Presidential proclamations and executive orders have been used by presidents to rule on substantive issues of law; to administrate the executive branch of government; and to make general announcements to the public. These general announcements, which exhort the public to observe a holiday such as Thanksgiving, honor a particular group, such as African Americans, or hold up a particular ideal, such as Law Day, are usually issued in the form of presidential proclamations.

On December 10, 1949, President Truman issued the first presidential proclamation for Human Rights Day, Presidential Proclamation 2866 External. In this proclamation, President Truman stated that "the attainment of basic rights for men and women everywhere is essential to the peace we are seeking." President Truman designated December 10, 1949 and "December 10 of each succeeding year as United Nations Human Rights Day."

From 1949 to 1957, Presidents Truman and Eisenhower issued proclamations in honor of Human Rights Day. In 1958, President Eisenhower issued the first proclamation for Human Rights Week, Presidential Proclamation No. 3265 External. This proclamation commemorates the 167th signing of the Bill of Rights as well as the 10th anniversary of the proclamation of the UDHR. The president called upon the citizens of the United States to reread and study both of these documents. This proclamation set the week of December 10 to December 17, 1958, as Human Rights Week. From 1958 to the present, subsequent presidents have variously issued presidential proclamations on Human Rights Day and Week. Listed below are links to the presidential proclamations for these annual observances, along with the citations to the Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.) or the Federal Register (Fed. Reg.), the official publications for presidential proclamations.

Many of the presidential proclamations for the annual observances of Human Rights Day and/or Week, from 1949 to the present, can be browsed through the American Presidency Project External by selecting the year and clicking on the display button. Presidential messages, statements, and remarks can be searched from the home page of the American Presidency Project External.

Presidential proclamations, as well as presidential statements, messages, and remarks, for these annual observances can be searched from the Government Publishing Office’s advanced search page in the collections for the Code of Federal Regulations, the Compilation of Presidential Documents, and the Federal Register. For older copies of the Code of Federal Regulations (1938-1995), please visit the Code of Federal Regulations digital collection page on the Law Library of Congress website.

Copies of presidential proclamations which are not available online from any of these sources can be located in print at Federal Depository Libraries.