This also concerns the nations of Idel-Ural.
The period from 21 – 27 July 2024, has been declared Captive Nations Week by US President Joe Biden. The corresponding proclamation appeared on the White House website.
— Russia is waging an illegal, unjustified, and unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine. The Ukrainian people have fought with extraordinary courage and bravery for two years. The United States and a coalition of more than 50 countries stand with them, and we will not back down or bow down. Autocrats around the world are watching closely to see what is happening in Ukraine and whether we will let this illegal aggression go unpunished. We cannot allow that to happen, — the document says.
President Biden also noted that the United States supports equal and inalienable rights of all people worldwide.
“That’s why my administration is working with Congress to provide up to $11.8 billion through fiscal year 2025 to strengthen democracies around the world. This year, at the Third Democracy Summit, the United States and nations around the world came together to strengthen democratic resilience, respect for human rights, and good governance around the world,” the White House website says.
Biden said the United States must work to ensure that indigenous groups, racial, ethnic and religious minorities, and the potential of people with disabilities are not stifled by systemic discrimination.
Captive Nations Week is an annual series of mass events originally aimed at drawing public attention to the problem of “captive nations under the control of communist regimes.” According to this law (adopted in 1959), the President of the United States is authorized to proclaim “Captive Nations Week” annually – until all of them gain freedom and independence.
The text of the Congressional resolution, which became law in 1959, listed the following countries and territories: Idel-Ural, Tibet, Kazakia, Turkestan, North Vietnam, Poland, Hungary, Lithuania, Ukraine, Czechoslovakia, Latvia, Estonia, Belarus, Romania, East Germany, Bulgaria, mainland China, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, North Korea, Albania.
