Human Rights Activists Hail Csce Final Charter

Human rights activists have hailed the Final Charter adopted at the Paris meeting of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe this week.

Its specificity on a wide range of human rights concerns was welcomed by Denis Braham, vice chairman of the National Conference on Soviet Jewry, who attended the meeting and met with representatives of some of the 34 participating nations.

Braham, who chairs his organization’s CSCE Monitoring Committee, cited the charter’s provisions with respect to freedom of thought, conscience, religion and the rights of minorities.

He said he was especially impressed by the signatories’ “determination to combat racial and ethnic hatred and anti-Semitism, and their declaration of irrevocable respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.”

National Conference Chairwoman Shoshana Cardin said, “As an active participant in monitoring the CSCE human rights process from its inception, we call upon the signatories to insure implementation of the document.”

“We are gratified to note the determination of the CSCE member nations to expand the human dimension mechanism. In this regard, we hope that all human rights organizations will have freedom of access to the 1991 Moscow CSCE Conference on the Human Dimension,” she said.

The original Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe convened in 1973 and concluded at the 1975 Helsinki summit, attended by the heads of states and government of 33 European nations, the United States and Canada.

RELIGIOUS FREEDOM INCLUDED

The Final Act of Aug. 1, 1975, also known as the Helsinki Accords, is a statement of principles committing states to standards of conduct toward their own citizens as well as toward other states.

The CSCE process was continued at subsequent meetings in various European capitals over the last 15 years.

Monitoring groups known as Helsinki Watch committees swiftly called attention to human rights violations by signatory nations. That was especially true during the long period of struggle for the rights of Soviet Jews, including their right to emigrate.

The Final Charter states that “human rights and fundamental freedoms are the birthright of all human beings, are inalienable and guaranteed by law. Their protection and promotion is the first responsibility of government. Respect for them is an essential safeguard against an overmighty state. Their observance and full exercise are the foundation of freedom, justice and peace.”

The declaration affirms the universal right to “freedom of thought, conscience and religion or belief; freedom of expression; freedom of association; and peaceful assembly and freedom of movement.”

It specifies that “no one will be subject to arbitrary arrest or detention,” that “the ethnic, cultural, linguistic and religious identity of national minorities will be protected” and that national minorities “have the right to freely express, preserve and develop that identity without any discrimination and in full equality before the law.”