The US Supreme Court [official website] in 2009 overturned [opinion, PDF; JURIST report] a lower court ruling dismissing racial discrimination challenges to the promotion criteria used by the New Haven fire department. The court ruled 5-4 in Ricci v. DeStefano [Cornell LII backgrounder] that a "strong basis in evidence" that an employer would be liable under a Title VII [text] disparate impact [EEOC backgrounder] analysis is necessary to justify a "race-based" action that would otherwise violate Title VII's disparate treatment standard. The court ruled that summary judgment on disparate treatment grounds in favor of firefighters who were not promoted despite high test scores was appropriate, finding that the prima facie disparate impact case demonstrated by the City did not meet the "strong basis in evidence" standard.

Asmaa Mahfouz is facing a military trial merely for posting comments which criticize the Egyptian military justice system and do not at all appear to represent a call to violence. The Egyptian authorities' decision to refer Asmaa Mahfouz to a military court seems intended to send a message to those critical of the authorities that dissent will not be tolerated. The charges against her must be dropped immediately.

Social media has had a significant impact in the recent revolutions in the Middle East and North Africa. AI reported [text] in May that the pro-democracy protests have demonstrated the unique opportunities [JURIST report] that social media has created for human rights activists. In April, Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website] reported that an Egyptian military court convicted blogger Maikel Nabil [JURIST report] and sentenced him to three years in prison for criticizing the army and raising questions over reform in the wake of revolution in a blog post. Syrian Internet users reported in early February that social media sites Facebook and YouTube are accessible [JURIST report] without proxy servers or VPNs. Syria appeared to be lifting the ban imposed in 2007 as a concession to avoid popular upheaval [DP report] in Syria. In late January, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay acknowledged reports of tactics including rubber-coated bullets, tear gas, water cannons and batons [JURIST report] in Egypt, and called on the government to investigate the reports of excessive force including civilian deaths. Pillay also pressed the government to lift the emergency law that had been in force for nearly 30 years and restore the use of mobile phones and social networks.

The shortage of sodium thiopental in the US has caused several states to modify lethal injection protocol, which has led to a number of constitutional challenges by death row inmates. In March, two Texas inmates requested stays on their executions [USA Today report] to obtain more information on the new protocol and possibly challenge the protocol as unconstitutional. Texas acknowledged that its supply of sodium thiopental had an expiration date of March 1. Arizona, Georgia and Oklahoma have faced similar challenges and are seeking to substitute the sodium thiopental used in the lethal injection "cocktail" with pentobarbital. Kentucky and Tennessee surrendered supplies of sodium thiopental [NYT report] to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) [official website] after the agency seized Georgia's supply in order to investigate whether the drug was properly imported. In September, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit [official website] ordered [text, PDF] a district court judge to reconsider the stay of execution [JURIST report] in the case of Albert Brown. The court noted that the timing of Brown's execution was influenced by the expiration of the state's supply of sodium thiopental, and stated that it was "incredible to think that the deliberative process might be driven by the expiration date of the execution drug."

Abuses by al-Shabaab and pro-government forces have vastly multiplied the suffering from Somalia's famine. All sides need to take urgent steps to stop these unlawful attacks, let in aid, and end this humanitarian nightmare. There is no quick fix to Somalia's tragedy, but it's clear that impunity for serious abuses perpetuates insecurity. International pressure to bring an end to abuses by all sides is more crucial than ever—a more secure and rights respecting Somalia would be less prone to violence and famine.

Somalia has come under fire for its poor human rights record. In July, Amnesty International (AI) [advocacy website] reported that Somali children continue to be victims of war crimes [press release; JURIST report]. The 2010 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices [materials], released in April by the US Department of State [official website], outlined rights setbacks [JURIST report] under the TFG in Mogadishu, but noted progress in Somalia [materials], particularly in the autonomous regions of Somaliland and Puntland. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay [official profile] said that human rights violations committed during recent Somalian conflicts, including recruitment of child soldiers, may amount to war crimes [JURIST report]. HRW reported [JURIST report] in 2008 that war crimes and other human rights violations are being committed in the ongoing Somali conflict [BBC backgrounder]. Somalia has endured a lengthy civil war and several rounds of failed peace talks [BBC timeline] since the collapse of its last civil government in 1991. In January 2007, the transitional government began imposing martial law [JURIST report] over areas under the government's control. In August 2007, HRW reported that war crimes were rampant [JURIST report] in Somalia.

It is vital that unhindered access is granted to human rights monitors to conduct investigations into allegations of continuing violations of international human rights and humanitarian law, and to humanitarian actors trying to bring relief to the affected populations whose access has also been severely restricted by both sides.

South Kordofan, which has been held by the SPLA since the 2005 peace deal that stifled Sudan's civil war, is a state in the center of Sudan, and has been a disputed territory between Sudan and South Sudan due to its oil reserves. In July, UN officials called for an end to the fighting [JURIST report] that had been ongoing since early June. The UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs [official website] and Emergency Relief Coordinator Valerie Amos [official profile] denounced continued human rights abuses [statement] against civilians in the South Kordofan region in June, saying that the UN knows of more than 70,000 people who have been displaced by the conflict, many of whom are subject to violence due to their ethnic heritage. The SAF took over Abyei in May, causing a rebuke and demand for withdrawal [JURIST reports] by the UN. The UN confirmed reports of bombing and shelling in and around Abyei by the SAF, as well as widespread looting and burning of houses. Aid workers estimate 40,000 people have fled the area [BBC report]. While the UN has said that attacks on its peacekeepers amount to war crimes under international law, both the UN and the US have called on the northern troops to withdraw from Abyei. From the northern capital of Khartoum President Omar al-Bashir [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] has stated he will not withdraw troops from the region and insisted that the area belongs to the north. An International Criminal Court (ICC) [official website] case is open against al-Bashir and several nations have been urged to arrest him on sight including China, Malaysia, Djibouti, Kenya and Chad [JURIST reports].

If the Serbian consulate had been informed of Mr. Nika's arrest, it would have provided crucial assistance, including translation, legal advice and key mitigating evidence, which could have saved Mr. Nika's life. The state of Nevada must face up to its deplorable failings in this case and order a new trial.

Just last month, the government of Mexico pleaded [press release] with the US to block the execution of Mexican national Humberto Leal Garcia [advocacy website] on similar grounds. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay [official profile] criticized the execution [JURIST report], saying that the US denied consular access [press release] to Leal Garcia, which was his right under Article 36 of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations [text, PDF]. Officials from the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) [official website] had appealed unsuccessfully to Texas Governor Rick Perry [official website; JURIST report] and the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles [official website] to stay the execution. The US Supreme Court refused [JURIST report] to stay the execution, with the majority in a split per curiam opinion rejecting the Obama administration's arguments that Leal Garcia's execution would be detrimental to foreign policy to the degree that they needed to introduce a stay. Texas officials executed [KTSM report] Leal Garcia an hour after the decision. Texas has already executed two Mexican nationals [JURIST report] who were denied consular access.

Mubarak's trial began on August 3 [JURIST report] with Mubarak and his sons pleading not guilty to all charges. Officials chose a new location for Mubarak's trial for security reasons after reporting [JURIST reports] that the trial would take place at a convention center in downtown Cairo. The announcement came amid speculation [Reuters report] that the trial would take place at a Red Sea resort because of Mubarak's alleged poor health. Many Egyptians contend that Mubarak is not ill and that members of the government have claimed the ex-president is sick in an effort to avoid a swift, public trial. In July, an Egyptian criminal court postponed the trial [JURIST report] of former interior minister Habib el-Adly, who also faces murder charges in relation to the pro-democracy demonstrations, so it would coincide with Mubarak's trial. In March, a commission of Arab and Egyptian human rights groups accused Mubarak [JURIST report] and the police of murdering protesters during the demonstrations in Egypt. Mubarak could face the death penalty [JURIST report] if convicted of ordering attacks on protesters. Amnesty International (AI) [advocacy website] reported that at least 840 people were killed [JURIST report] and more than 6,000 injured during the Egyptian protests.