Bullfighting in France, Spain and other countries has become a controversial issue in each nation. The most recent national animal cruelty controversy in the US was settled in November 2010 when the Senate [official website] unanimously approved a bill [JURIST report] banning animal cruelty "crush" videos, which featured small animals being tortured or killed for entertainment purposes. Congress was forced to revise 1999 animal cruelty legislation [18 USC § 48 text] following the Supreme Court's decision in United States v. Stevens [Cornell LII backgrounder], in which the 1999 law was struck down [JURIST report] for being substantially overbroad and therefore in violation of the First Amendment [text]. Following the Supreme Court's decision animal rights activists focused on the narrowness of the ruling and called on [JURIST comments] Congress to revise the law.

The court's decision on Friday indicates a shift in the balance of power in Turkey, where military coups have been attempted several times in recent decades. In June Turkish police arrested six former military officials [JURIST report] for involvement in the 1997 coup that caused Turkey's Islamist-led government to resign. In April Turkey's Ankara 12th High Criminal Court began the trial [JURIST report] of the last two surviving leaders of the 1980 coup that led to three years of military rule. Former President Kenan Evren faces a possible life sentence [JURIST report] in that trial. In 2010 a Turkish court also began the trial [JURIST report] of 33 retired and active naval officers who allegedly planned to overthrow the government and implement military rule.

Human rights violations in prisons and prisoner torture have been topics of international concern recently. Last month the Open Society Justice Initiative (OSJI) urged the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) to review allegations that Romania was involved in the torture [JURIST report] and other ill-treatment of a Saudi Arabian currently facing a death penalty trial before a US military commission at Guantanamo Bay [JURIST backgrounder]. In June lawyers for alleged 9/11 conspirator and Guantanamo Bay detainee Khalid Sheikh Mohammed revealed that they have asked a UN official to investigate allegations of torture [JURIST report]. In March, the former head of the Polish Intelligence Agency indicated that he may face charges for his assistance of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in operating a secret prison [JURIST news archive] in Poland where prisoners were allegedly tortured.

Corruption of public officials is an international concern. Earlier this week Pakistan Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf announced that he will allow Switzerland to reopen corruption charges [JURIST report] against President Asif Ali Zardari [official website]. The corruption case is thought to involve approximately USD $60 million. Last week an Egyptian court sentenced former prime minister Ahmed Nazif to three years in prison [JURIST report] after finding him guilty of corruption charges including embezzlement of US$10.5 million while in office. Earlier that week President-elect of Mexico Enrique Pena Nieto [campaign website, in Spanish] announced that he is proposing constitutional reforms that will increase government transparency [JURIST report]. Pena Nieto's electoral victory, confirmed [JURIST report] in July, has itself faced subsequent legal challenges, although each proved unsuccessful. Last month Mexico's Electoral Tribunal upheld the results after finding that there was no evidence that Pena Nieto violated election regulations [JURIST report].

Unmanned drone strikes have been a contentious legal issue, especially their use in Pakistan. In August UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and counterterrorism Ben Emmerson said that the US government must allow an independent investigation [JURIST report] of the legality of its drone strike policy. In July the Pakistan Ambassador to the US called on the CIA to stop using drone strikes [JURIST report]. Earlier that month US lawmakers expressed concern over the use of drones within the US [JURIST report] at a hearing in the US House Committee on Homeland Security [official website]. Also in July the Center for Constitutional Rights [advocacy website] and the ACLU filed a suit [JURIST report] challenging the US government's targeted killing of three US citizens in drone strikes. Commentators have suggested that the CIA's claim that there have been zero civilian casualties due to drone strikes needs to be seriously examined [JURIST op-ed].

International courts have been working to locate and try against Nazi war crimes suspects. In August German prosecutors announced that they were contemplating [JURIST report] bringing charges against an 87-year-old man suspected of having been an SS guard at the Auschwitz [JURIST news archive] concentration camp. Earlier that month the High Court of Australia [official website] rejected a request [JURIST report] by the nation of Hungary to extradite a Nazi war crimes suspect. Also that month, Slovakian authorities announced that they have filed new charges [JURIST report] against a 97-year-old Hungarian man arrested in Budapest last month on allegations of abusing and helping deport thousands of Jews during the Holocaust.

The law creates a subclass of super-exploitable migrant workers, sowing fear and confusion to marginalize and oppress all migrant workers regardless of their documents. This law deprives migrant workers of the same legal protection as U.S. nationals. Moreover, all workers suffer when migrant workers are too fearful to complain even when they suffer the most egregious violations of their labor and employment rights.

Earlier this month Alabama state officials petitioned the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit to reconsider a ruling partially striking down [JURIST reports] the state's immigration law. In August a three-judge upheld several provisions, including one allowing police officers to check the immigration status of persons suspected of a crime, but rejected provisions making it a crime for undocumented immigrants to work or solicit work, imposing criminal penalties on persons who rent property to illegal immigrants and requiring state officials to check the immigration status of children in public schools. Also in August, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it will establish a civil rights unit [JURIST report] in Alabama in the wake of the state's contentious immigration law raising concerns about compliance with federal law. In the speech, Assistant US Attorney General Thomas Perez argued that Alabama's immigration law threatens the rights of undocumented immigrants as well as the children of these immigrants.

It is NGOs who fight for the rights of the most vulnerable sections of society—for the poor, the marginalized, and minorities suffering from discrimination. It is NGOs that play a vital role in upholding the rule of law by exposing corruption and other abuses. Their persistence and exuberance doesn't always make them popular with the authorities, but—like the media and opposition political parties—they provide one of the essential checks and balances that helps create a better human rights environment.

In May UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Assembly and Peaceful Assembly and Association [official profile] Maina Kiai said that Algeria should use its upcoming legislative elections to address concerns about inadequate freedoms of expression and association [JURIST report]. Kiai expressed concern over a law, which passed in January [ICNL report] giving the government broad power in registering groups as associations and banning associations from receiving foreign funds from any governments besides "duly established cooperative relations." It also bans associations from having goals that go against "national values." Kiai said the law is oppressive because it is vague and does not meet international standards for freedom of association. He called on the government to change the law so that it meets the UN's standards.