Reports that the United Kingdom’s intelligence agency has intercepted and collected vast amounts of Internet and phone data raise serious concerns that the government has breached the privacy rights of millions of people in the UK and elsewhere.

Members of the Seleka rebel coalition, which overthrew President François Bozizé of the Central African Republic on March 24, 2013, have targeted and killed at least 40 civilians, and intentionally destroyed 34 villages or towns since February. Human Rights Watch researchers in early June found extensive evidence of rampant abuses in largely rural areas outside the capital, Bangui.

Russian authorities are using a new law that requires some nongovernmental organizations to register as “foreign agents” to curtail a broad range of work by independent organizations. Human Rights Watch reviewed dozens of warnings and violation notices issued under the law from the prosecutor’s office to nongovernmental organizations. These documents reveal an apparent effort to limit advocacy, advisory, and public education activities on a wide spectrum of issues that involve comment on, or interaction with, government authorities.

The 32nd round of the European Union (EU)-China Human Rights Dialogue further lowers the bar for effective, principled human rights diplomacy.

The United States government’s decision to downgrade Uzbekistan in a human trafficking ranking based on its use of forced and child labor sends a powerful message of support to the millions of Uzbeks forced to pick the country’s cotton crop. Moving Uzbekistan to the lowest category is one of the strongest efforts in years to hold Uzbekistan accountable for its atrocious record on forced labor

Russia’s Supreme Court should stop the extradition of three ethnic Uzbeks to Kyrgyzstan, where they would be at serious risk of torture. On June 19, 2013, the court is scheduled to hear an appeal of the prosecutor general’s decision to extradite Gairatbek Saliev, in response to a request by the Kyrgyz government for his extradition to stand trial on multiple charges relating to the June 2010 interethnic violence in southern Kyrgyzstan.

Governments should mark June 12, 2013, the World Day against Child Labor, by strengthening legal protections for the 15.5 million child domestic workers worldwide. Governments should ratify the International Labour Organization (ILO) Domestic Workers Convention, which has specific provisions for children, including on education and protection from violence.

Russia’s parliament should reject a draft law that would de-facto ban disseminating information about “non-traditional” sexuality. The bill’s provisions would infringe on Russian citizens’ freedom of expression and information, and discriminate against Russia’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community.

France should act on its promise to prohibit and prevent ethnic profiling and provide effective remedies to victims.

The European Union should press Russia’s leadership at the EU-Russia summit to end the crackdown on civil society. The 31st summit meeting since two sides started meeting regularly will be on June 3 and 4, 2013, in Ekaterinburg.

The Ukrainian authorities should investigate violence and threats against Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) rights activists in connection with the Equality March in Kiev on May 25, 2013.

President Francois Hollande of France will meet with Saudi Arabia’s interior minister, Prince Mohammed bin Nayef Al Sa`ud, in Paris on May 28, 2013. The visit comes amid an Interior Ministry-led crackdown on human rights activists throughout the kingdom. President Hollande should press Saudi Arabia to honor its human rights obligations and cease harassment and prosecutions of human rights activists.

Azerbaijani authorities are using spurious drug possession charges to lock up political activists critical of the government. Human Rights Watch documented four recent cases, in three of which the detainees alleged ill-treatment in police custody.

Kazakh authorities should drop criminal charges against a journalist and immediately release him from a psychiatric clinic where he is under forced observation. On May 13, 2013, a court in the journalist’s hometown extended his detention until June 14.

Courtroom violence during a hearing in the case of an ethnic Uzbek on trial for alleged crimes during the June 2010 ethnic violence seriously undermines his right to fair trial. Such violence and hostility has occurred repeatedly during the trial, which began in September 2011, and at other trials of ethnic Uzbeks linked to the 2010 violence.

The systemic changes to Hungary’s legal framework introduced by the government since 2010 weaken legal checks on its authority, interfere with media freedom, and undermine human rights protections, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today.

Ukraine’s cabinet of ministers’ approval of new regulations on access to pain medicines will dramatically expand healthcare services for patients with incurable illnesses and reduce unnecessary suffering, Human Rights Watch said today.

Starting in early March 2013 the Russian government launched a nationwide campaign of inspections of nongovernmental organizations, unprecedented in its scale and scope.

Turkmen authorities should immediately free or credibly charge a journalist arrested on May 6, 2013 for unreported reasons. The journalist, Rovshen Yazmuhamedov, has been a local correspondent in Turkmenistan for United States government-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) since September 2012.

The Azerbaijani authorities should immediately stop its campaign of forced evictions and demolitions in the capital, Baku, Human Rights Watch said today. The government should also guarantee fair compensation to homeowners and residents, including those already evicted.

Prime Minister David Cameron should demand a thorough and independent investigation by the UAE authorities into credible allegations of torture by three British nationals.

The decision of a Moscow court on April 25, 2013, to fine an independent nongovernmental organization and its leader is an alarming indicator for the future of civil society in Russia.

The Russian government has unleashed a crackdown on civil society in the year since Vladimir Putin’s return to the presidency that is unprecedented in the country’s post-Soviet history.

Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan’s highly repressive policies are coming up for rare international scrutiny on April 22 and 24, 2013. United Nations member countries gathering at the Human Rights Council in Geneva under the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) procedure should seize the opportunity to expose and denounce the ongoing repression in both countries and press for concrete steps to end abuses.

Authorities in Russia should free a civil society activist charged with misuse of government funds pending his trial.

The Russian authorities have unlawfully detained a migrant construction worker who was seeking to file a complaint for nonpayment of wages on Olympic venues in Sochi.

Russian authorities on April 5, 2013, released a young woman with a severe health condition after three months in pretrial detention.

The leaders of Germany and the Netherlands should urge President Vladimir Putin of Russia during his upcoming visit to reverse his administration’s crackdown on civil society and erosion of human rights.

(Barcelona) – Leather buyers at an international leather fair in Italy should only purchase leather goods from tanneries that comply with laws that protect the right to health and labor rights, Human Rights Watch said today as the fair opens in Bologna. Such compliance should include respecting both national and international environmental standards. Tanneries in the Hazaribagh area of the Bangladesh capital, Dhaka, do not meet these criteria, Human Rights Watch said.

Strengthening a law reform bill currently before Turkey’s parliament could significantly improve human rights and help bolster the peace process with the armed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). The Parliamentary Justice Commission is examining the bill, the “fourth reform package,” and parliament is expected to vote on it in the coming weeks.

Azerbaijani police used unnecessary force to disperse a peaceful protest in the capital, Baku, on March 10, 2013.

US Secretary of State John Kerry should publicly express concern about Uzbekistan’s deteriorating human rights situation during his meeting with the Uzbek foreign minister on March 12, 2013, and press for concrete improvements, Human Rights Watch said today.

The Belarusian authorities should immediately cease harassing and trying to shut down the Belarusian Helsinki Committee, the only human rights organization with registration status to operate nationally.

An Uzbek refugee has been missing from Kyrgyzstan’s capital, Bishkek, since February 18, 2013.

The Dutch government should not deport Somalis to any part of south-central Somalia, including Mogadishu, until security improves substantially, and the UN refugee agency has issued new guidelines.

Two Turkmen civil society activists convicted on politically motivated charges were freed on February 16, 2013, after serving out their prison terms. Sapardurdy Khajiev and Annakurban Amanklychev, wrongfully imprisoned since their arrest in June 2006, suffer numerous health problems from their incarceration.

The arrest of two prominent government critics in Azerbaijan on broad charges of organizing mass disorder in Ismayilli raises concern they are facing political retribution.

An appeals court in Bishkek should stop the extradition of a former Imam to Uzbekistan, where he would be at serious risk of torture.

Georgia’s new government needs to rectify the troubling human rights problems it inherited, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2013. In addressing past abuses, the government should avoid politically motivated prosecutions, ensure public scrutiny of its actions, and make the worst abuses a top priority.

Human rights protection in the Western Balkans fails to match the region’s aspirations for European integration, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2013. Human Rights Watch documented human rights concerns in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia, and Kosovo during 2012.

National and European Union (EU) leaders failed to address serious human rights concerns in the region amid economic and political crisis in 2012, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2013. Human Rights Watch documented human rights concerns in the EU, highlighting events in 10 member states and EU-level developments in migration and asylum, discrimination and intolerance, and counterterrorism policy.

Azerbaijani authorities should ensure that everyone detained in connection with riots and protests in the city of Ismayilli has access to a lawyer and that no one is ill-treated in custody.

Uzbek authorities have increased the use of forced labor by adults and older children in the cotton sector during the past year. The move was apparently made to shift the burden away from younger children in response to public scrutiny and international pressure.

Yesterday’s Istanbul court decision to order the pre-trial detention of nine human rights lawyers highlights the arbitrary and abusive use of anti-terrorism laws in Turkey. The 9 were among 12 lawyers arrested, 11 during early morning raids on January 18, and 1 on January 20.

Russian authorities should investigate death threats against Vitalii Ponomarev, the lead Central Asia expert with Memorial Human Rights Center. The investigation should be prompt and comprehensive, and Russia should seek cooperation from Uzbek authorities to ensure its thoroughness.

Two Palestinians being held at the Cairo airport, apparently refused entry to Egypt, are at risk of deportation to Syria. The man and his son would face indiscriminate violence and possible persecution if returned to Syria.

President François Hollande of France should publicly and privately convey concerns about deteriorating human rights conditions in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on his visit there. Hollande is scheduled to arrive for his first official visit to the UAE on January 15, 2013.