Implementation Final Act of the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe
- Author(s):
- Parliamentary Assembly
- Origin
- Assembly debate on 5 May 1976 (4th Sitting) (seeDoc. 3781,Doc. 3781,, report of the Political Affairs Committee). Text adopted by the Assembly on 5 May 1976 (4th Sitting).
- Thesaurus
The Assembly,
1. Continues to hope that the holding of the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe and the signing of its Final Act at Helsinki on 1 August 1975 will contribute to promoting better relations and mutual understanding among participating states, and ensure the conditions for a lasting peace ;
2. Recalls the statement of its basic position on the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe in Recommendations 692 (1973), 729 and 739 (1974), and Resolutions 588 and 595 (1975), and its Order No. 352 (1975) inviting all competent committees to undertake a careful analysis of the Final Act of the conference and to report back to the Assembly ;
3. Follows the call, expressed in the chapter on the follow-up of the conference, to pay due regard to and to implement the provisions of the Final Act of the conference within the framework of existing international organisations ;
4. Hopes that its first joint debate with the participation of all committees concerned has made a constructive contribution towards the implementation of the principles and proposals for practical co-operation laid down in the Final Act,
a by reminding the governments of participating states of their solemn engagement, and
b by informing public opinion of the vast field of possibilities for improving relations between states with different political and economic systems ;
5. Aware that it is too early at the present stage to draw any substantial conclusions on the application of the CSCE Final Act ;
6. Welcomes the initiative taken by the Government of Switzerland, and expresses the hope that the work on the "draft Convention on a European System for the Peaceful Settlement of Disputes", scheduled to start in 1977, may lead to satisfactory results and to the negotiation of a treaty between all parties concerned ;
7. Notes the differences in the interpretation of the principles guiding relations between participating states jointly agreed upon, and the recent deterioration of East-West relations which is not compatible with "efforts to make detente both a continuing and an increasingly viable and comprehensive process", as called for by the Final Act ;
8. Notes the political importance of the first post-Helsinki examples of prior notification of military manoeuvres, as well as the exchange of observers, for the promotion of mutual understanding and the strengthening of confidence, but is also aware of the fact that continuing military build-up neither contributes to the confidence-building among CSCE participating states nor corresponds to their agreement concluded in the Final Act to lessen military confrontation and to promote disarmament, which are designed to complement political detente in Europe and to strengthen their security ;
9. Expresses the hope that all the states participating in the conference will take immediate steps to implement the individual legal rights laid down in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights ;
10. Attaches particular importance, in the implementation of the terms of the agreement concerning freer movement of persons, to respect for the elementary human right of families to be united, while regretting that many direct appeals to the spirit and letter of the Final Act have so far been unsuccessful ;
11. Welcomes the measures which have been taken in certain Eastern European countries to facilitate the task of foreign press correspondents, but stresses that the free movement of ideas, called for in the Final Act, will not be achieved until Western newspapers are freely placed on sale in these countries ;
12. Notes that questions of the cultural and educational development of the individual, and of the activities of international organisations and of state policy in this field, occupy a major place in the overall text of the Final Act, and stresses the importance of continuing this general dialogue on culture and education on a free and open basis as a direct contribution to greater mutual understanding between European peoples ;
13. Considers that the Final Act of Helsinki offers an opportunity for increased scientific and technological co-operation, enabling the Committee on Science and Technology of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly to continue and intensify its efforts to establish regular contacts between scientists of Western and Eastern Europe, making it possible for them to attend on a reciprocal basis specialised scientific conferences or seminars, thereby contributing to the exchange of information and ideas ;
14. Attaches the greatest importance to the expansion of East-West economic relations both through individual initiatives of the participating states and through multilateral co-operation within the framework of the existing international organisations, on the basis of a fair balance of advantages and obligations ;
15. Expresses the hope that measures will be taken bilaterally or multilaterally with a view to improving the possibilities for commercial arbitration in Europe ;
16. Declares its determination to work for a full implementation of the principles laid down in the Final Act not only in the context of East-West relations but also within and among member states of the Council of Europe, particularly in those areas- such as the "Economic and social aspects of migrant labour"- where they bear the heaviest responsibility ;;
17. Attaches particular importance to the development of East-West co-operation in the field of protection of the environment and the struggle against pollution ;
18. Expresses the hope that transfrontier and inter-regional co-operation will be progressively set up, particularly with a view to closer concertation in the field of regional planning and that of transport infrastructures ;
19. Hopes that the implementation of the provisions included in the CSCE Final Act will contribute to easing the ideological confrontation between different political and social systems, and that participating states will use every possible means of creating new ways of practical co-operation involving the citizens of all countries and contributing to mutual understanding and increased confidence ;
20. Affirms its own determination :
a to maintain the review of the state of implementation of the CSCE Final Act as an item on the agenda of the competent committees and to hold a second plenary debate during the first half of 1977 ;
b to take appropriate initiatives for the opening of a constructive dialogue between European politicians and experts on questions related to security and the many fields of possible co-operation in Europe and to call on its parliamentarians to take an active part in exchanges of views which take place on a national level with Eastern European politicians and representatives of public life.
