The Jimmy Carter incident epitomized how far removed the JPC was from its purported constituency. Reed is convinced there will be longterm results from Vienna. These groups still exist and will continue to have a serious impact on the human rights movement, he says. It was the regional groups which challenged the old power structure. It will now be easier for these people to connect without having to go through the JPC mafia.
People know who everybody is and who the real revolutionaries are.
And, for those who left Vienna disappointed, there may still be time to recoup lost ground. At the end of Vienna, the NGO Liaison Committee was given a further mandate to consider the feasibility of establishing a more fixed international NGO body. Committee members were to go back to their regional caucuses to discuss the establishment of a global linking committee which would continue beyond Vienna. They will gather again in Geneva between Feb. 21-23 during the Human Rights Commission session and discuss what the regions want. Perhaps, Reed suggests, a linking committee will become a permanent communications arm for the caucuses.