President Nicolas Sarkozy should use the upcoming state visit by his Turkmen counterpart to speak out about Turkmenistan’s abysmal human rights record and to press for concrete improvements.

Migrants drowning at sea after being turned away from shore. Children detained with adults and at risk of physical and sexual abuse. Workers cheated out of wages and confined to their workplace. Authorities extorting bribes. Governments denying health care benefits to those who might most need it.

Many governments’ policies toward migrants worldwide expose them to human rights abuses including labor exploitation, inadequate access to health care, and prolonged detention in poor, overcrowded conditions.

Nous nous permettons de vous écrire pour exprimer l’inquiétude profonde de Human Rights Watch concernant la menace d’expulsion qui pèse sur M. Yassine Ferchichi, ressortissant tunisien actuellement incarcéré à la prison de Fresnes.

A working group created by France’s National Assembly in June 2009 to study the issue of face-covering Muslim veils in the country is considering a law to prohibit the wearing of such veils in all public places. Endorsing the creation of the group, President Nicolas Sarkozy has stated that what he terms “the burqa” is not welcome on French territory. A Human Rights Watch paper submitted to the working group in November 2009 argues that a ban on full veils in public places would violate the fundamental rights to freedom from discrimination, freedom of religion and the right to autonomy and would be deeply counterproductive.

The French Immigration Minister’s proposals to address the needs of unaccompanied migrant children held at transit zones, especially airports, falls short of bringing France into compliance with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

France's system of detaining and deporting unaccompanied migrant children who arrive in Paris by air puts them at serious risk.