape of American business was forever changed as over 19 million women and many minority workers took high-skill jobs to contribute to the war effort.