108 INTERNATIONAL LEGAL PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN ARMED CONFLICT of their place of detention, always benefit from the full protection of the law.”164 In its concluding observations on a report of Germany, the Human Rights Committee reiterated “that the applicability of the regime of international humanitarian law does not preclude accountability of States parties under article 2, paragraph 1, of the Covenant for the actions of [their] agents outside their own territories.”165 The Committee on the Rights of the Child, for its part, recommended “with reference to international humanitarian law […] that the State party fully comply with the rules of distinction (between civilians and combatants) and proportionality (of attacks that cause excessive harm to civilians)”.166 Moreover, in relation to the application of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict, the Committee has determined, for example, that “in accordance with State responsibility in international law and under the prevailing circumstances, the provisions of the Convention and Optional Protocols apply to the benefit of the children of the occupied Palestinian territory, notably with regard to all conduct by the State party’s authorities or agents that affects the enjoyment of rights enshrined in the Convention. The Committee underlines the concurrent application of human rights and humanitarian law, as established by the International Court of Justice in its advisory opinion on the Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and recalls the explicit references to humanitarian law in the Optional Protocol.”167 The Committee against Torture in its concluding observations on a report of the United States of America discussed the argument of whether international humanitarian law may be regarded as lex specialis. It recalled that “the State party should recognize and ensure that the Convention [against Torture] applies at all times, whether in peace, war or armed conflict, in any territory under its jurisdiction and that the application of the     166   167   164 165 CCPR/C/USA/CO/3/Rev.1, paras. 10 and 12. CCPR/CO/80/DEU, para. 11. CRC/C/15/Add.195, para. 51. CRC/C/OPAC/ISR/CO/1, para. 4