As the Arab Spring shows, it is never, ever, a good idea to go to bed with dictators.

The Central Asian state has huge energy reserves that Germany would like to tap, and a strategic location neighbouring Afghanistan. It also has one of the worst human rights records in the world, with credible reports from the United Nations and elsewhere of widespread torture, forced disappearances and repression of all critical voices.

The European Council summit that concluded on June 24, 2011, made no significant progress in addressing serious deficiencies in EU asylum and migration policies.

Germany should use the visit to Berlin by Uzbekistan’s deputy foreign minister on May 24 through 26, 2011, to press for concrete improvements in human rights.

Turkmen authorities have detained at least four people since early March, 2011, on what appear to be politically motivated grounds.

I was not prepared to document torture and severe abuses when I started researching the human rights situation for migrants in Europe. After all, I was working on Western Europe, the developed world with a rule of law, independent judiciaries, functioning social services, and oversight bodies.

The Uzbek government has forced Human Rights Watch to close its Uzbekistan office.

Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi of Italy should use his longstanding relationship with the Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi, to help protect protesters from unlawful attacks by Libyan security forces and militias.

The EU’s approach to Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan stands out as a stark, illustrative example of why its much-touted “constructive engagement” and “quiet diplomacy” don’t work with repressive governments and may even be damaging the cause of human rights.

No repressive government enjoys facing public pressure to respect human rights. These days, their favorite avoidance strategy is to state a preference for private "dialogue" and "cooperation" - an attractive option because it takes place behind closed doors. Sadly, the major Western powers have fallen for this ploy. Reluctant to ruffle feathers while eager to be seen as "doing something," they increasingly embrace the same subterfuge.

The EU has invested millions of euros to build Ukraine's capacity to keep migrants and asylum seekers from entering the EU and to receive people sent back there under the agreement. Yet, when I led a Human Rights Watch delegation to Ukraine earlier this year, we found that returnees from EU states were subjected to brutal treatment and arbitrarily detained in EU-financed detention centers.

Uzbek authorities on December 1, 2010, released the human rights defender Farkhad Mukhtarov from prison, where he had been serving a four-year sentence on politically motivated charges.

Human Rights Watch urges foreign ministers to take action to bring about justice for victims of grave international crimes committed in Congo following the official publication on October 1st, 2010 of the United Nations “Report on the Mapping Exercise documenting the most serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian law committed within the territory of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.”

The European Union’s commitment to international justice will be measured by its willingness to pressure Serbia in the months to come to arrest the two remaining war crimes suspects.

Governments concerned about war crimes and crimes against humanity in Burma should move beyond mere condemnation and establish a United Nations commission of inquiry as follow-up to a UN expert's report on Burma released today, Human Rights Watch said today.

This memorandum provides Human Rights Watch's assessment of the Uzbek government's compliance with the human rights criteria formulated by EU foreign ministers in various General Affairs and External Relations Council (GAERC) conclusions.

The European Union should set benchmarks for human rights improvements with the Chinese government during this week’s EU-China human rights dialogue.

The European Union should take strong measures across a wide range of issues to push human rights progress in North Korea, Human Rights Watch, Christian Solidarity Worldwide, Citizens' Alliance for North Korean Human Rights, Helping Hands Korea and Life Funds for North Korean Refugees said today in a joint letter to EU foreign ministers.

The European Union (EU) should demonstrate its commitment to justice by requiring Serbia to arrest the Bosnian Serb’s wartime military leader, Ratko Mladic, before allowing Serbia to establish closer ties with the EU.

On Monday, June 14, the Foreign Affairs Council will discuss the ratification status of Serbia’s Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA). Full cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia should remain a necessary pre-condition for ratification, as well as the start of any membership negotiations.

We write with regard to the upcoming presidential inauguration of Omar al-Bashir, scheduled for May 27, 2010, to express deep concern over reports that diplomatic representatives of your government might attend the inauguration.

The European Union Election Observation Mission to Sudan should consider the impact of ongoing human rights abuses and insecurity on the elections process.

The European Union should maintain its travel restrictions and asset freezes on President Robert Mugabe and his inner circle until Zimbabwe carries out the concrete human rights reforms set out in the 2008 Global Political Agreement.

Raúl Castro's government has locked up scores of people for exercising their fundamental freedoms and allowed scores more political prisoners arrested during Fidel Castro's rule to languish in detention. Rather than dismantle Cuba's repressive machinery, Raúl Castro has kept it firmly in place and fully active.

The release of the report of the United Nations Fact-Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict puts to the test the stated commitment of the European Union and its 27 member states to promote an international order where no state is above the law. The report presents overwhelming evidence that both Israel and Hamas committed violations of the laws of war - some amounting to war crimes and possible crimes against humanity - and that neither side has taken serious steps to hold perpetrators to account.

The European Union and South Africa should take steps to enhance cooperation on international human rights issues when they meet this week. The second EU-South Africa summit meeting is scheduled for September 11, 2009, in Kleinmond, South Africa.

The Kenyan government has reneged on commitments to deliver justice for the victims of post-election violence. On July 30, 2009, the cabinet announced that, contrary to previous agreements, it would not establish a special tribunal, but would rely instead on a "reformed" national judicial system to investigate and prosecute the perpetrators.

To help establish the rule of law, the EU should support and fund a mechanism to try those most responsible for the crimes suffered by the Congolese people, such as a separate chamber on war crimes in Congo's courts, with the involvement of international judges and prosecutors.

A Turkmen political prisoner, Mukhametkuli Aymuradov, was freed on May 2, 2009 after serving 14 years in prison on trumped-up charges.

Donor governments meeting in Brussels this week should ensure that pledges of assistance to Somali security forces and African Union troops in Somalia will not contribute to human rights abuses.

The arrest warrant for President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan is an important test of the European Union's long-standing commitment to justice and the International Criminal Court (ICC) at The Hague.

Human Rights Watch writes to express profound disappointment with the European Union's January 30 Presidential Declaration responding to the Ethiopian government's adoption of the Charities and Societies Proclamation. The Ethiopian Charities and Societies Proclamation is a direct and deliberate attack on independent civil society activity and violates the fundamental rights to freedom of expression and association.

We write to urge that you and your colleagues from other European Union member states use this week's EU Summit to urgently heed the call from United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and decide to deploy an EU "bridging" force to North Kivu in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

The UK foreign secretary, David Miliband, should use his visit to Syria to raise human rights concerns, Human Rights Watch said today. In particular, Miliband should urge the Syrian government to release activists detained solely for exercising freedom of expression and association.

Asian and European governments meeting in China this week should press Burma to improve its human rights record.

The European Union observer mission scheduled to move into areas near South Ossetia must be given both a mandate and adequate resources to protect civilians, Human Rights Watch said today. Human Rights Watch researchers in Georgia in recent days have documented numerous attacks by Ossetians against civilians in villages in this area, which is effectively under Russian control.

Before it is too late, the UK needs to start showing some humanitarian principles and some political backbone. As a close ally of the US and a major military player on the global stage, it is important that the UK remains on board the Oslo process. But it is also essential that the UK follow up on Brown's helpful statement this week and start standing for the interests of the victims - past, present and future - of these horrible weapons.

Justice isn’t simply a moral luxury. The EU made a pledge to the victims of Darfur; it is high time that the EU delivered—that it moved from empty threats to action.

A genuine dialogue leading to political change in the country is unlikely unless the generals come under sustained economic pressure that they cannot withstand.

Human Rights Watch joins with partner organizations in writing to UK Secretary of State for Foreign & Commonwealth Affairs David Miliband, urging the UK Government to do much more to protect Iraqi refugees. Human Rights Watch also called on the UK Government to provide more information in regards to assistance plans for its former employees in Iraq.

Human Rights Watch is writing to urge you to maintain your principled approach towards Serbia as regards its cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for Yugoslavia (ICTY). The European Union (EU) should use the meetings with Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica scheduled for September 12 to reiterate that full cooperation with the ICTY, including the arrest and transfer of Ratko Mladic, remains a non-negotiable precondition for the signing of a Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) between the EU and Serbia.

EU governments should make human rights a priority in this "new era" of EU-Libya relations.

The European Union’s attempts to engage with Burma by allowing the Burmese foreign minister to attend the annual Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) has failed to bring any improvements in human rights in the country.

The European Union should make the deteriorating human rights situation in Russia a focus of this weekend’s EU-Russia summit in Samara, where authorities have harassed and detained activists planning political protests, Human Rights Watch said today.

We are writing in advance of the May 14-15 General Affairs and External Relations Council (GAERC), to convey our profound concern about the worsening human rights situation in Uzbekistan and the damaging effects of the EU’s weak approach to human rights. We urge you to ensure a shift in EU policy toward Tashkent as a matter of urgent priority – resulting in an EU policy that is guided by an accurate and credible assessment of the conditions on the ground, and that genuinely seeks to advance concrete improvements in human rights as a key component of the EU’s engagement with the Uzbek government.

On May 10-11, 2007, Serbia is scheduled to assume the chairmanship of the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers. The Council of Europe is Europe’s pre-eminent human rights organization with the stated “core objective” of “preserving and promoting human rights, democracy and the rule of law.” For these words to have any real meaning, it is imperative that Serbia, as the chair of the institution’s highest political decision-making body, be in full compliance with its membership commitments and its legal obligations to cooperate fully with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). Most immediately Serbia must turn over the remaining ICTY fugitives who continue to reside in Serbia, including Bosnian wartime general Ratko Mladic.

Germany should support Russian civil society by insisting that President Vladimir Putin take concrete steps to improve human rights in Russia, three leaders of Russian nongovernmental organizations said today in Berlin.

Human Rights Watch welcomes the initiative of the EU and the German presidency to embark upon a Central Asia strategy, following years of neglect of this important region by the EU. A central thrust of this strategy should be securing greater compliance by the governments of Central Asian countries with their international human rights obligations. Currently, it is not. This paper explains why the strategy needs to incorporate human rights through identifying specific human rights concerns and benchmarks for progress. It also provides a brief summary of human rights concerns in several Central Asian countries and suggests key actions and benchmarks to address them.

Uzbek authorities denied work accreditation to the Tashkent office director of Human Rights Watch, and announced that the trial of Human Rights Watch’s translator Umida Niazova would start this week, Human Rights Watch said today.