Human Rights and the Belgrade Meeting

Principle VII and Basket Three of the Final Act of the Helsinki Summit of 1975 expressed the commitment of the thirty-five states of Europe and North America to respect human rights and fundamental freedoms. The 1977-78 CSEA meeting at Belgrade put these issues firmly into the framework of East-West diplomacy. Justice Goldberg, Chairman of the United States Delegation to CSEA, examines the failure of the Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc nations to fulfill the promises of the Final Act through grave violations of human rights and the repression of those individuals seeking to enforce the provisions of the Final Act. Goldberg forecasts the impact that these violations should have on the progress of East-West relations and detente.