II I N T E G R AT I N G A G E N D E R P E R S P E C T I V E I N T O H U M A N R I G H T S I N V E S T I G AT I O N S • G U I D A N C E A N D P R A C T I C E D INVESTIGATING GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE, INCLUDING SEXUAL VIOLENCE Even during peacetime, there may be deficiencies in a State’s responses to GBV. These can be further aggravated in conflict and postconflict situations, when GBV tends to increase, at the hands of state officials, armed groups and private individuals, due to the general breakdown of law and order, generalized climate of violence and increased availability of arms, among other factors. GBV, including sexual violence, is a human rights violation (e.g. violation of the right to physical integrity, the right to be free from torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, the right to be free from slavery, the right to equality and non-discrimination) that can be committed by a variety of perpetrators, including state and non-state actors and/or individuals. Moreover, the State is in breach of its human rights obligations if it fails to respond appropriately to GBV, that is, to act with due diligence to prevent GBV, bring perpetrators to justice and ensure that victims have access to an adequate and effective remedy and full redress, including for acts or omissions by state and non-state actors and/or individuals. Investigation teams should gather and analyse information on the broad spectrum of States’ obligations concerning GBV, in particular in conflict and post-conflict situations.38 This includes: • Examining whether there is a genderresponsive, human-rights-compliant legal and policy framework in place; • Identifying any early warning systems in place to identify potential, impending and/or ongoing violations;39 Additionally, it is now recognized that, in certain circumstances, non-state actors (e.g. armed groups) can also be bound by international human rights law and can assume, voluntarily or not, obligations to respect, protect and fulfil human rights.37 GBV takes multiple forms and includes sexual violence, trafficking, domestic violence, battery, forced marriage, dowry-related violence, coerced or forced use of contraceptives, femicide, female infanticide, harmful practices and certain forms of slavery and servitude. In addition to being human rights violations, and crimes in many national legal systems, depending on the context in which these acts take place, such acts can also be in violation of international humanitarian law and/or a war crime, a crime against humanity or a constitutive act of genocide under international criminal law. • Identifying measures the State has taken to prevent or combat all forms of GBV by state and non-state actors, such as training for national troops, border police, immigration officials and national humanitarian actors on how to identify cases of GBV and protect individuals from GBV; • Identifying measures that have been taken to prevent, investigate and punish all forms of GVB, including sexual violence, at the hands of state officials (e.g. army, police), armed groups, etc., including the issuing of orders, codes of conduct, reporting mechanisms and implementation of disciplinary measures. CEDAW general recommendation No. 30 (2013) provides more detailed guidance on what those obligations are. CEDAW general recommendation No. 35 (2017) contains extensive guidance in this regard. 38 For examples of early-warning indicators of conflict-related sexual violence, see the “Matrix: early-warning indicators of conflict-related sexual violence”, elaborated by the UN Action Network Against Sexual Violence in Armed Conflict (2011). 39 International Legal Protection of Human Rights in Armed Conflict (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.11.XIV.3), pp. 23-27. See also CEDAW, general recommendation No. 35 (2017). 37 30