This gathering of the 38 participating states of the Helsinki process was the final of three meetings of the CDH. Previous meetings. held In Paris in 1989 and Copenhagen In 1990. addressed Issues relating to human rights and humanitarian cooperation among the participating states and produced concrete results both In terms of implementation and new commitments. This series of forums provided the Soviet Union an opportunity to wipe its slate clean as it relates to outstanding family reunification human rights cases. many of which have been on the books for 5. even 10 or more years. At a CSCE meeting in 1988. I called for a "zero option" for human rights: Zero political prisoners. zero divided families. zero refusals on requests to emigrate or return. zero broadcasts jammed. zero restraints on religious observance and teaching. and zero curbs on free communication. assembly. and association. We are certainly closer to that goal than we could have imagined in 1988. However.
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emigrate family reunification