Serbia's government should quickly take visible steps to end a spate of violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, Human Rights Watch said in a letter sent November 16, 2009, to President Boris Tadic. Human Rights Watch called on the government to fully protect the rights of the country's lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people.

Uzbek authorities should ensure that an appeal hearing that began today for a human rights advocate is fair and independent, Human Rights Watch said. The activist, Farkhad Mukhtarov, was convicted of criminal charges in a trial that appeared to have been politically motivated, and he was denied the right to defend himself fully.

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.

The Kyrgyz authorities should immediately release the human rights activists Bakhrom Hamroev and Izzatilla Rakhmatillaev and allow them to continue their fact-finding work without further interference.

We are writing in advance of the upcoming OSCE Ministerial Council in Athens (December 1-2, 2009), which we believe provides a crucial opportunity to address directly Kazakhstan’s stalled reforms and press for concrete improvements in light of its pending OSCE chairmanship.

European leaders should use the upcoming EU-Russia summit to convey alarm over deteriorating human rights in Russia and to press for concrete improvements. The summit is scheduled for November 18 and 19, 2009, in Stockholm.

Human Rights Watch writes to the President of the Republic of Serbia to express concern that the persistent homophobia in Serbian society has given rise to incidents of violence, and prevents lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) Serbians from exercising to the full enjoyment their human rights.