Given that the concealed carrying of firearms has not been recognized as a right, and the fact that concealed carry was prohibited for resident and non-resident alike for much of our history, we cannot declare this activity sufficiently basic to the livelihood of the Nation.

The Second Amendment and gun control [JURIST news archive] remain controversial issues in the US. Also Friday the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit [official website] refused to reconsider a case decided in December that struck down [JURIST reports] Illinois' ban on carrying concealed weapons. Last month New York Governor Andrew Cuomo [official website] signed legislation [JURIST report] intended to impose tighter restrictions on gun and ammunition sales by enacting the New York Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement Act of 2013 (NY SAFE) [text PDF]. Also in January President Barack Obama [official website] signed 23 executive actions [JURIST report] and called on Congress to pass stricter gun-control laws. In November, the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit [official website] held that New York can continue to require [JURIST report] residents who seek to carry a concealed weapon to obtain a special license.

Capital punishment is inconsistent with the mission of the United Nations to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights and the dignity and worth of the human person. A global moratorium is a crucial stepping stone towards full worldwide abolition. I urge you to use this meeting to consider how to further this end.

The use of the death penalty has remained a controversial issue around the globe. Earlier this month, a Kashmiri militant who received the death penalty for participating in the 2001 attack on India's parliament was executed [JURIST report] after India's president turned down his plea for clemency. Also this month, two UN human rights experts expressed concern over the death sentence [JURIST reports] imposed by the International Crimes Tribunal Bangladesh (ICBT) on Abdul Kalam Azad for crimes during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War [GlobalSecurity backgrounder]. The experts argued that the trial failed to provide for guarantees of a fair trial and due process. Last month an Egyptian court upheld the in absentia death sentences [JURIST report] of seven Coptic Christians and an American preacher on charges stemming from the amateur anti-Muslim film Innocence of Muslims, which sparked violent protests in the Middle East last year. Also last month, Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley announced that he will file legislation to repeal [JURIST report] capital punishment in the state of Maryland.

The ICC only has jurisdiction over member states of the Rome Statute [text] or if a situation is referred to it by the UN Security Council [official website]. Syria signed [text] the Rome Statute in November 2000 but has yet to ratify it. More than 70,000 people have been killed in Syria, according to Pillay, and she has repeatedly urged the Security Council to refer the situation to the ICC. Pillay called for the international community to strengthen its processes for addressing human rights violations and provide the necessary support to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

The Syrian government has been in conflict with the opposition since 2011, and the international community has become increasingly concerned about the violence. Pillay urged [JURIST report] the Security Council to refer the Syrian situation earlier this month. Last month more than 50 countries asked the UN Security Council to refer the situation in Syria [JURIST report] to the ICC. A study carried out by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights [official website] reported in January that the average number of deaths per month has increased significantly [JURIST report] since the summer of 2011, where the average was approximately 1,000 per month, to an average of 5,000 deaths per month since July 2012. A UN official said in November that a video posted on the Internet of Syrian rebels executing government soldiers who had surrendered may be evidence of war crimes [JURIST report]. In October, Pillay called on the international community to work to bring an end to the Syrian conflict [JURIST report]. Her statement came after Human Rights Watch [advocacy website] reported earlier that month that the Syrian government was using cluster bombs [JURIST report] against opposition forces. In September UN investigators reported [JURIST report] that the number and frequency of human rights violations committed by both sides of the conflict were increasing rapidly.

Monday's commencement of the trial against BP and other corporations is the most recent development in a long series of legal battles that have arisen from the Deepwater Horizon Crisis. In January a judge for the US District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana accepted a plea agreement [JURIST report] between BP and the DOJ for the company's criminal liability in the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Earlier in January, Transocean Ltd. pleaded guilty [JURIST report] to "negligently discharging oil into the Gulf of Mexico," in violation of the CWA and will pay $1 billion in civil penalties and $400 million in criminal penalties for its role in the Deepwater Horizon spill. In December a federal judge approved [JURIST report] a final class settlement between BP and those who experienced economic and property loss stemming from the spill. In November BP executives pleaded not guilty [JURIST report] to criminal charges stemming from the oil spill. Earlier that month BP agreed to pay [JURIST report] $4.5 billion in penalties for felony misconduct for its role in the spill. A federal judge ordered [JURIST report] BP to share partial liability with Transocean in oil spill claims in January 2012.

Maritime piracy [JURIST news archive] remains an issue of global concern. In December the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia ruled [JURIST report] that Somalia's territorial waters extend no more than 12 miles from shore, concluding that the US has jurisdiction to prosecute a band of pirates accused of murdering four Americans in 2011. In November the UN Security Council condemned [JURIST report] piracy and acts of armed robbery against vessels off the coast of Somalia. The UN Security Council urged the international community to develop a comprehensive response to discourage these acts. In October the Hanseatic Higher Regional Court of Hamburg sentenced 10 Somalis [JURIST report] involved in hijacking a German freighter off the coast of Somalia in 2010. Also in October, an appeals court in Kenya concluded that Kenyan courts have jurisdiction [JURIST report] to try international piracy suspects. Also that month six accused Somali pirates went on trial [JURIST report] in a Paris court in connection with the 2008 hijacking of the cruise ship Le Ponant in the Gulf of Aden. In July the International Chamber of Commerce International Maritime Bureau reported that the number of global pirate attacks fell sharply [JURIST report] in the first half of 2012.

The Philippines House of Representatives and Senate [official websites] ratified the bicameral conference committee report on the reconciled version of the law in late January, a few days after the congress approved the final version of the bill [JURIST report] during its second reading. The Philippines has struggled in terms of addressing human rights issues from the Marcos regime to as recently as the 2009 Maguindanao Massacre [CSM backgrounder; JURIST news archive] and the resulting political controversies. Earlier in January a 150-day ban on guns [JURIST report] was instituted to prevent election violence. In December the Philippine Congress officially criminalized [JURIST report] enforced disappearances, which were commonly used during the Marcos era. In November Amnesty International [advocacy website] called on the Philippines to do more to protect witnesses [JURIST report] in the Maguindanao Massacre trial. Also in November the Philippines Supreme Court [official website] denied the media [JURIST report] the right to broadcast the Maguindanao massacre trial.

The UN's criticism of the Maldives' judiciary is the latest of criticism aimed at the country. Last week a Maldives court issued a second arrest warrant [JURIST report] for former president Mohamed Nasheed [JURIST news archive] on charges of the illegal detention of a judge. The charges against Nasheed stemmed from his unilateral order to arrest [JURIST report] Chief Justice Abdulla Mohamed on corruption charges in January, when Nasheed was still president. In September Amnesty International (AI) revealed violent human rights violations committed in the Maldives against opposition groups and called for an immediate independent investigation into the actions of security forces. The Maldives have experienced unrest since Nasheed ordered the arrest of the country's chief justice and then resigned [JURIST reports] as a result of the controversy. A court in the Maldives in July refused to hear a case [JURIST report] about the legality of the arrest of the chief justice, saying it did not have jurisdiction.