In the aftermath of Belgrade, the long-term future of the CSCE at the official level appeared temporarily secure, with the Madrid Review Meeting scheduled to open in 1980 and the United States exerting increased influence in the Helsinki process. The outlook for monitoring groups, however, was far bleaker as repression of Helsinki activists in Eastern Europe escalated. To fill the void and build upon their work, NGOs outside of Eastern Europe were needed to aid the monitoring efforts. Two critical groups emerged: Helsinki Watch, a United States-based group made up of private citizens that became the most influential Western NGO devoted to Helsinki monitoring, and later the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights, an international umbrella organization for Helsinki groups across CSCE states. Importantly, Helsinki Watch was part of a broader network of human rights organizations developing internationally in the 1970s, and it played a central role in the rising profile of human rights activism. Helsinki Watch and its allies in the IHF used their influence to press Western and neutral CSCE delegations to focus attention on the plight of Eastern Helsinki monitors and abuses of human rights more broadly. The IHF also widened nongovernmental support for Helsinki monitoring by incorporating a broader range of Western voices. It strengthened and formalized diffuse Helsinki monitoring activities, thereby heightening their effectiveness.