American Notes HUMAN RIGHTS

There was more proof last week of a new era of cooperation and trust in U.S.-Soviet relations. The State Department disclosed that President Reagan has approved U.S. participation in a controversial human-rights conference to be held in Moscow in 1991. The White House had long resisted taking part in the 35-nation forum because of suspicions that the Soviets would turn it into a high-profile propaganda show designed to embarrass the U.S. on a number of issues, including its policies in Central America. Secretary of State George Shultz urged both Reagan and President-elect Bush to accept the invitation, arguing that under Mikhail Gorbachev the Soviets are steadily improving their human-rights record by releasing political prisoners, allowing greater Jewish emigration, and ending the jamming of Western radio broadcasts. By joining the session, the Administration hopes to win Soviet agreement to close out a conference on European security and cooperation in Vienna, providing Reagan with a final foreign policy victory. That would, in turn, allow Bush to begin substantive new talks aimed at reducing NATO and Warsaw Pact conventional forces.