International review, not de novo

While the Canadians are having their own sexual assault scandal, reported on by Michel below, the U.S. military's sexual assault issues turn international. Mother Jones reports:

The US military has a problem with sexual violence. That's the conclusion of the Universal Periodic Review Panel, a United Nations panel that was established in 2006 to address the human rights records of the 193 UN member states. This is the second time that the panel has scrutinized the United States; the first was in 2010, when the list of concerns included detention in Guantanamo Bay, torture, the death penalty, and access to healthcare. The second time was Monday morning and there was a surprising addition to the predictable laundry list of US human rights violations.

In one of twelve final recommendations, the UN Council urged the US military "to prevent sexual violence in the military and ensure effective prosecution of offenders and redress for victims." Other recommendations included stopping the militarization of police forces, closing Guantanamo Bay, ending the death penalty, and stopping NSA surveillance of citizens.