Compendium of Standards, Good Practices and Recommendations
are required to achieve their objectives “among the people” within operational theatres that
are scrupulously monitored.44 Modern militaries must achieve their objectives in a manner
that does not adversely impact the human rights of civilian populations in order to maintain
international, national and domestic support for the mission. Modern warfare favours
militaries with an inherent and instinctive knowledge of human rights that can be utilized
as a force and effects multiplier.
The “citizens in uniform” approach is firmly grounded in international law. Article 2(1) of the
ICCPR requires States Parties to respect and ensure the rights of all individuals within their
jurisdiction. In a similar vein, Article 1 of ECHR obliges States Parties to “secure to everyone
within their jurisdiction the rights and freedoms defined in Section I of this Convention”
[emphasis added], while Article 14, as well as Protocol 12 to the Convention, prohibit
discrimination when it comes to the enjoyment of rights and freedoms.
The European Court of Human Rights clearly recognized this approach in the seminal case
of Engel v. The Netherlands (1976), in which it underscored that the Convention applies to
armed forces members, as well as civilians.45 At the same time, the Court acknowledged that
the rights and freedoms of armed forces personnel may diverge in practice, highlighting
the need to “bear in mind the particular characteristics of military life and its effects on the
situation of individual members of the armed forces” when interpreting the Convention.46
More recently, in Markin v. Russia (2012), the Court’s Grand Chamber drew attention to the
“special” context of the armed forces: “special because it is intimately connected with the
nation’s security and is, accordingly, central to the State’s vital interests.”47
In a 2010 Recommendation, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe confirmed
the application of the ECHR – along with other international human rights instruments – to
members of the armed forces.48
The basic proposition that international human rights law protects members of the armed
forces has fundamental significance. As “citizens in uniform”, armed forces personnel
enjoy the most important civil and political rights under the ICCPR and ECHR: freedom
of expression; the right to respect for private life, home and correspondence; freedom of
thought, belief and conscience; and freedom of association. These rights are discussed
further in the relevant chapters of this compendium. Box 3.1 summarizes these rights and
provides examples of their relevance to members of the armed forces.
44
Rupert Smith, Utility of Force: The Art of War in the Modern World (London, New York: Allen Lane, 2005).
45
European Court of Human Rights, Engel and others v. The Netherlands (Application nos. 5100/71, 5101/71,
5102/71, 5354/72, 5370/72, judgment of 8 June 1976), para. 54.
46
Ibid.
47
European Court of Human Rights, Konstantin Markin v. Russia (Application no. 30078/06, Grand Chamber
judgment of 22 March 2012), para. 134.
48
Council of Europe, Recommendation CM/Rec(2010)4, op. cit., note 26.
41
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