Khadr sent an application requesting to be transferred [JURIST report] from Guantanamo to Canada in April, but the Canadian government has not yet responded to his request. He pleaded guilty in 2010 to charges including killing a US soldier in 2002 in Afghanistan. Although the Canadian Supreme Court ruled that year that Khadr was tortured during interrogation in violation of Section 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms [text], the Canadian government decided not to seek repatriation [JURIST report]. The government had been urged [press release] by the Canadian chapter of Amnesty International (AI) [advocacy website] to seek repatriation, but the court ruled it was not required to do so.

Last month, UN human rights experts reported that both the Syrian government and anti-government groups were responsible for killings and other human rights abuses [JURIST report] against even children as young as 10 years old. Human rights advocates have continuously called on Syria to end the violence against civilians. The UN Security Council in April approved implementation of a peace plan [text; JURIST report], which is now unlikely to be successful in the wake of the Houla massacre. In April, Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website] released a report [JURIST report] alleging that the Syrian government was responsible for killing more than 100 civilians. Also in April, the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon [official website] condemned Syria [JURIST report] for attacks on civilians. The UN Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay in February also demanded a cease-fire [JURIST report] during an emergency Human Rights Council session. Syria's UN ambassador walked out of the session following Pillay's speech, calling the session illegitimate.

Illinois was the seventh US jurisdiction to legalize same-sex civil unions, but it has not yet joined the nine jurisdictions that have legalized same-sex marriage. In February, three Illinois legislators introduced [AP report] the Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act [HB 5170 materials], which would have provided same-sex marriage rights for same-sex couples, but it is still pending and a vote is not expected before the legislative session ends. In March, Maryland legalized same-sex marriage, joining Washington, New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont, New Hampshire and the District of Columbia [JURIST reports]. On the other hand, North Carolina voters approved [JURIST report] earlier this month a constitutional amendment [Amendment 1, PDF] to ban same-sex marriage. In February, the Wyoming Senate approved [JURIST report] a bill that would deny recognition of same-sex marriages and civil unions performed in other jurisdictions. New Jersey is still struggling to pass the same-sex marriage bill because Governor Chris Christie conditionally vetoed the bill [JURIST report] and called for a voter referendum to decide the issue, rather than the state legislature.

China has long imposed rigid restrictions on Tibet. In February, Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website] demanded [JURIST report] that China release Tibetan prisoners that were captured while traveling and who are now being forced into political re-education camps. In November 2011, the UN formally expressed concern [JURIST report] over China's treatment of Tibet. That June, concern over an influx of missing persons prompted a UN rights body to demand a report on disappearances [JURIST report]. The same month, the US requested China release peaceful protesters [JURIST report] arrested in Tiananmen Square. In July of 2010, HRW published a report alleging China violated international law [JURIST report] in its treatment of Tibetan protesters. Secrecy in China's judicial system [JURIST comment] often raises human rights concerns over prisoners being held there.