Human Rights :: Henry M. Jackson Foundation
Human Rights Program
Senator Jackson's Human Rights Legacy
"We must not now, as we did once, acquiesce to tyranny while there
are those at greater risk than ourselves, who dare to resist."
Senator Jackson was committed to advancing democracy and respect for human rights around the world. He fought tirelessly for human rights in the Soviet Union, and paid attention to the pleas of Soviet dissidents who insisted that economic assistance to the Soviet Union should be conditioned upon progress on human rights and democracy. He focused on securing the freedom of emigration for Soviet Jews and other ethnic minorities subjected to restrictions imposed by the Soviet Union.
Senator Jackson's political leadership and diplomacy in this area culminated in the 1974 landmark legislation, the Jackson-Vanik Amendment. This law linked the granting of most favored nation (MFN) trade status to the freedom of emigration, establishing human rights as a central concern in U.S. foreign policy. Since 1975, more than one million Jews have immigrated to Israel from Russia and the former Soviet Union and more than 500,000 refugees have immigrated to the United States from the region.