Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 97.djvu/1636

 97 STAT. 1604 PROCLAMATION 5075—JULY 25, 1983 Proclamation 5075 of July 25, 1983 Helsinki Human Rights Day By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation When the Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, widely referred to as "Helsinki accords," was concluded in Helsin- ki on August 1, 1975, thirty-three governments of Eastern and Western Europe, as well as the United States and Canada, committed themselves to "respect human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief, for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion." The participating governments further committed themselves to foster "freer movement and contacts," improved access to in- formation, and cultural and educational exchanges. The Helsinki accords are a major achievement in the development of uni- versal standards of international conduct and fundamental human rights. These standards go back to the earliest days of the American Republic. In a letter from Paris written to James Madison in 1787, Thomas Jefferson said that "a bill of rights is what the people are entitled to against every govern- ment on earth." The Helsinki accords are, in effect, a bill of rights for all the people of Europe. The Government of the United States is firmly committed to the full imple- mentation of the human rights and humanitarian provisions of the Helsinki accords. The American people are unalterably dedicated to the preserva- tion and promotion of fundamental human rights throughout the world. The Helsinki accords are a powerful diplomatic instrument to advance the cause of human dignity and liberty. At the Helsinki follow-up meeting in Madrid, the United States along with other Western countries has pointed out the failures of the Soviet Union and East European states to comply with their obligations under the hu- manitarian and human rights provisions of the Helsinki accords. The sup- pression of the trade union Solidarity in Poland, the continuing acts of re- pression directed against the Helsinki monitors, the drastic decrease in the level of emigration from the Soviet Union, and the harassment and persecu- tion throughout the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe of citizens attempting to express their religious and political freedoms flagrantly denies the princi- ples of Helsinki agreed to by the respective governments. These repressive actions not only threaten the achievement of genuine security and coopera- tion in Europe, but have a chilling effect on the human spirit of the brave peoples enduring this tyranny. Ante, p. 294. The Congress, by Senate Joint Resolution 96, has designated August 1, 1983 as "Helsinki Human Rights Day" and has authorized and requested the President to issue a proclamation in observance of that day. On this occa- sion, Americans are afforded the opportunity to reaffirm their commitment to the human rights principles embodied in the Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe and to demonstrate their solidarity with the peoples of the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, whose basic human rights are being violated by their governments on a continuing and regular basis. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 25th day of July, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty-three, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and eighth. RONALD REAGAN

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