JURIST - Paper Chase: Sunday, September 30, 2012

[JURIST] UN Special Rapporteur on the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation Catarina de Albuquerque [official profile] on Friday applauded [press release] a new California law [AB 685, PDF] creating a right to safe drinking water. Assemblymember Mike Eng [official website] sponsored the legislation, which declares "the established policy of the state [to be] that every human being has the right to safe, clean, affordable, and accessible water adequate for human consumption, cooking, and sanitary purposes." De Albuquerque said:

I remember the tragic stories of farm-worker women in Seville, in the San Joaquin Valley, who were condemned to drinking the water from their polluted wells because they did not have the money to purchase bottled water. I recall the crying women who told me that they were devoting about 20 per cent of their US$14,000 per year income to water and sanitation. ... This bill is a clear sign that bringing safe and affordable water to all in California is a political priority, which I warmly welcome. I am happy to congratulate the state of California for this historical step.

California Governor Jerry Brown [official website] signed [press release] the bill into law last week. California's House and Senate had previously passed an access to water bill, but it was vetoed [text] by then-governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

In July 2010 the UN General Assembly [official website] adopted [JURIST report] a resolution [materials] declaring that access to clean and sanitized drinking water is a basic human right. The resolution passed by a vote of 122-0. One of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) [official website] to reduce social and economic harms by 2015 includes decreasing the number of people who cannot reach or afford safe drinking water and do not have basic sanitation by half. The resolution expressed concern that approximately 884 million people are without access to safe drinking water and more than 2.6 billion people lack access to basic sanitation. In March of that year, Bolivian President Evo Morales [BBC profile] called on the UN [JURIST report] to declare access to safe drinking water a basic human right and introduced the resolution.

[JURIST] Egyptian Defence Minister General Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi on Saturday ordered a reduced sentence for a group of military officers who took part in opposition protests in April 2011. There were 22 officers, known as the April 8 Officers, arrested for their participation in protests [Egyptian Independent report] in support of the revolution and against the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) [Al Jazeera archive] and against retired Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi Soliman. Originally sentenced to six years, the new order imposes a one-year suspended sentence [Ahram report]. The defense minister's announcement follows continuous protests and demonstrations on behalf of the officers, but some are not satisfied [Ahram report] that the new sentence will mean freedom for the officers.

There have been several controversial trials since the end of the revolution. Last week an Egyptian court upheld the death sentences [JURIST report] for 14 Islamists. Earlier this month, a court sentenced [JURIST report] former prime minister Ahmed Nazif to three years for corruption. In August the former secretary for Mubarak's political party, Safwat El-Sherif, was referred to a criminal court [JURIST report] on corruption charges. He was accused of having abused his office by obtaining real estate at discounted prices and illegally obtaining $49.2 million. In July an Egyptian court rejected pleas to release [JURIST report] Mubarak's two sons while they await trial. Gamal and Alaa Mubarak, along with seven others, were charged with stock market fraud [JURIST report] and using unfair trading practices and illegally manipulating the market.

[JURIST] Mexico's Chamber of Deputies [official website, in Spanish] approved a bill after 14 hours of debate on Saturday that provides for a broad range of reforms to Mexico's labor market. The bill seeks to improve the transparency of Mexico's trade unions and make labor regulations more flexible. The bill was a bipartisan effort between the conservative outgoing National Action Party (PAN) and the more liberal incoming Institutional Revolution Party (PRI) [party websites, in Spanish]. The final version of the bill [Reuters report] includes provisions that streamline labor disputes, makes it easier to hire and fire workers, allows unions to create their own election rules, and regulates outsourcing. It will now go to the Mexican Senate [official website, in Spanish], which will have 30 days to pass or reject it.

The bill was given preliminary approval [JURIST report] on Friday. Earlier this month outgoing president Felipe Calderon [official website, in Spanish] introduced the labor reform bill [JURIST report]. The bill was introduced [Reuters report] in the Congress of Mexico by Interior Minister Alejandro Poires. Lawmakers from both the PAN and PRI have shown support for the legislation. Incoming president Enrique Pena Nieto [campaign website] of the Institutional Revolutionary Party has pledged to back the legislation. Calderon is seeking to fast track the legislation before he leaves office in November.