in effect
This is a presidential proclamation (Proclamation 10960) signed July 25, 2025, formally designating July 20–26, 2025 as “Captive Nations Week.” It is a ceremonial declaration authorized by a 1959 Act of Congress, issued annually by the President to express U.S. support for people living under totalitarian governments.
The proclamation does not create new law, regulations, funding, or enforceable obligations. It officially names the specified week and calls on Americans to mark it with “appropriate ceremonies and activities.” It references existing government bodies — the Religious Liberty Commission, the White House Faith Office, and the State Department’s Office of International Religious Freedom — as ongoing vehicles for U.S. religious freedom advocacy abroad, but does not alter their mandates or budgets. No deadlines, penalties, or new programs are established by this document.
The proclamation is directed primarily at the general American public, inviting observance of the designated week. Federal agencies focused on international religious freedom may use the proclamation as a platform for related public outreach or events, though no specific action is required of them. People living under authoritarian governments abroad are named as the symbolic beneficiaries, but the document creates no direct legal or material effect on them.