Soviet Human Rights Under Gorbachev

Publication Date: February 1987

Publisher: Heritage Foundation (Washington, D.C.)

Author(s): Mikhail Tsypkin

Research Area: Human rights

Keywords: Russia and Eurasia

Type: Report

Coverage: Soviet Union

Abstract:

The Reagan Administration should continue its policy on human rights: openly criticize Soviet human rights abuses; demand that the Soviets fulfill the human rights provisions contained in the 1975 Helsinki Final Act; deny the Soviets the most favored nation treatment (MFN) in trade relations until they permit free emigration; insist on including human rights issues in the agenda of high-level Soviet-American meetings; and retain the issue of human rights as the centerpiece of the Helsinki process. It is only continuing and unremitting pressure by the U.S. and the West on human rights that may lead to improvements in individual situations and the possibility of long-term systemic change.