The Helsinki Accords and Human Rights in Romania
The Helsinki Accords and Human Rights in Romania

Summary/Abstract: This article discusses Romania’s compliance with the existing requirements regarding human rights found in the so‑called third basket of the Helsinki Final Act following the document’s signing. Since 1975, the year the Act was signed, the Western powers have managed to find a channel through which to monitor more closely how the communist regimes respected human rights and civil liberties. It is not enough to observe what problems were raised regarding the violation of human rights in Romania but also how the Romanian authorities, based on the answers provided, considered that they had respected the commitments regarding human rights. As one will see, even if there were severe reactions or protests against Romania regarding this matter, the communist authorities followed their internal policy but with care that the human rights issue did not affect their international relations, if possible. Under special conditions, the communist authorities were willing to make certain concessions.

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