By other terms of the text adopted today, the Assembly expressed its full support for the Arab League's decision to facilitate a Syrian-led political transition to a democratic, pluralistic political system, including through a "serious political dialogue between the [Syrian Government] and the whole spectrum of the Syrian opposition." Reaffirming its strong commitment to Syria's sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity, it further reaffirmed that all Member States "should refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any State."

The growing unrest in Syria has drawn copious international attention recently. Earlier this week, both UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay and Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon [JURIST reports], called for an end to the violence in Syria, with Pillay asking the UN Security Council to refer the situation in Syria to the International Criminal Court (ICC). Pillay urged an investigation of Syrian government and military officials for possible crimes against humanity. The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) claimed earlier in February that the past 11 months of violence in Syria have led to the deaths of hundreds of children [JURIST report]. In January, Ban demanded [JURIST report] that al-Assad end violence against Syrian civilians. The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights reports that more than 5,000 people have died since anti-government protests began last March.

Although the sincerity of a person's belief that a religious practice must be observed is relevant to whether the person's right to freedom of religion is at issue, an infringement of this right cannot be established without objective proof of an interference with the observance of that practice. In this case, given the trial judge's findings of fact and the evidence in the record concerning the neutrality of the ERC Program, I conclude that the appellants have failed to prove such an interference.

The Ethics and Religious Culture Program was created in 2008 as a replacement for the Moral Education, Catholic Religious and Moral Instruction, and Protestant Moral Education and Religious Education courses that existed at the time. Denis Watters, head of the ERCP at the Quebec Ministry of Education, Leisure and Sport [official website], said the ERCP is designed "to equip [students] with knowledge that will help them decode the meanings of the various religious expressions around them," not to push any of the religions on students. There are often instances of tension between religious freedom and educational requirements in other countries as well. In 2009, Germany's high court rejected a religious challenge against required sexual education classes. In 2008, a US federal court ruled that Pennsylvania educational requirements did not violate [JURIST reports] religious rights of children who are home schooled.

Arbitrarily detaining people and forcing them to undergo political indoctrination is an abuse of Chinese and international laws. [...] Authorities in the region should release these individuals, as their detention only escalates the tension in Tibetan regions which already have increased limits on travel and communication as well as troop and security presence.

China has long imposed strict restrictions on Tibet. In November 2011, the UN formally expressed concern over China's treatment of Tibet. That June, concern over an influc of missing persons prompted a UN rights body to demand a report on disappearances. The same month, the US requested China release peaceful protesters arrested in Tiananmen Square. In July of 2010, HRW published a report alleging China violated international law [JURIST reports] in its treatment of Tibetan protesters. Secrecy in China's judicial system [JURIST comment] often raises human rights concerns [JURIST news archive] over prisoners being held there.

So today I issue a challenge to all leaders of all countries that have not yet endorsed the CTBT: Visit the site of a nuclear test. Speak to the population exposed to the fallout. Then take action to prevent this from ever happening again. Today, on this fifteenth anniversary, we remember the victims. At the same time, we remember the hope in which the CTBT was conceived. The hope for a future where international peace and security do not depend on the mad doctrine of mutually assured destruction or hang on the thin thread of good luck. Nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation are not utopian ideals. They are critical to global peace and security. We have a legal and moral obligation to rid our world of nuclear tests and nuclear weapons. When we put an end to nuclear tests, we get closer to eliminating all nuclear weapons. A world free of nuclear weapons will be safer and more prosperous. Governments now spend vast sums of money to build and test arsenals of death. The world is over-armed and development is under-funded. It is time to reverse that equation.

There continues to be international debate over Iran's nuclear program and whether or not the nation is seeking a nuclear weapon. Earlier this month, the US began imposing strict sanctions on Iran because of its nuclear program. Iran claims that its nuclear rights are being taken away [JURIST reports], but there are those who argue the IAEA has a legal right to regulate nuclear weapons [JURIST op-ed]. There has also been a continued international response from the UN with new sanctions being imposed in June 2010 to increase the restrictions placed on Iran from the first set of sanctions in 2006 [JURIST reports].

Thursday's outcome was expected after the New Jersey Senate [official website] approved the bill [JURIST report] on Monday, in a vote of 24-16. Approval of the legislation marks a shift from the legislature's previous position concerning same-sex marriage. A similar bill was defeated [JURIST report] in the state Senate last year. In November, a lawsuit [JURIST report] was allowed to continue in New Jersey, which seeks declaratory and injunctive relief against the state's current civil union law as a contravention of both the Fourteenth Amendment [Cornell LII backgrounder] and the New Jersey State Constitution. On Monday, Washington became the eighth jurisdiction [JURIST report] in the US legalizing same-sex marriage.

Homosexuality is an international issue that many countries struggle to deal with. Earlier this week, Amnesty International [advocacy website] condemned [JURIST report] the government of Uganda for shutting down a LGBT workshop and attempting to arrest the leader. Earlier this month, Uganda reintroduced legislation [JURIST report] that would criminalize certain homosexual activities, including dictating a life sentence for individuals who enter into a same-sex marriage. In June, UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon [official profile] demanded [JURIST report] that African countries honor the Universal Declaration of Human Rights [text] by ending discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. According to the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association [advocacy website] State-Sponsored Homophobia report [text, PDF], 76 countries still criminalize same-sex relationships, and five enforce the death penalty against homosexuals.

Correa remains resolute that the media in Ecuador is corrupt and must be harnessed. In a statement [El Ciudadano, in Spanish], he called the suit one of his greatest legacies because now the Ecuadoran "corrupt press" know they cannot "damage the honor of a person." He also pointed to El Universo's willingness to apologize as a sign of their culpability: "[T]hey knew they had committed a crime, but pride prevented them, as required by the Constitution, to correct [their error]." El Universo, in fact, offered several times to retract the editorial, allow Correa to write his own correction and settle out-of-court, but Correa's lawyer refused their settlement offers. El Universo remains defiant. The newspaper's front page on the day of the verdict displayed a headline of "Condemned" followed by an Ayn Rand quotation: "When you see that men get richer by graft and pull than by work, and your laws don’t protect you against them, but protect them against you—when you see corruption being rewarded and honesty becoming a self-sacrifice—you may know that your society is doomed." El Universo's report [text, in Spanish] states they believe Ecuador's libel laws are in violation of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, for using criminal law to punish expressions against public officials. Correa has another suit pending against journalists Juan Carlos Calderon and Christian Zurita for their book Big Brother [Amazon profile], which claimed that Correa's brother had awarded millions of dollars of government contracts to businesses for his own profit. Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website] criticized Correa rallying against journalists earlier this year and pleaded with him to not prosecute journalists [report text].

Abdulmutallab pleaded guilty [JURIST report] in October against the advice of his attorney, after initially entering not-guilty pleas [JURIST report] on all charges in 2010. In September of 2010, Abdulmutallab fired his lawyer [JURIST report] and decided to represent himself. The case was initiated by US authorities [JURIST report] on December 26, 2009. Following Abdulmutallab's attempted bombing, numerous additional safety measures were put in place in regards to US air travel. US President Barack Obama announced [JURIST report] in December of 2009 that officials would increase screening requirements as well as the number of air marshals aboard flights.