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Abstract The article is the first authoritative published account of the two Follow-up Helsinki Act Conferences, at Belgrade 1977-1978 and at Madrid 1980 and still underway. The article describes what occurred at the Belgrade Conference. With the United States taking the lead, the West criticized the Soviet Union and other Eastern-bloc countries for their violations of the human rights provisions of the Helsinki Final Act. The article points out that the contention of the Soviet Union and its allies that such criticism constituted intervention in their internal affairs is without legal foundation. The author points out that the Concluding Document of the Belgrade Conference, noting the differences between the parties and fixing the date for the next Follow-up Conference at Madrid commencing in November 1980, was appropriate and preserved the Helsinki process, without compromising its principles. The article reviews the preparatory meeting before the convening of the Madrid Conference in November 1980. It then reviews the proceedings of the substantive Madrid meeting during the past two years. The article is critical of a proposal of the neutral and nonaligned countries for the Concluding Document of the Madrid Conference. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]