Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 103 Part 1.djvu/206

 103 STAT. 178 PUBLIC LAW 101-69—AUG. 2, 1989 to adhere to the principles of human rights and fundamental freedoms as embodied in the Helsinki accords; Whereas, despite some significant improvements in some of these countries, the aforementioned Governments still have the worst performance records and have failed to fully implement their obligations under Principle VII of the Helsinki accords to respect human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief, and under Basket III of the Helsinki accords to promote free movement of people, ideas and information; Whereas representatives from the signatory States convened in Vienna on November 4, 1986, to review implementation and address issues of compliance with the human rights and humani- tarian provisions of the Helsinki accords; Whereas representatives from the signatory States reached consen- sus on the Concluding Document of the Vienna Meeting on Janu- ary 19, 1989, a document which has added clarity and precision to the obligations undertaken by the States in signing the Helsinki accords; and Whereas by agreeing to the document, the signatory States "reaffirmed their commitment to the CSCE process and under- lined its essential role in increasing confidence, in opening up new ways for cooperation, in promoting respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms and thus strengthening international secu- rity": Now, therefore, be it Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That— (1) August 1, 1989, the fourteenth anniversary of the signing of the Final Act on the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (hereinafter referred to as the "Helsinki accords") is designated as "Helsinki Human Rights Day"; (2) the President is authorized and requested to issue a proclamation reasserting the American commitment to full implementation of the human rights and humanitarian provi- sions of the Helsinki accords, urging all signatory nations to abide by their obligations under the Helsinki accords, and encouraging the people of the United States to join the Presi- dent and Congress in observance of the Helsinki Human Rights Day with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities; (3) the President is further requested to continue his efforts to achieve full implementation of the human rights and humani- tarian provisions of the Helsinki accords by raising the issue of noncompliance on the part of any signatory nation which may be in violation (in particular, the Governments of the Soviet Union, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, the German Democratic Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Romania); (4) the President is further requested to convey to all signato- ries of the Helsinki accords that respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms is a vital element of further progress in the ongoing Helsinki process; and

�