Proclamation 6499—Refugee Day, 1992

The United States has long welcomed to its shores refugees from oppression and persecution -- generations of whom have built new lives for themselves in this country and, in so doing, contributed to its cultural and economic development. Early immigrants to America sought sanctuary from tyranny and persecution, and our first President, George Washington, exhorted that the United States should ever be "an asylum to the oppressed and needy of the earth." The origins of this great land as a place of refuge and our rich heritage as a nation of immigrants give Americans a special understanding of, and sympathy for, the plight of some 17 million refugees worldwide today.

In addition to opening its doors to tens of thousands of refugees each year, the United States is working to overcome the conditions that force large numbers of people to flee their homelands. Through a wide range of public and private organizations, we have been promoting education, disease prevention, and sustainable economic development in countries beset by illiteracy and poverty. Because millions of refugees have been driven from their homes by the scourge of political repression and war, we have placed a high priority on working to promote freedom and democracy, which are the only sure foundation for lasting peace and progress.

With the collapse of imperial communism and with the emergence of democratic nations around the globe, more of our fellow human beings are living in freedom than at any other time in history. This trend has had a positive impact on a number of serious, long-standing refugee situations throughout the world, such as those in Central America, Cambodia, and Afghanistan.

However, while these developments are encouraging, we know that in some regions of the world, the plight of refugees continues to demand our urgent attention. Nowhere are conditions more deplorable today than in the Horn of Africa and the former Yugoslavia.

The United States serves as an international leader in efforts to meet the challenges of current refugee crises. We will continue to fulfill our fundamental responsibilities to help refugees, and we will continue to urge our allies and all governments to remain firmly committed to protecting refugees and to contributing toward international relief efforts. The United States remains steadfast in its support of the efforts of the United Nations to develop effective worldwide programs to alleviate human suffering. Because the suffering of refugees is most often the result of systematic government repression and violent unrest in some regions of the world, we will also continue to champion respect for human rights, the peaceful resolution of conflicts, and the principles of national sovereignty and liberty under law.

Now, Therefore, I, George Bush, 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 October 30, 1992, as Refugee Day. I urge all Americans to observe this day with appropriate programs and activities, including efforts to provide humanitarian assistance to refugees and to promote freedom and peace among all peoples.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-ninth day of October, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-two, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and seventeenth.

GEORGE BUSH