The crisis in Mali has drawn a great deal of international scorn and scrutiny. In September Human Rights Watch [advocacy website] reported [JURIST report] that three armed Islamist groups in northern Mali are abusing the local population and recruiting child soldiers. Earlier that month, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay [official profile] condemned [JURIST report] human rights violations in Mali and called for international action to address the problems. Pillay noted that two militant Islamic groups are recruiting child soldiers, committing cruel punishments, violating basic human rights, committing sexual violence against women, and executing individuals. In August, officials from the International Criminal Court (ICC) [official website] were in Mali investigating [JURIST report] whether the same two Islamic groups had committed war crimes in Mali.

Tuesday's announcement was the latest development in the DOJ's recent string of fraudulent practice prosecutions. Last month the DOJ announced [JURIST report] that MoneyGram International, Inc. [corporate website] entered into a similar deferred prosecution agreement for criminally aiding and abetting wire fraud and failing to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program. A week prior, Wells Fargo [corporate website] claimed [JURIST report] that a lawsuit filed by the US government to recover money from defective mortgages was barred by a previous settlement. In September, a federal judge approved [JURIST report] a settlement agreement between the DOJ and certain e-book publishers in a price-fixing suit. In July, a federal court granted [JURIST report] an emergency order freezing the assets of foreign brokers accused of insider trading. Also in July, the DOJ and pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline [corporate website] announced [JURIST report] a $3 billion settlement in a series of criminal and civil healthcare fraud cases against the drug company.

Many women victims of violence do not report their situation to law enforcement and judicial institutions due to cultural restraints, social norms and taboos, customary and religious beliefs relegating women to subordinate position, fear of social stigma, exclusion and, at times, even threat to life. As a result, many incidents of violence against women were not reported to formal law enforcement and justice institutions. For example, according to estimations of the AIHRC [Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission] office in Paktya, almost 80 per cent of relevant cases were not reported to the ANP [Afghan National Police] or the judiciary.

Violence against women has been a long-standing issue in Afghanistan and around the world. Last month the UN urged [JURIST report] countries to implement policies that will end violence against women. Also in November the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly approved a resolution [JURIST report] calling for a global ban on female genital mutilation. At the same time, Human Rights Watch [advocacy website] released a report [JURIST report] detailing violence and obstacles women are facing in Colombia, where the legal framework is often not properly applied despite the government's progress in enacting legislation to protect violence against women.

Bahrain has faced international criticism for its crackdown against dissidents since anti-government protests began last year. In October Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website] urged Bahrain's court of appeals to overturn the conviction of Rajab [JURIST report]. Also in October, the Bahrain Court of Cassation upheld jail sentences [JURIST report] for nine medics convicted for their involvement in Bahrain's pro-democracy uprising. According to Bahrain News Agency [official website], the medics were working at Salmaniya Medical Complex [official website], and, during the time of the uprising, "took over the complex, detained and imprisoned kidnapped persons, and transformed the hospital to a place of illegal gathering and strikes, in violation of laws." According to Physicians for Human Rights [official website], at least 95 health workers were arrested in Bahrain only after some medics treated those hurt by security forces and spoke out against the crackdown against protesters, which included firing upon ambulances. Last month government officials pledged to fulfill [JURIST report] the 158 recommendations included in the UN Universal Periodic Review [materials] regarding human rights abuses against political opposition. HRW called on Bahrain to follow through with their promises, but raised doubts as to whether the government is fully committed to reform.

In sum, no U.S. court has ever heard the merits of Mr. Padilla's claims that he was tortured. A court has never determined the "truth or error" or his allegations, much less provided him with a remedy. All three of the elements required by the Commission to satisfy an Article XVIII right to a remedy have been denied to Mr. Padilla: 1) he was denied access to a court or tribunal for years, 2) no court or tribunal has heard his case on the merits, and 3) no adequate remedy has been given. In sum, though Mr. Padilla had the right to file a civil suit in the United States, his right to a remedy proved to be "illusory" because, like other claimants before him, his cases were erroneously dismissed on national security grounds.

In June the US Supreme Court declined to accept Padilla's appeal challenging the dismissal [JURIST report] of his lawsuit against US officials for allegedly illegally detaining him at a military jail in South Carolina. Padilla was arrested in 2002 at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport and thereafter detained as an enemy combatant. He was convicted on terrorism charges in 2007 and sentenced [JURIST reports] to 17 years in prison. In September 2011 the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit ruled that Padilla's sentence was too lenient and ordered a new sentencing hearing [JURIST report]. The court noted Padilla's 17 prior arrests and objected to a reduction of his sentence for the three-and-a-half years he was detained as an "enemy combatant" on a base in South Carolina before charges were brought against him.