Same-sex marriage [JURIST backgrounder] and correlated rights remain a contentious issue both within the UN and around the world. Last week Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website] urged the Russian State Duma [official website, in Russian] to reject a proposed law that would fine any individuals or organizations, including government officials, who promote homosexuality to minors. The bill was approved by the lower house [JURIST report] earlier last week. Also last week, the Virginia Senate [official website] approved legislation [JURIST report] that would prohibit the state government from discriminating against its employees based on sexual orientation. Earlier in January, lawmakers for the Sejm of the Republic of Poland [official website] dismissed [JURIST report] three pieces of proposed legislation that would have given restricted legal rights to unmarried same-sex and opposite-sex couples by way of civil union.

Mali has drawn increased international scrutiny recently, particularly from the UN as more reports of political violence and human rights abuses come to light. Last week International Criminal Court (ICC) Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda [official profile] warned [JURIST report] the Malian government over reports of human rights abuses by Malian forces. In the statement, Bensouda urged Malian authorities to put an immediate stop to the alleged abuses and to investigate and prosecute those responsible. Bensouda announced in January that her office has launched an investigation [JURIST report] into possible war crimes committed in Mali. Mali has drawn increased international scrutiny recently regarding political violence and alleged human rights abuses. Earlier that month, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) issued a report saying that the tumultuous situation in Mali has led to human rights violations [JURIST report].

Last February the chief prosecutor in the case against Mubarak and el-Adly asked the presiding judge to give the death penalty to both men [JURIST report] for their roles in the 2011 revolution. Prosecutors made a similar request [JURIST report] in January of last year. El-Adly was convicted on a different corruption charge [JURIST report] in July 2011 due to granting a no-bid contract [Al Jazeera report] to a German businessman to sell license plates in Egypt. The deal wasted USD $15 million of public funds by paying more for the plates than market price. El-Adly was sentenced to five years in prison and fined nearly USD $17 million.

Marijuana [JURIST news archive] has been a hot-button issue in the US and abroad. Last week the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit [official website] ruled [JURIST report] that marijuana is still an illegal Schedule I drug under the Controlled Substances Act [text]. In December an Arizona judge ruled [JURIST report] that Arizona's medical marijuana law is constitutional and instructed the state to permit dispensaries to open. In November lawmakers in Uruguay proposed legislation [JURIST report] for state-regulated marijuana. In the US elections in November, Washington and Colorado legalized the drug [JURIST report]. The Colorado initiative [Amendment 64, PDF] introduces an amendment to the state constitution, allowing adults over 21 to possess up to an ounce and privately grow up to six plants, although public use will be banned. In Oregon the Cannabis Tax Act Initiative [Measure 80, PDF] failed by approximately 55-to-45 percent [Examiner.com report] of the vote. Medical marijuana was legalized in Massachusetts for the first time as over 60 percent of voters approved Question 3 [Petition 11-11, PDF], an indirect initiated statute that will allow marijuana use by patients [Harvard Crimson report] with "debilitating medical conditions" and create 35 medical marijuana dispensaries.

Building a rights-respecting state may not be as exhilarating as toppling an abusive regime. It can be painstaking work to construct effective institutions of governance, establish independent courts, create professional police units, and train public officials to uphold human rights and the rule of law. But these tasks are essential if revolution is not to become a byway to repression by another name.

The report considered human rights violations around the world and included 90 country-specific sections. The United States [HRW report] was criticized for its increasing use of the death penalty in criminal justice. The report also criticized the continued maintenance of Guantanamo Bay [JURIST backgrounder] prison and the indefinite detention of prisoners there. HRW also highlighted as issues life sentences for minors, women's rights and the rights of non-citizens in the US.

The members of the European Union (EU) [HRW report] were criticized for neglecting human rights to focus on the economic crisis. Specifically, HRW said that EU nations must do more to protect irregular migrants and asylum seekers. The report acknowledged that EU member states were working on revisions to policies to protect these groups. The report went on to criticize specific EU nations for violations their treatment of migrants, including France for its recent ejection of Roma migrants and Greece for reports of violence and discrimination against migrants and asylum-seekers [JURIST reports]. The report also expressed concern about racial discrimination and complicity in torture in several EU nations. The report leveled heavy criticism at Russia [HRW report] for several human rights violations in the past year. The report pointed to recent legislation including a controversial law increasing fines for illegal protests, a law that labels nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) that accept international funding as "foreign agents" [JURIST reports] and a series of provincial laws banning "homosexual propaganda" as signs of declining human rights in the nation.

In Africa, HRW expressed particular concern about the deterioration of human rights in Mali [HRW report]. The rights group said that the ongoing conflict between government forces and Taureg rebels has led to serious human rights violations on both sides of the conflict. In the Ivory Coast [HRW report] HRW said that recent military abuses and ongoing impunity for human rights violators continues to stifle human rights in the nation. HRW also expressed concern about continued violence of the M23 rebellion in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) [HRW report]. HRW acknowledged developmental progress in Rwanda [HRW report] but expressed concerns about the freedom of expression and the press.

Mexico [HRW report] faced criticism for human rights violations committed by law enforcement in an effort to thwart organized crime. The report criticized the country's use of military forces to combat drug trafficking and other instances of organized crime throughout the nation. HRW stated that military abuses during these investigations have not been widely investigated or prosecuted. In South America, HRW expressed particular concern about the ongoing conflict in Colombia [HRW report]. Specifically, the rights group expressed concern about the growing number of displaced citizens of the country and threats against human rights workers and journalists in the country. In Venezuela [HRW report] the group expressed concern about the deteriorating state of human rights under President Hugo Chavez, who was reelected in October. Argentina [HRW report] was praised for its prosecution of former government agents involved in abuses during the nations military dictatorship in the 1970s and 1980s.

Finally HRW considered violations in Asia, focusing much of its criticism on the authoritarian government of China [HRW report], and its practices of censorship and persecution of human rights defenders. The rights group cited several instances of the arrest or disappearance of human rights activists and journalists promoting change within the country. The group also expressed concern about the governments strict censorship of media and internet access. In North Korea [HRW report] the rights group stated that the succession of leader Kim Jong-Un has not affected positive change in the state of human rights in the country. The report acknowledged in India [HRW report] government efforts to improve human rights, but emphasized a need to implement protections against rights abuse, particularly with respect to free expression and women's rights.

Laws and policies governing the treatment of migrants continue to raise international human rights concerns. In August spokespersons for the UN Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights (OHCHR) and the UN High Commissioner of Refugees (UNHCR) expressed concern [JURIST report] about an Australian law to reopen offshore detention centers used to process migrants and asylum-seekers who arrive in the country by sea. Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported in July that migrants residing in Greece face a rising culture of discrimination and violence [JURIST report]. In June Amnesty International (AI) said the Cyprus government's practice of detaining all illegal migrants seeking asylum in the island nation violates international law [JURIST report]. In January 2012 the Israeli Knesset passed a bill that imposes harsher penalties on illegal migrants [JURIST report] in Israel, as well as on Israelis who help illegal migrants. AI criticized the bill as a violation of human rights. In March 2011 AI released a report documenting discrimination and human rights violations against Roma migrants [JURIST report] in Slovenia and urging the Slovenian government to protect Roma communities. In September 2010,the Global Migration Group (GMG) adopted a statement urging all governments to respect the human rights of migrants [JURIST report], who are more likely to face various forms of abuse as they lack proper legal status. The GMG stressed that every person, regardless of migration status, should enjoy the fundamental rights to life, liberty and all fundamental human rights.

Nasr, also known as Abu Omar, was seized on the streets of Milan in 2003 by CIA agents with the help of Italian operatives, then allegedly transferred to Egypt and tortured by Egypt's State Security Intelligence before being released [JURIST reports] in February 2007. Last September Italy's highest court upheld the convictions [JURIST report] of the 23 former CIA agents, whose sentences had been increased [JURIST report] in December 2010 by an Italian appeals court. Judge Oscar Magi of the Fourth Chamber of the Court of Milan [official website, in Italian] originally convicted [JURIST report] the 23 men in November 2009. The nearly three-year trial was delayed many times, and was the first in the world involving the CIA's extraordinary rendition flights [JURIST news archive].