7510 NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON D C 20506 October 16 19 8 6 SE 7 ACTION MEMORANDUM FOR JOHN M POI tXTER FROM JACK MATLOCT SUBJECT State Paper on Human Rights Given Gorbachev We have reviewed the paper which on Secretary Shultz's recommendation the President presented to Gorbachev in Reykjavik October 11 A copy was provided us only after it was presented so that we had no opportunity to review it in advance Unfortunately it is seriously flawed and does not make the most persuasive case for the individuals listed Any paper presented to the Soviets particularly on a subject as delicate as human rights must be carefully prepared so that it is scrupulously accurate avoids use of terminology which is offensive to Soviet authorities and provides enough information about individuals so that cases can be staffed without extensive research Ideally such material should be in Russian so that the Soviets do not have to arrange for a translation before it can be used in the bureaucracy The State paper meets none of these criteria Most ser i ously three persons on the list are identified as spouses of defectors -- a pejorative term in Soviet eyes and one which should never be used in official representations if our desire is to assist resolution of the problem Even if the spouse is a defector in common parlance neutral terms should be used such as resident of U S since 1956 rather than defected in 1956 The point is not that we can conceal the circumstances of the spouse's departure from the Soviet Union from the Soviet authorities but rather that using such terms in a quasi-official document is clearly prejudicial to the case Second the information given is meager In no case is the Soviet address of the individual listed In many cases the name of the spouse is not provided Furthermore when information is gi v e n i t is s ometimes p re judi cia l as fo r examp l e t h e comment that Bogdan Kuzm i n has stopped applying for emigration If he has stopped applying why should the Soviets approve a non-existent application It is also noted that Elena Kaplan was attacked in the Sov iet press DECLASSIFIED NLRRG · 1 EeiU '± - - Declassi fy OADR BY l j NARADATE 3 l s 2 - 2 - Finally the lists do not make clear exactly what we are requesting in all cases For example Irina Ratushinskaya is included on a list of persons who wish to leave the Soviet Union So far as we are aware she has never requested to leave the Soviet Union Our representations have been or should have been directed at securing her release from imprisonment She was in fact released shortly before the Reykjavik meeting began but the list was not revised to reflect this fact even though it would have been a simple matter to do so While nothing can be done to improve this particular paper since it has already been presented I believe it is important to call State's attention to its deficiencies and to insist that in the future the preparation of materials for the President's use be coordinated with us in advance You should be aware that we attempted repeatedly to obtain these materials from State and to participate in developing them but met a stone all with the result that nobody on our staff had an opportunity to review them in advance - 'i JJ f Paula Dobriansky and Judyt 1 andel concur RECOMMENDATION That you authorize Rod McDaniel to send the memorandum at Tab I to Nick Platt e Ji ll Appro -vt 1' ° Disapprove __ Attachments Tab I McDaniel-Platt Memorandum Tab A State Paper Presented in Reykjavik