In April, the Election Commission called for the dissolution of the ruling party for failing to report donations and alleged misuse of those donations. The commission's decision came amid some of the deadliest political clashes Thailand has experienced in nearly two decades, as Thai protesters, known as red shirts [BBC backgrounder; JURIST news archive], called for new elections and Vejjajiva's resignation. Thailand's chief of the army, General Anupong Paojinda, has given his support [Bangkok News report] to the opposition's call for new elections in a hope that dissolution will provide an end to the current standoff between the Abhisit government and the opposition. In 2008, former prime minister Samak Sundaravej [BBC profile] and his cabinet were ousted following a guilty verdict [JURIST report] from the Constitutional Court on the charge that Samak violated the constitution when he accepted payment for his appearance on a television cooking program.

We are pleased that BP made an initial contribution and has taken an important step toward honoring its commitment to the President and the residents and business owners in the Gulf region. We have made clear that the company still needs to ensure that the necessary funds will be available if something happens to the subsidiary that established the trust and we look forward to completion of an appropriate security arrangement in the near future.

Numerous lawsuits are pending against BP in connection with the Deepwater Horizon spill. In July, a class-action lawsuit [complaint, PDF; JURIST report] was filed against the company in a Louisiana state court alleging that the its negligent actions led to the spill and that BP was further negligent in its oversight of the cleanup effort, resulting in volunteers falling ill due to inadequate protective equipment. In June, two lawsuits were filed against BP [JURIST report] alleging violations of the Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organizations (RICO) [18 USC § 1961 et seq.] statute. The lawsuits allege that BP purposefully defrauded the American public in order to increase company profits. Also in June, Attorney General Eric Holder [official website] announced that the DOJ is reviewing whether any civil or criminal laws were violated [JURIST report] by BP resulting in the oil spill. Holder cited several statutes being examined by government lawyers, including the Clean Water Act and the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 [materials]. In May, DC-based consumer advocacy organization Food and Water Watch (FWW) [advocacy website] filed suit [JURIST report] in a US district court against the US Department of Interior (DOI) and the Minerals Management Service (MMS) [official websites] for an injunction to halt drilling at BP's Atlantis facility, another Gulf of Mexico site.

In October, the US State Department [official website] released its annual Report on International Religious Freedom [JURIST report], criticizing the Iranian government's treatment of the Baha'i community. The report found that Baha'i face arbitrary arrest and prolonged detention and have been targeted by negative campaigns in government-run media. The report also noted that, because the Baha'i are not one of the religious groups recognized by the Iranian Constitution [text], they are not free to practice their beliefs and are prohibited from holding any position in the government or military. According to the report, the Baha'i are considered apostates and often face charges of cooperation with Israel because the Baha'i world headquarters are located in Haifa.

The Majlis failed to get its work done on time. This left the President with two options: allow the country to have no Supreme Court at all, or issue a decree so at least the administrative functions of the Supreme Court can continue. The President chose the latter option. We hope Majlis members will hurry up and pass the required legislation so the court can function as envisaged under the Constitution.

The Indian Ocean archipelago nation has continued to descend into legislative crisis since embracing Western-style democracy and ratifying a new constitution [JURIST report] in late 2008. Nasheed defeated longtime political opponent Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who had jailed him numerous times during his 30-year rule. However, Nasheed's ruling Maldavian Democratic Party holds only 32 of 77 seats in the parliament, while the opposition Dhivehi Raithunge Party [party websites] holds 36. Opposition legislators have stonewalled the ruling party's entire legislative agenda, leaving certain crucial provisions of the new constitutional system unestablished. The gridlock became so disruptive in June that Nasheed's entire cabinet resigned [BBC report]. Replacement appointments have been made, but have yet to be ratified by the parliament. The Maldives Constitution [text, PDF] provides for multi-party elections, an independent judiciary and a more powerful legislature. It also enumerates fundamental rights of citizens and establishes several special commissions on issues relating to human rights and corruption. The new constitution was drafted in response to international criticism [AI report, PDF] of 2003 government actions against protesters of prison conditions in the country.

[T]he Government ... must reinstate full legal protections against racial discrimination. It must also put an end to any intervention measure that does not comply with the Convention. Refusing to process visa applications from asylum seekers fleeing oppression in war-torn Afghanistan is completely unacceptable. The discrimination within these procedures must be eliminated. It's up to all of our political leaders to make sure their policies comply with the Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

In June, the Australian government reinstated its Racial Discrimination Act (RDA) [JURIST report] in the Northern Territory. The discrimination laws were suspended by the NTER in 2007 in order to allow governmental authorities to regulate how welfare money was spent by the indigenous people of the country. Under NTER, regulators were able to intervene in indigenous areas by setting aside a portion of the welfare benefits received for rent, food and medical care in order to prevent the designated money from being spent on alcohol. The reinstatement of the RDA allows the regulation of welfare payments to remain in place, but the regulations will be applied to both indigenous and non-indigenous citizens living in the Northern Territory. The discriminatory nature of the NTER has been widely criticized. In March, UN special rapporteur James Anaya condemned the law [press release], calling it problematic from a human rights point of view.

These are not merely past crimes. They are being committed today as well, and I hope this Commission will deem it appropriate to emphasize these points in its report. I ask this only because other commissions, which claimed that the question of human rights and international law were so dear to their hearts, for some reason almost entirely ignored these central issues. I am convinced that a credible investigation like yours - independent, transparent, impartial and responsible—will certainly not ignore them.

In June, Netanyahu appointed former Israeli Supreme Court justice Yakov Turkel to head an internal probe, approved by the Israeli cabinet that month. The Israeli government has agreed to cooperate with the international commission appointed by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon [official website] last week. The panel will consist of four members, including former New Zealand premier Geoffrey Palmer [official profile], former Colombian president Alvaro Uribe [BBC profile] and two other members, one appointed by Israel and the other by Turkey. Ban described the panel as "unprecedented," and stated his hope that the "agreement will impact positively on the relationship between Turkey and Israel as well as the overall situation in the Middle East." Earlier this month, an Israeli military probe found insufficient intelligence and planning [JURIST report] in the raid in a report, but also concluded that no punishments were necessary. Israeli forces raided six ships attempting to deliver more than 10,000 tons of aid to Gaza in May. The raid left numerous wounded and resulted in the deaths of nine pro-Palestine activists—eight Turks and one American.