This culture of impunity must end. We must not allow the fundamental freedoms that a free press represents to be compromised by those willing to use violence to serve their personal agendas. This is a decisive time in the political process and the work of media needs to be protected so that the Somali people are fully informed.

The international community has urged Somalia to ensure that the country's transition to the rule of law is proceeding peacefully. Last week the UN welcomed the signing of Somalia's National Security and Stabilization Plan [JURIST report]. Two weeks ago the Somalia's constituent assembly approved a draft of the new constitution [JURIST report] with over 96 percent of the 645 ballots cast in the special 825-member assembly after eight days of debate. The new constitution also has to be ratified by a national referendum. In June President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed [BBC profile] and the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) signed [JURIST report] a decree establishing the legal framework by adopting a new constitution convened by the National Constituent Assembly (NCA). During the same month UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon [official profile] told [JURIST report] officials at the Istanbul II Conference on Somalia [materials] that Somalia must take all efforts to smoothly transit into a permanent government with a new constitution. In May Somalia was called on to address the issue of legitimate judicial systems [JURIST report] in Mogadishu and South Central Somalia after the UN Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in Somalia found that there were significant difficulties in harmonizing Sharia law with modern international and human rights law.

It is clear that violence is increasing in many parts of Syria. The indiscriminate use of heavy weapons by the Government and targeted attacks by the Opposition in urban centres are inflicting a heavy toll on innocent civilians. ... I deeply regret that none of the Parties has prioritized the needs of civilians. The fighting continues and I continue to remind the Parties of their obligations to respect international humanitarian law and to protect civilians. The conflict has gone on too long and far too many people are suffering. ... We will continue to the last minute of our mandate to urge the Parties to move from confrontation to dialogue. I call on the Parties to cease military operations and come to the table.

The UN Security Council extended the mission in Syria following a call [JURIST report] by Amnesty International and three other rights groups last month. The groups had insisted that human rights violations in Syria are on the rise and urged the UN to continue pressuring the Syrian government to end the violence. In July UN Chief Military Observer in Syria Major-General Robert Mood stated that Syrian authorities were committed to implementing the six-point peace agreement [JURIST reports] that was reached a week earlier. In June a UN commission stated that Syrian forces "may have been responsible" [JURIST report] for the killing of more than 100 civilians in Al-Houla in May. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad [JURIST news archive] had denied [JURIST report] the allegations stating that "not even monsters" would carry out the attacks.

The Hague Convention, which currently has 84 signatories [text], seeks to eliminate difficulties that arise when a court in one country does not recognize custody decisions [DOS backgrounder] of a foreign court. Japan became the most recent country to sign the treaty [JURIST report] in 2011 during the G8 Summit, but it has not yet ratified. Russia remains the only G8 nation to not sign the treaty. China is also not a signatory.

In June the Constitutional Court ruled that this year's election for the new parliament was unconstitutional [JURIST report] and the previous parliament of 2009 should be reinstated, thereby removing the opposition-controlled parliament, and restoring a more government-friendly body. Earlier that month, Kuwait's ruler Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] suspended [NYT report] the parliament for a month in response to escalating tensions between the more liberal, western-backed lawmakers and the Islamist-led lawmakers. The tension grew when two cabinet ministers resigned under the pressure of the Islamist-led lawmakers who tried to gain more seats.

In June a Kuwait court sentenced a man to 10 years of imprisonment for posting insulting and defaming comments [JURIST report] about the Prophet Muhammad and the Sunni Muslim rulers of Saudi Arabia and Bahrain on Twitter. Judge Hisham Abdullah found 26-year-old Hamad al-Naqi, a Shia Muslim, guilty on all charges of endangering state security and ordered the maximum sentence for him. A similar case arose last year when two men were detained for posting messages on the Internet criticizing Middle East rulers on social media websites Twitter and YouTube. Human Rights Watch called on the government to immediately release them [JURIST report], calling the detention merely an "illegal effort to punish him and intimidate others who might dare be critical about Kuwait's fellow Gulf monarchs."

[A]lthough there has been important progress, women still do not have a strong enough voice in decision-making. Women make up just a fraction of all chief executives of the world's biggest companies. Fewer than one in ten presidents or prime ministers are women. And less than one in five parliamentarians are women. This world statistic is reflected here in the Republic of Korea. The lack of women's representation—of women's empowerment—affects individual women's rights—and it holds back whole countries. One recent UN study showed that limits on women's economic participation cost the Asia-Pacific region nearly $90 billion each year in lost productivity.

Women's rights remain a controversial issue around the world. In July the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women Rashida Manjoo [official profile] urged the governments of Pakistan and Afghanistan to end violence against women [JURIST report] and investigate the recent killings of two women. Earlier in July the Guttmacher Institute [official website] reproductive rights [JURIST report]. Earlier that week Amnesty International [advocacy website] released a report indicating that Mexico is failing to protect women's rights [JURIST report]. Earlier in July Women Under Siege [advocacy website] reported finding 81 instances of sexual assault and rape [JURIST report] by military forces in Syria since anti-government demonstrations began in March 2011. In June Human Rights Watch [advocacy website] reported [JURIST report] that Syrian forces are sexually abusing men, women and children who have been detained during the ongoing conflict.

Access to legal services, particularly for low-income individuals and families, has been a contentious issue worldwide. Last week the Supreme Court of India ruled [JURIST report] that defendants are entitled to legal representation at all courts, not just at the trial level. In March JURIST guest columnist Robert Westley argued [JURIST op-ed] that a decision by the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit [official website] upholding the Washington state's cut to a food aid program for legal immigrants is a prime example of how constitutional formalism justifies leaving some members of the political community without the basic necessities. In February 2011 the Supreme Court of India held [JURIST report] that criminal defendants have a right to counsel under the Indian Constitution, regardless of their ability to pay.

In early June the judges from the ICTY went on a five-day visit [JURIST report] to locations relevant to the indictment of Karadzic. They visited BiH and Srebrenica and surrounding areas. This visit came just months after the ICTY sentenced [JURIST report] former president of the municipality of Sokolac, BiH, Milan Tupajic to two months in prison for refusing to testify against Karadzic. In February former Commander of the Bosnian Serb Army Ratko Mladic [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] accused [JURIST report] the ICTY of being biased. In January the ICTY accepted a plea deal [JURIST report], in the trial of the former case manager for Bosnian war criminal Milan Lukic, convicting her of five counts of contempt for procuring false witness statements. In December the ICTY convicted [JURIST report] former Yugoslav intelligence officer Dragomir Pecanac of contempt for failing to testify before the tribunal.

If the Constituent Assembly [tasked with drafting a new constitution] is prevented from doing its duties, the president can draw up a new assembly representing the full spectrum of Egyptian society mandated with drafting a new national charter within three months of the assembly's formation. The new draft constitution is to be put before a nationwide referendum within 30 days after it is written. Parliamentary elections are to be held within two months of the public's approval of the draft constitution.

Last month Morsi ordered the release [JURIST report] of 572 people convicted in tribunals by the Egyptian military. Earlier in July, a few days after he was sworn in, Morsi issued a decree [JURIST reports] calling the dissolved Egyptian parliament back into session, despite a previous ruling by the country's Supreme Constitutional Court [official website] dissolving it due to its finding that one-third of its members were elected illegally [JURIST report]. The court suspended Morsi's decree two days later, after which Morsi vowed that he would respect the ruling [JURIST reports]. A court struck down [JURIST report] a government decree in June that restored broad arrest powers to Egyptian military officials. Days before its dissolution, the Egyptian parliament elected a new constitutional council after lawmakers finally reached an agreement [JURIST reports] on the political composition of the council. In April the country's Administrative Court effectively suspended [JURIST report] the work of the 100-member council responsible for drafting the country's new constitution after ruling in favor of a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the formation of the panel.