Helsinki Agreement
The Helsinki Agreement, formally known as the Helsinki Final Act (HFA), was a landmark accord signed in 1975 by leaders from thirty-three European nations, along with the United States and Canada. This agreement emerged from nearly three years of discussions held during the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) and aimed to enhance security and cooperation among the participating states. A key aspect of the HFA is its emphasis on human rights, particularly highlighted in Principle Seven, which underscores the importance of respecting freedoms of thought, conscience, and religion.
The agreement also includes provisions for the free movement of people and the dissemination of information, fostering a climate for improved communication and human contacts across Europe. Although the implementation of the HFA faced challenges, especially during the Cold War, it laid the groundwork for subsequent dialogues that promoted democratic principles and minority rights. Over time, particularly following the fall of the Soviet Union, the interpretation of the HFA evolved, leading to significant reductions in censorship and greater freedoms for individuals in Eastern Europe. The ongoing "Helsinki process" continues to serve as a platform for reviewing and promoting these commitments among states.
Helsinki Agreement
Date: July, 1973-August, 1975
Place: Geneva, Switzerland, and Helsinki, Finland
Significance: This accord contributed to the creation of European standards on human rights, particularly freedom of critical expression
The Helsinki Agreement, or Helsinki Final Act (HFA), was signed by the leaders of thirty-three European states and the United States and Canada. As the result of nearly three years of meetings in the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE), the HFA codified essential humanitarian provisions to be applied in relations among states, and to be implemented in the domestic political systems of the states. A prominent clause in the agreement is Principle Seven, entitled “Respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief,” which is located in the first section (or “basket”) of the document. It requires all states to respect the universal significance of “freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief,” all of which are essential for “peace, justice and well-being” in European societies. The HFA reaffirms humanitarian provisions that were previously codified in the Charter of the United Nations, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and in the Covenants on Human Rights.
Of equal importance is the third section of the HFA, entitled “Co-operation in Humanitarian and Other Fields.” Known as “Basket III” it calls for freer movement of people, broader dissemination of printed, oral, filmed, and broadcast information, and improvement of the working conditions of journalists.
Follow-up conferences, prescribed in the HFA, have focused on improving human contacts, broadening exchanges of information, protecting minority rights, and developing democratic institutions. The regular meetings to review implementation of the HFA are known as the Helsinki process.
Until the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, implementation of the HFA was hampered by Cold War rhetoric and deeper disagreements over the source, substance, and exercise of human rights. Leaders of Western democratic governments stated that the unrestricted flow of printed, oral, or broadcast information would improve international relations. Soviet commentators and spokespersons for East European states claimed that all decisions on the availability and exchange of information should rest within the domestic jurisdiction of the governments which signed the HFA. Each state could define the parameters of censorship within its own social and political system. Any information which did not contribute to the building of socialism or the socialist way of life was thus censored by the Soviet authorities, regardless of the broader definitions of the HFA.
In 1976 a group of Soviet citizens invoked the HFA to call for an end to censorship in the Soviet Union. Members of these unofficial Helsinki Monitoring Groups were arrested and imprisoned or forced into exile, often for anti-Soviet agitation and propaganda. Under international political and economic pressure, Soviet representatives to HFA follow-up meetings gradually eased censorship.
By 1991 a more universal interpretation of the HFA emerged. Soviet and East European officials ended the jamming of West European radio broadcasts, freed persons imprisoned for expressing their political or religious beliefs, and allowed unprecedented travel between Eastern and Western Europe. All the signatory states to the HFA agreed to international monitoring of their pledges to allow freedom of expression.