Germany’s ratification of the new treaty banning cluster munitions is an important step.

President Sarkozy of France has reignited the debate about how Muslim women in Europe should dress by calling for a ban on clothing that, as he puts it, imprisons women and undermines their dignity.

Throughout Europe, over the past decade, there has been a loud - and at times openly xenophobic - debate about whether a Muslim woman should be allowed to wear a headscarf while on duty in a government job.

German state bans on religious symbols and clothing for teachers and other civil servants discriminate against Muslim women who wear the headscarf.

The forthcoming official visit to Germany of the delegation from Turkmenistan led by President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov is a key opportunity to reiterate European concerns about the egregious human rights violations in Turkmenistan.

The German government should not have permitted the head of Uzbekistan’s secret police to visit Germany immediately after the European Union lifted sanctions stemming from a 2005 massacre in Uzbekistan.

Human Rights Watch writes to urge President Köhler to use his forthcoming visit to Nigeria to raise specific human rights concerns with President Umaru Yar'Adua and his administration. Serious problems include rampant government corruption and mismanagement that undermine the realization of the right to basic healthcare and education; political and intercommunal violence fomented by government officials and politicians; and widespread use of extrajudicial executions, torture, and extortion by state security forces.