ExecutiveOrdersEO
Proc 7158ProclamationClinton · D

Proclamation 7158

Human Rights Day, Bill of Rights Day, and Human Rights Week, 1998

This proclamation declares December 10, 1998 as Human Rights Day, December 15, 1998 as Bill of Rights Day, and the week beginning December 10, 1998 as Human Rights Week. Within the proclamatory text, President Clinton announces several substantive policy actions: creating an interagency working group via executive order to enforce human rights treaties, establishing a genocide early warning center, funding NGOs for rapid human rights emergency response, State Department assistance for Afghan women and girls under Taliban rule, support for ILO child labor elimination efforts, and INS guidelines for child asylum cases.

Federal Register Open PDF 63 FR 68989

Impact dates

  1. Bill of Rights Day proclaimed

  2. Human Rights Day proclaimed

  3. Human Rights Week begins (week-long observance)

Key directives

  • Create interagency working group to enforce human rights treaties and recommend on unratified treaties
  • Establish genocide early warning center
  • Fund NGOs that respond rapidly in human rights emergencies
  • Provide additional State Department assistance for Afghan women and girls under Taliban rule
  • Support ILO efforts to eliminate child labor
  • Issue INS guidelines on handling child asylum cases

Who is ordered

Timeline

Immediate

  • Proclamation of observance dates (December 10 and 15, 1998)
  • Interagency working group creation via executive order
  • INS guidelines issuance on child asylum cases

Near term (90d)

  • Establishment of genocide early warning center
  • Funding for rapid-response NGOs in human rights emergencies
  • State Department assistance programs for Afghan women and girls

Long term

  • Enforcement of ratified human rights treaties
  • Recommendations on unratified treaties
  • ILO child labor elimination efforts
  • Ongoing human rights treaty compliance framework

Risks & tensions

  • Proclamation mixes ceremonial observances with substantive policy announcements, creating ambiguity about binding force of policy commitments
  • No specific funding amounts or legislative authorizations cited for new programs
  • Vague on whether executive order creating working group was actually signed same day or is prospective
  • Taliban assistance and child asylum guidelines may face implementation challenges without detailed operational guidance
Proclamation 7158: Human Rights Day, Bill of Rights Day, and Human Rights Week, 1998 · Executive Orders