UN General Assembly
1985

However, the struggle for democracy remains a difficult one. In too many States totalitarian or authoritarian government continues to be the rule. To' many leaders, the test of free and meaningful elections seems a thing too dangerous to contemplate. For how else could one explain the open and veiled threats, coercion, harassment, imprisonment and worse which befall those who have the courage to stand up for their rights? Yet these practices occur in many States which have solemnly committed themselves to respect those rights. Sad as this may be, we should insist on the full implementation of these commitments, as the signatories of the Final Act of the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe did only two months ago in Helsinki at the commemoration of the tenth anniversary of the signature of that document.