The new constitution, first introduced last November [JURIST report], includes several significant checks on presidential authority, including a requirement that presidential appointees face parliamentary confirmation and an end to the presidential appointment of judges. Additionally, members of parliament receiving cabinet positions will be required to relinquish their legislative seats. The changes are intended to address issues that led to violence following the 2007 presidential elections [JURIST news archive] where tens of thousands of protesters took to Kenya's streets accusing President Mwai Kibaki of election fraud after early opinion polls suggested rival and current Prime Minister Raila Odinga [official profiles] was in the lead. Kibaki and Odinga both support the proposed constitution [Daily Nation report] and have urged citizens to approve it in the public referendum. Earlier this month, three members of the Kenyan Parliament [official website] were arrested after being accused of hate speech [JURIST report] in statements made against the proposed constitution.

Last month, a Pakistan high court briefly blocked Facebook [JURIST report] in response to a page created by a Facebook user marking "Everybody Draw Mohammed Day" [website]. The page encouraged users to submit religiously-prohibited images of the prophet. A few weeks later, the Lahore High Court (LHC) ordered the PTA to restore access to Facebook [JURIST report], holding that the government, and not the court, should be responsible for blocking offensive internet content and calling on the PTA to create a centralized system [AFP report] to block blasphemous content. Depicting the Prophet Muhammad is considered blasphemous by Muslims, and has been a source of international controversy since 2005 when a Danish newspaper published caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad in a series of cartoons [JURIST news archive].

Earlier this month, the US State Department (DOS) [official website] released its annual report [JURIST report] on human trafficking conditions across the globe. In its section detailing Kenya, the report recommended the passage of the counter-trafficking bill after finding that the country had inadequate protections in place for the victims of human trafficking. Additionally, the report stated that despite stringent anti-trafficking laws, they were rarely enforced and the crime was ill-defined. Also in June, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) [official website] released a report [JURIST report] detailing the globalization of organized crime and its threat to international security. The report specifically addressed the global economic impact of human and drug trafficking, sale of illicit firearms, piracy, identity theft and the illegal exploitation of natural resources. Last October, the US and the EU announced an international criminal treaty [JURIST report] that will greatly increase cooperation between the two governments in fighting the trafficking of humans and the sale of illegal drugs.

Many jurisdictions continue to consider legislation banning the burqa. Earlier this month, the Barcelona city council [official website, in Catalan] passed a ban on face coverings in all public places [JURIST report]. Last month, Australian state lawmakers voted to end debate [JURIST report] on a bill that would have banned the wearing of the burqa or other face veils in public. Also last month, the French Cabinet approved legislation [JURIST report] that would ban the wearing of the burqa or other face veils in public. The same week the French Cabinet voted, hearings began [CBC report] in Quebec's legislature on a bill introduced in March that would ban women from wearing full face veils from public services. Earlier last month, European Parliament [official website] Vice President Silvana Koch-Mehrin [official website, in German] expressed her support for a continent-wide burqa ban [JURIST report]. In April, the Belgian House of Representatives voted 136-0 to approve [JURIST report] a bill that would ban the burqa and other full face veils in public.

implement recommendations grounded in international law and standards aimed at putting an end to human rights violations and ensuring that they never recur. Unless the Libyan authorities demonstrate real political will to reform laws, policies and practices and to address the legacy of gross human rights violations, there is little hope for the establishment and consolidation of a "Libya of tomorrow" based on respect for human rights and the rule of law.

The report also echoed concerns about use of the death penalty, which AI expressed earlier this month when it condemned the recent execution [press release; JURIST report] of 18 people, including foreign nationals, in Libya. Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website] issued a similar report [text; JURIST report] last December finding that Libya is making strides towards greater transparency and acknowledgment of human rights but that it still has a long way to go. Both Libya and Italy were criticized by an HRW report [materials; JURIST report] issued last September, which found that Italy systematically forces migrants to return to Libya where they face human rights abuses without screening them for possible asylum claims.

[T]he government of Thailand ... must play an exemplary role in upholding the highest human rights standards and fully cooperating with the Council and other UN human rights mechanisms. The public image and credibility of the Council will be seriously undermined if it is chaired by a representative of the State that continues to impose unduly prolonged state of emergency in the country. We urge the government of Thailand to lift the Emergency Decree without any further delay and ensure full transparency and accountability for those human rights violations committed during the recent unrest in its capital.

Earlier this month, Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva [official website, in Thai; BBC profile] announced that he will not lift the emergency decree [JURIST report] until July 7 due to suspicion that red shirt protesters [BBC backgrounder] are planning additional rallies. Under the state of emergency, civil liberties will continue to be restricted through the institution of curfews and the banning of public gatherings. Additionally, the police have broader powers to arrest and detain, the government may censor media reports and detainees can be held for 30 days without access to legal counsel. The state of emergency was instituted in April [JURIST report] in anticipation of anti-government protests. The protests came to end [JURIST report] last month when red shirt leaders surrendered to police, which led to rioting, arson, and the imposition of a curfew to protect citizens of Bangkok and its surrounding areas. The red shirts are supporters of ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra [BBC profile; JURIST news archive], who was removed from power in 2006 [JURIST report]. The group was demanding that Abhisit dissolve parliament and call new elections.

Several investigations have recently been launched into Google's unencrypted data collections to determine whether the Internet giant's practices have violated privacy laws. Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal [official profile] announced Monday that he will lead a multistate investigation [JURIST report] against Google and requested additional detailed information from the company on its data harvesting procedures. Earlier this month, Australia commenced an investigation [JURIST report] into whether Google breached the nation's Telecommunications Interception Act [text], which prevents people from accessing electronic communications other than for authorized purposes. Additionally, Canada launched an investigation [JURIST report] into Google's unsecured Wi-Fi data collection to determine whether Google has violated the country's Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act [text, PDF], which applies to private organizations that collect, use or disclose personal information in the course of commercial activities. Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Switzerland have also asked Google to retain data collected in those respective nations. In a letter [text, PDF] sent last week to the US House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee [official website], Google claimed that its collection of private information was inadvertent and did not violate any laws [JURIST report].

Sri Lanka has faced numerous allegations of human rights violations originating from incidents that took place during the final months of the civil war. Last month, Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website] announced it had acquired new evidence [JURIST report] supporting allegations of war crimes. Also last month, the International Crisis Group (ICG) [official website] accused Sri Lankan security forces of war crimes [JURIST report], claiming that the violence of the 30-year civil war escalated in January 2009, leaving thousands more dead than projected by the UN. In March, Ban reaffirmed his plan to set up a UN panel [JURIST report] to investigate allegations of human rights violations during the civil war. Earlier in March, Rajapaksa rejected [JURIST report] Ban's plan to appoint a panel of experts to look into alleged rights abuses in the island nation's civil war, saying it "is totally uncalled for and unwarranted."

We see clear evidence every day, as oil spills from BP's well, of the need for a pause on deepwater drilling. That evidence mounts as BP continues to be unable to stop its blowout, notwithstanding the huge efforts and help from the federal scientific team and most major oil companies operating in the Gulf of Mexico. The evidence also continues to mount that industry needs to raise the bar on blowout prevention, containment, and response planning before deepwater drilling should continue. Based on this ever-growing evidence, I will issue a new order in the coming days that eliminates any doubt that a moratorium is needed, appropriate, and within our authorities.

Last week, US President Barack Obama [official website] announced the government's latest plan of action for tackling the oil spill, which includes a $20 billion compensation fund [JURIST reports] subsidized by BP. The newly-established escrow fund [government backgrounder] will be used to indemnify the workers and business owners harmed as a result of the oil spill. The announcement also included a long-term restoration plan and prevention of future disasters [JURIST report] through stronger regulation. Additionally last week, Obama announced the appointment of Micheal Bromwich [press release], a former federal prosecutor and Inspector General for the Justice Department, as head of the Minerals Management Service (MMS) [official website], which has been plagued with corruption and notorious for its cozy relationship with oil companies. The Deepwater Horizon oil spill was a result of an oil well blowout that caused an explosion 5,000 feet below the surface of the Gulf. More than 120 million gallons of oil have leaked already from the rig's broken pipe and has now surpassed the Exxon Valdez [JURIST news archive] as the worst oil spill in US history. The White House is keeping a daily chronology of events [text].

Improved freedom of expression has been hailed as emblematic of this progress. While there have been notable accomplishments - 700 new magazines and newspapers sprung up in the first three years after Suharto's ouster alone - the right to free speech in Indonesia continues to be limited in ... significant ways[.] ... Under Suharto, Indonesian authorities failed to distinguish between acts of criminal violence and peaceful expression of separatist views, contributing to political polarization and fueling radicalization in East Timor and Aceh. While those latter conflicts have been resolved through political agreements and thousands of political prisoners have been released since Suharto's resignation, the practice of lumping together peaceful advocates and armed militants and treating both as criminals continues in Papua and the southern Moluccas.

In April, the Indonesian Constitutional Court [official website, in Bahasa] voted 8-1 to uphold [JURIST report] a controversial anti-blasphemy law enacted in 1965 by the first Indonesian president. In 2008, HRW called for Indonesia to protect freedom of religion [JURIST report] and reverse a decree that provides for the prosecution of members of a controversial Islamic sect and to uphold its commitments under the ICCPR. Under the decree, Ahmadiyah Muslims [religious website], who believe that Mohammad was not the final prophet, face up to five years in prison if they continue to promote their beliefs, which are considered heretical by many mainstream Islamic groups. Indonesia ratified the ICCPR in February 2006. In 2007, Indonesia convicted over a dozen people [JURIST report] for advocating a sovereign government for the province of Papua, according to HRW. Article 28 of 1945 Indonesia Constitution [text, PDF] guarantees freedom of expression, but HRW says that subsequent legislation has denied Indonesians this right. HRW criticized Indonesia for making it a crime to "insult" the president or express "feelings of hatred" toward the government, even when such sentiments are part of a peaceful protest.

[W]hen a judicial nominee is qualified to serve and enjoys support from across the political spectrum, the Senate should not engage in tactics that serve only to delay and score political points, and should simply take an up or down vote on a nominee after hearings. Unjustified delaying tactics, practiced by both parties in the past, do not serve the courts or the Constitution.

Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO) [official website] is currently circulating a petition [press release] in the Senate calling for an end to "secret holds." On Wednesday, the Senate Rules Committee [official website] is scheduled to hold a hearing examining the Senate's use of holds, filibusters and other delay tactics [press release] to block presidential nominations. Last year, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor [Oyez profile; JURIST news archive] faced delays when the vote on whether to send her nomination to the full Senate was pushed back by a week [JURIST report]. Justice Samuel Alito [Oyez profile; JURIST news archive], nominated during the Bush Administration, faced similar delays [JURIST report] during his confirmation in 2006. According to the US Courts website, there are currently 44 federal judicial nominations pending [official website], with the longest hold being close to one year.

Last month, US Attorney General Eric Holder [official website] reacted to criticism surrounding the reading of Miranda Rights to Abdulmutallab, stating that the Obama administration plans to ask Congress to enact legislation [JURIST report] allowing interrogators to question terror suspects for a longer period of time than currently allowed before informing them of their constitutional rights to remain silent and be represented by an attorney. In February, Holder defended his decision [JURIST report] to try Abdulmutallab in federal court rather than a military tribunal. Abdulmutallab is charged [JURIST report] with attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction, attempted murder within the special aircraft jurisdiction of the US, willful attempt to destroy or wreck an aircraft, willfully placing a destructive device on an aircraft, use of a firearm/destructive device during and in relation to a crime of violence and possession of a firearm/destructive device in furtherance of a crime of violence. A plea of not guilty [JURIST report] has been entered on his behalf.