Human Rights of Armed Forces Personnel military, police, border guards, paramilitary forces, private security and military companies, internal security services, and foreign and military intelligence services. As these services have very different mandates, different operational procedures and different legal regimes, the compendium is limited to the consideration of armed forces proper. While individuals do not lose their human rights when they enter the armed forces, states can limit their enjoyment of human rights due to requirements related to the particular characteristics of military life. The particularities of military life that are used to justify restrictions on the exercise of human rights are often related to preserving order and discipline in the military, establishing the political neutrality of the armed forces, maintaining operational effectiveness, protecting classified information, obeying orders and maintaining the hierarchical structure of the military. How and to what extent – if at all – these characteristics constitute a justification for restricting the enjoyment of human rights is one of the main issues discussed throughout the compendium. Armed forces personnel Armed forces personnel are not a homogeneous group, as many subcategories exist, including conscripted service personnel, volunteer service personnel, members of different branches of the armed forces (air force, army, military police, navy and special units), as well as the various ranks, from private to general. This compendium takes the view that human rights are an inherent part of being human and that membership in a certain category of military personnel should not affect the enjoyment of human rights. In particular, the concept of citizens in uniform cannot apply solely to conscripted personnel. While conscripted personnel bear arms as part of compulsory military service, the professional soldier joins the armed forces on a voluntary basis. The mere fact of joining the armed forces voluntarily does not result in a waiver of human rights, as confirmed by the European Court of Human Rights in 1999.7 At times, however, special safeguards are necessary to protect certain groups within the armed forces, such as service personnel under 18 years of age. 7 24 Peter Rowe, The Impact of Human Rights Law on Armed Forces (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006), pp. 9-23; European Court of Human Rights, Lustig-Prean and Beckett v. United Kingdom, 27 September 1999, “European Human Rights Reports”, Vol. 29, 2000, p. 548.