ABSTRACT
The new approach of the Soviet delegation was found wanting when delegates were faced with hard questions about the persecution of members of churches or congregations not registered with the state or the imprisonment of human rights activists. The Western criticism of Soviet human rights violations was totally ignored by the Soviet Union. The daily discussions of human rights cast into the shade the sessions devoted to military security and those on improving East-West economic cooperation. Diplomats said the economic discussions were still at the stage of reviewing the situation. Western diplomats said that the Soviet Union and some of its partners remained reluctant to accept respect for human rights as a factor influencing relations between states. Diplomats said the new hard-line attitude was particularly evident in the Soviet response to Western demands that the USSR and its allies introduce easier regulations for foreign travel, especially in the case of family reunification.
