The Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has accused a group of Islamist radicals of committing crimes against humanity in Nigeria. According to the OTP's "2012 Report on Preliminary Examination Activities" (PDF), there is a reasonable basis to conclude that Boko Haram, an Islamist militant group that endeavors to create an Islamic state, has violated several provisions under Article 7 of the Rome Statute since launching a widespread attack in July 2009 that has resulted in the killing of more than 1,200 Christian and Muslim civilians throughout Nigeria.

The Economic and Finance Minister of Argentina, Hernán Lorenzino, held a press conference Nov. 22 indicating Argentina's intent to appeal a US judge's ruling ordering it to pay $1.33 billion to bondholders. District Judge Thomas Griesa for the US District Court for the Southern District of New York in his decision stated that "Argentina must pay the debts it owes." Lorenzino, in response to the ruling, stated during the press conference that the ruling was unfair and that Argentina will seek any and all methods to protect the country's interest. In addition, Lorenzino indicated that Argentina will appeal the ruling to the US Supreme Court if necessary and is willing to resort to any international body available.

The only surviving shooter from the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks was executed at a prison in India Nov. 21 hours after President Pranab Mukherjee finally rejected the gunman's clemency appeal. Pakistani national Mohammad Ajmal Kasab was hanged and buried in the prison yard in the central Indian city of Pune just days before the fourth anniversary of the Mumbai attacks. Kasab was convicted in May 2010 on more than 80 charges of waging war against India, multiple murders and conspiracy for his participation in the attacks, during which the group of gunmen killed more than 160 people in three days of targeted assaults on luxury hotels, Mumbai's main railway station and a Jewish cultural center.

Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai said Nov. 18 that US forces were capturing and holding Afghans in violation of a detainee transfer pact and that US forces should turn over that responsibility to Karzai's forces. Karzai's statement urged Afghan officials to make efforts towards toward obtaining entire responsibility for Bagram Prison. Listed abuses included Afghan detainees held by US forces despite Afghan rulings to the contrary and the continued arrest of Afghans by US forces. The statement comes less than a week after negotiations began on a bilateral security agreement that will govern US military presence in the country after the majority of US troops withdraw from Afghanistan after 2014. The US has delayed the handover of detention facilities to Afghanistan citing both lack of preparation by Afghan leaders in detention center management and discrepancies over treatment of detainees the US deems too dangerous to release. Both countries agreed to sign the bilateral security agreement within a year.

Burma announced on Nov. 14 that it has freed 452 prisoners ahead of a visit by US President Barack Obama. Burma's state-run media reported that the government has released the prisoners on humanitarian grounds and as a goodwill gesture by the nation. However, Burma's main opposition party, the National League for Democracy (NLD) criticized the government's move, saying that the government has not released any of the estimated 330 political prisoners currently incarcerated in Burma. It is unclear if any of the 452 prisoners released are political ones because the government has not provided details on which prisoners have been freed. Obama is scheduled to visit Burma on Nov. 19.

Egyptian President Mohammed Mursi announced Nov. 17 that peace talks are progressing toward a ceasefire in the recent escalation of violence in Gaza and southern Israel. Mursi invited Qatar's Emir Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and former Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal to Cairo for ceasefire discussions after the recent violence broke the informal truce brokered by Egypt between Israel and Hamas in October. After rocket attacks by Palestinian militants into Israel this week, violence began to escalate on Nov. 14 with the killing of Hamas military chief Ahmed Jabari in a targeted air strike by the Israel Defense Forces. The next day Palestinian forces responded with rocket fire aimed at multiple Israeli cities and towns. Thus far, 45 Palestinians and three Israelis have been killed and hundreds more have been injured.

US Attorney General Eric Holder announced Nov. 15 that British Petroleum (BP) has agreed to pay a record $4.5 billion in penalties and plead guilty to felony misconduct for its role in the devastation caused by the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Holder emphasized that the settlement includes a roughly $1.25 billion criminal fine, and announced that two BP supervisors aboard the Deepwater Horizon during the spill have been charged with 23 criminal counts—including manslaughter, a result of the 11 workers killed in the April 2010 explosion. As part of the agreement, BP has agreed to plead guilty to 11 of the felonies related to the workers' deaths, a charge of obstruction of Congress and two misdemeanors.

Undocumented foreign nationals in Libya are at risk of exploitation, arbitrary and indefinite detention, as well as beatings, sometimes amounting to torture, Amnesty International (AI) reported Nov. 13. The report urged Libyan authorities to confront issues of xenophobia and racism, which may in part be inspired by the prevalent belief that some foreigners were "mercenaries" who had supported the ousted regime. The report is based on visits with 2,700 foreign nationals in detention centers throughout Libya between May and September of this year, including pregnant women, and unaccompanied minors held over migration offenses. According to AI, many detainees displayed bruises said to be linked to the abuse, such as being beaten with metal wires, water pipes and rubber hoses. Among other hardships, the report indicated women at the centers are vulnerable to sexual violence from male guards. According to Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, deputy Middle East and North Africa director at AI, despite the overthrow of Moammar Qaddafi in 2011, undocumented foreign nationals currently face worse situations than before.