President. It is time to deal with a very pressing issuethat of human rights. The area of particular concern is emigration from the Soviet Union. In 1979. 51.000 Jewish emigrants were granted permission to leave the Soviet Union. By 1985. that number drastically declined to a mere 1.140. Today. there are still 400.000 Jewish persons wishing to leave the Soviet Union. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights assures anyone the right to leave any country. the U.S.S.R. signed it in 1973. The Helsinki accord obligates the signatory powers to provide exit visas for those seeking reunion with their families. the Soviets ratified it in 1975. Naum Meiman is one of these Soviet refuseniks whose human rights have repeatedly been violated. For over 10 years. he has expressed his desire to emigrate to Israel. and continually his request is denied. It is time for serious American action. The initiative would not cost the United States anything.
Keywords matched
emigrate emigration visas emigrants