IV.  APPLICATION OF INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS LAW AND INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW BY THE UNITED NATIONS and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide confirms what appears to be the United Nations position that the protection of human rights through the instruments prepared under the auspices of the Organization shall apply both in time of peace and in time of war.”148 In his 1970 report, the Secretary-General reviewed the protection given by United Nations human rights instruments in armed conflicts. Among other things, he stated that “[t]here are instances in which the autonomous protection ensured by the human rights instruments of the United Nations is more effective and far-reaching than that derived from the norms of the Geneva Conventions and other humanitarian instruments oriented towards armed conflicts.” The Secretary-General further recalled that “[t]o the extent, therefore, that the Geneva Conventions make the protection of certain rights dependent upon the character of the armed conflict concerned, the protection derived from the United Nations instruments with respect to the rights in question is more encompassing.” He also indicated that “[i]n some cases, the human rights instruments of the United Nations and, in particular, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, go beyond the Geneva Conventions as regards the substance of the protection accorded. The Covenant contains certain substantive provisions protecting some rights of all persons in all types of armed conflict which either do not find their counterpart in the Geneva Conventions at all or are included in some of the Conventions only in regard to international armed conflicts.”149 Recently, the Security Council has frequently requested the United Nations Secretariat, through the Secretary-General, to take action to respond to armed conflicts, including by addressing violations of international human rights and humanitarian law. For example, in its resolution 1564 (2004), the Security Council requested “that the Secretary-General rapidly establish an international commission of inquiry in order immediately to   A/7720, paras. 23–24 and 30.   A/8052, paras. 24–25 and 27. The Secretary-General goes on to list some examples: the prohibition of the death penalty for minors and pregnant women, the prohibition of slavery, the principle of non-retroactivity of criminal law, the right to freedom of thought, etc. 148 149 101