CONCLUSION courts, regional human rights courts, treaty bodies and the Human Rights Council’s special procedures clearly shows that their complementarity and mutually reinforcing character have contributed to the establishment of a solid set of legal obligations extensively protecting the rights of all persons affected by armed conflict. While conflicts of norms are inevitable—hence the importance of the principle of lex specialis—they are the exception, rather than the rule. Future developments could include decisions by the International Court of Justice, which increasingly deals with the application of human rights treaties, as well as further decisions from regional human rights courts, resolutions from the Security Council and the Human Rights Council, and the work of treaty bodies and special rapporteurs. All these developments need to be seen as a whole and should be understood as an effort of the international community to further strengthen the protection of all persons in armed conflict. 119