The high execution rate in the Middle East and North African region has remained under international scrutiny. In March Maryland abolished death penalty [JURIST report] within its borders in a 82-56 vote. A month earlier, the UN SG reiterated his call for global support against the use of death penalty. Also that 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. In March AI reported [PDF, press release] that seven men, two of which are thought to be juveniles, were publicly executed in Saudi Arabia. Yemen has executed [JURIST report] at least 15 men and women under the age of 18 since 2007. In 2012, Iran executed [JURIST report] 10 men in October, and four members [JURIST report] of the Ahwazi Arab minority in June.

The UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Myanmar [official website], Tomas Ojea Quintana, expressed serious concerns [JURIST report] in a report on Thursday over growing violence between Muslim and Buddhist communities in Myanmar. The Special Rapporteur urged bold action by the Myanmar government to combat this trend, and stated that government inaction has helped fuel the spread of discrimination and prejudice against Muslim communities across the country. In March Quintana warned [JURIST report] the country of the possibility that the current reformation process may be endangered by leaving areas of importance untouched, especially related to the states of Rakhine and Kachin. He made similar calls in February when he commended the lack of reform [JURIST report] that has been achieved in Myanmar and urged authorities and citizens to address issues of truth, justice and accountability through the creation of a truth commission to facilitate the process of national reconciliation and prevent future human rights violations.

The decision in this case is expected to have a major impact on pharmaceutical patent cases in India. Doctors Without Borders [advocacy website] has hailed the decision [press release] as "a major victory for patients' access to affordable medicines in developing countries." Novartis' case is the most recent in a long line of pharmaceutical patent disputes between western drug companies and India. In March an Indian patent appeals board upheld a decision [Reuters report] to allow a domestic company to produce a generic version of the Bayer AG [corporate website] cancer drug Nexavar. Last year, India revoked patents [WSJ report] for Pfizer Inc's cancer drug Sutent and Roche Holding AG's [corporate websites] hepatitis C drug Pegasys. Both companies have appealed the decisions. Issues around patents on pharmaceutical products are not limited to India.

Tension in Sudan and South Sudan has remained extremely high following the split, and Sudan has a history of human rights issues. In February the UN urged Sudan security forces to strengthen human rights efforts [JURIST report] and expressed concern regarding the arrest and detention of political opposition figures. In January Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website] also urged Sudan [JURIST report] to end its crackdown against political and cultural groups. Al-Bashir has also remained an extremely controversial figure in international politics for his actions during the Darfur conflict [BBC backgrounder]. In June 2011 then-ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo said that al-Bashir has continued to commit crimes against humanity [JURIST report] in Darfur. The International Criminal Court (ICC) [official website] charged him with three counts of genocide [JURIST report] in July 2010, but he has yet to be arrested.

Immigration reform has been a recent focus for the US government. In February a White House [official website] draft immigration reform proposal that would allow immigrants to become legal permanent residents [JURIST report] in eight years was revealed. The plan reportedly would also increase security funding, require business owners to check the immigration status of new hires within four years, and create a new "Lawful Prospective Immigrant" visa program. If approved for the new visa, immigrants could also apply for the same status for spouses and children who live outside the US. Approved immigrants would be allowed to reside legally in the US for four years, to obtain work and to leave the country for brief time periods. In January a bipartisan group of eight senators, including Marco Rubio [official website], released [JURIST report] a framework [text, PDF] of comprehensive immigration reform legislation that they plan to introduce by March.

Detention at Guantanamo Bay remains a controversial subject worldwide. Last month human rights lawyers filed an emergency motion [JURIST report] in the US District Court for the District of Columbia alleging that guards have denied drinking water and sufficient clothing to Yemeni prisoner Musa'ab Omar al-Madhwani. Also in March the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) and defense lawyers for terrorism detainees held at Guantanamo Bay sent a letter [JURIST report] to Rear Admiral John Smith Jr. describing harsh conditions faced by the detainees and indicated that the detainees have begun to protest the conditions via hunger strike. The lawyers learned of these practices and protests after being permitted to visit [JURIST report] the detention center in February, though Guantanamo has long been the subject of various controversies during the Global War on Terror [JURIST backgrounder]. Amnesty International (AI) contends that 32-year-old al-Madhwani has been held without cause at Guantanamo Bay [AI report] for more than a decade, where he was sent shortly following his arrest by Pakistani security forces on September 11, 2002. In May 2011 the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit affirmed a lower court's decision confirming that al-Madhwani was lawfully detained [JURIST report] for being part of al Qaeda. In December 2009, the district court denied al-Madwani's habeas corpus petition, ruling that the government may continue to detain him.