The composition of the constitutional panel has been intensely debated, and the domination of the proceedings by Islamists [JURIST reports] has been extremely controversial. The debate surrounding the composition of constitutional panel follows an Egyptian court ruling in February that the elaborate voting system in the parliamentary elections was unconstitutional [JURIST report]. The make-up of the constitutional panel could determine whether there will be an expansion of rights in the country. In January, Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website] called on Egypt's newly elected parliament to pursue an agenda to reform nine areas of Egyptian law [JURIST report] that impede freedom and restrict rights. Some of the suggested reforms included ending the state of emergency, reforming police law and expanding freedom of expression, strengthening the criminal penalties for police abuse, amending Egypt's definition of torture to be in line with international standards and allowing independent NGOs to operate lawfully in the country.

Equality before the law and true democracy will only be achieved if there is genuine accountability of ALL state institutions to the elected civilian government and independent judiciary. During my visit, I heard of many instances in which the abduction, killing and intimidation of journalists, human rights defenders and lawyers are alleged to have been carried out by powerful and largely unaccountable state institutions, especially the military intelligence services.

Pakistan has been under pressure recently to improve human rights conditions. Last week Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari signed a bill authorizing the creation of an independent human rights commission [JURIST report] in Pakistan. Last April, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan [official website], a non-government organization, harshly criticized the Pakistani government [JURIST report] for its poor human rights record and called on government officials to fix the human rights abuses occurring in the country. Earlier that month, the US Department of State [official website] released [JURIST report] the 2010 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices [materials]. The governments of Afghanistan and Pakistan were criticized for their conduct in the war against the Taliban and al Qaeda, but the 2008 Pakistani elections [JURIST report] were deemed "competitive and reflective of the people's will," restoring democratic rule and leading to some human rights progress.

The new information law and the creation of the truth commission have been hailed by many as positive steps forward for Brazil. The commission is authorized to investigate abuses that occurred under Brazil's military dictatorship, which reigned the country from 1964 to 1985, but its findings will not lead to any trials [Al Jazeera report] due to a military-era amnesty. During the swearing-in ceremony, Rousseff, who was herself imprisoned for three years [BBC profile] during the military dictatorship, said "Brazil deserves the truth, new generations deserve the truth, and—above all—those who lost friends and relatives and who continue to suffer as if they were dying again each day deserve the truth."

This bill ... does what the Russian government should have done years ago, namely hold accountable those government officials and others who participated in the arrest, murder, or cover-up of Magnitsky or who benefited from his death. But it goes further than this single crime. It also requires that those responsible for the death, torture, or repression of individuals investigating crimes by Russian government officials, or who were simply trying to exercise their basic human rights, be publicly named and sanctioned.

Prior to his death, Magnitsky was held in prison for 358 days with little to no access to legal representation, his family or medical professionals. In a controversial move last August, Russian investigators reopened the case [JURIST report] against Magnitsky on the basis of a new ruling permitting criminal cases against the dead. Critics of this action, such as JURIST Contributing Editor David Crane, argue that the ongoing posthumous prosecution of Magnitsky is a violation of the rule of law [JURIST op-ed] and an embarrassment for the Russian judicial system. Last year, US lawmakers introduced a bill [JURIST report] to sanction individuals who are connected to Magnitsky's death.

China has faced criticism for its policy of strict Internet regulation. In 2010, the State Council Information Office of the People's Republic of China released a position paper [JURIST report] on the country's human rights record, claiming that it has heightened Internet freedoms and improved civil and political rights. In July of that year, Chinese Internet regulators planned to drastically reduce Internet anonymity [JURIST report] by requiring users to use their real names when posting on certain Chinese websites, according to Human Rights in China (HRIC) [advocacy website]. HRIC's revelation came on the heels of a June announcement that Google would continue to operate its google.cn Internet search engine in mainland China, ending a four-month period during which the site simply redirected to the uncensored google.hk [search websites; JURIST report] after the company threatened in January to pull out of China entirely [JURIST report]. Earlier that month, the Chinese government defended [JURIST report] its Internet censorship laws in a report on Internet usage in the country.

The State of Israel is a law-abiding democracy and as the Prime Minister of Israel I am committed to upholding the law and am I committed to uphold the settlement enterprise, and I tell you that there is no contradiction between the two. The draft law that was rejected today in the Knesset would have hurt settlement whereas the outline that I have decided upon—the expansion of the community, moving the homes and legal defense against any precedent—strengthens settlement.

West Bank settlements have sparked tension between Israel and Palestinian authorities as well as criticism by international groups. Israel responded to international investigations into these settlements by announcing [JURIST report] in March that it will sever ties to the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) [official website]. The announcement came after the UNHRC initiated its investigation to determine the effect that Israeli settlements have had on the civil, political, economic and cultural rights of the Palestinian people. Israel argued that this investigation was founded on bias against Israel. A month before, Human Rights Watch [advocacy website] had urged [JURIST report] Israel to amend its policies that forbid Palestinians from traveling through and living in Gaza and the West Bank. Even in March 2010, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon [official profile] called [JURIST report] in a press conference Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank "illegal."

Governments across the globe have struggled to define rights for same-sex couples. In May, the city of Buenos Aires passed a resolution [JURIST report] that will recognize same-sex marriages for non-citizens, making it the fourth district in Argentina to legalize such marriages. Earlier that month, the Israeli Knesset rejected a bill [JURIST report] that would have legalized civil marriages in the country. Earlier that week Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee signed an executive order [JURIST report] requiring government agencies to recognize same-sex marriages performed out-of-state. Also in May, voters in North Carolina passed a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage [JURIST report]. In March, Israel's Ramat Gan Family Court ruled that a lesbian couple can both be recognized as mothers of a child [JURIST report] they had together, finding that it would defy logic and common sense to deny parental rights to both women.

The UN General Assembly [official website] in 2010 adopted [JURIST report] a resolution [materials] declaring that access to clean and sanitized drinking water is a basic human right. It was passed by a vote of 122-0 with 41 member states abstaining.

Death sentences for former Hussein officials have led to controversy. Aziz, who was sentenced to death in 2010, sought a pardon of his sentence after Iraqi President Jalal Talabani [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] said in an interview that he would not sign the execution order [JURIST report] for Aziz. Aziz's family had previously called for his release on health grounds, claiming he had two heart attacks and suffered a stroke [JURIST report] while in custody. Aziz has been in prison since 2003.

Mexico is following a global trend of countries implementing their own climate change laws rather then relying on international agreements such as the Kyoto Protocol [text; JURIST news archive]. In December Canada withdrew [JURIST report] from the Kyoto Protocol. Earlier in December 194 countries agreed to extend [JURIST report] the Kyoto Protocol until 2017 after they failed to institute a new internationally-binding climate change treaty in 2009. In November Australia passed a law that imposes a price on carbon emissions [JURIST report] in an effort to improve the environment and the country's economy. In 2007 the UK introduced its own climate change legislation [JURIST report], pledging to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 60 percent by 2050. The Kyoto Protocol was adopted [JURIST report] in 2005.

DOMA faces legal challenges across the US. The bipartisan legal advisory group in charge of defending DOMA filed its brief [JURIST report] on Monday defending the constitutionality of section 3 of the act. Last week the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit became the first federal appeals court to rule [JURIST report] that Section 3 is unconstitutional because it interferes with a state's right to define marriage. In May, a federal district judge in California also struck down section 3 [JURIST report] of DOMA. The Obama administration in March petitioned the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuitfor an expedited en banc review of two test cases on the constitutionality of DOMA after the US District for the Northern District of California ruled that it was unconstitutional [JURIST reports]. The Department of Justice (DOJ), which no longer defends DOMA [JURIST report], has argued that laws affecting LGBT citizens should receive "heightened scrutiny" above rational basis.