Adam Liptak of the New York Times writes that the U.S. Constitution no longer acts as the model for modern states. He cites the consitution's conservative interpretation and relatively few secured rights in making it a poor model in light of newer constitutions that reflect modern values and contexts.

President Obama gave this statement on Syria on February 4, 2012.

Mark P. Lagon and William F. Schulz take a closer look at how liberals and conservatives understand and advance human rights and lay out options for creating a more unified human rights movement focused on resilience and creative policies rather than dogmatism.

Myanmar's sudden transition from repressive pariah to potential democracy should be viewed through the lens of a military alarmed by people power revolts and by the country's increasingly shaky economic condition, says CFR's Joshua Kurlantzick.

Ed Husain argues that Western military involvement in Syria would worsen violence, not end it, and could spread the conflict beyond Syria's borders.

Julia E. Sweig says that during her visit to Cuba, Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff should sense the frustrating process of Cuba's transformation.

Isobel Coleman discusses the role of women in the Arab Spring.

Jerome A. Cohen and Jared Genser argue that the case of detained Chinese rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng demonstrates how far the Chinese government will go to suppress legitimate criticism by its citizens.

Ed Husain argues that the current trajectory of the United States in the Middle East—of dancing around developments, leading from behind and expressing defeatist thinking—needs to stop.

Steven A. Cook says another year of struggle is to be expected in Egypt, as Egypt's future rests with two familiar powers playing very unfamiliar roles: the military and the Muslim Brotherhood.

The United States submitted these observations on the relationship between climate change and human rights to the UN Human Rights Council in 2008. The observations were "requested by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in its communications dated June 3 and August 21, 2008…in accordance with Human Rights Council (HRC) resolution 7/23, in order to conduct "a detailed analytical study on the relationship between climate change and human rights."

The ILO Abolition of Forced Labor Convention of 1957 was adopted on June 25, 1957 by the General Conference of the International Labour Organisation and entered into force on January 17, 1959.

The Council of Europe Social Charter was opened for signature on October 18, 1961 and entered into force on February 26, 1965.

The Protocol amending the Slavery Convention was adopted as UN General Assembly resolution 794 on October 23, 1953. It was signed on September 25, 1926 and entered into force on December 7, 1953.

Elliott Abrams strikes back at critics who condemn both the Arab Spring and its supporters.

This session was a meeting of the Civil Society, Democracy, and Countering Radicalism Roundtable series.

St. Thomas Aquinas wrote his theological treatise, Summa Theologica, from 1265 to 1274. This section deals with which actions, in war, are lawful and unlawful.

The UN Global Compact was launched on July 26, 2000 with nine principles. A tenth was added on June 24, 2004. The UN states, "The UN Global Compact's ten principles in the areas of human rights, labour, the environment and anti-corruption enjoy universal consensus and are derived from The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, The International Labour Organization's Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, The Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, and The United Nations Convention Against Corruption.

The UN Global Compact asks companies to embrace, support and enact, within their sphere of influence, a set of core values in the areas of human rights, labour standards, the environment and anti-corruption."

Joshua Kurlantzick says that despite the hopes raised by the Arab Spring, democracy is actually in retreat around the world, but there is a way to revive it.

Ed Husain reviews Imran Khan's Pakistan.