C. Relation of human rights and international humanitarian law in their
application to counter-terrorism measures
Both the UN Human Rights Committee and, more recently, the Inter-American
Commission on Human Rights have affirmed that human rights and international
humanitarian law complement each other in this area. The test for evaluating respect
for a particular right in a situation of armed conflict may be distinct from that
applicable in time of peace.
United Nations
In its General Comment No. 29 on article 4 of the Covenant, the Human Rights
Committee stressed that international humanitarian law remains relevant, even if
States party take steps to derogate from certain provisions of the Covenant:
[A]rticle 4, paragraph 1, requires that no measure derogating from the
provisions of the Covenant may be inconsistent with the State party's
other obligations under international law, particularly the rules of
international humanitarian law.
[…]
States parties may in no circumstances invoke article 4 of the Covenant
as justification for acting in violation of humanitarian law or
peremptory norms of international law, for instance by taking hostages,
by imposing collective punishments, through arbitrary deprivations of
liberty or by deviating from fundamental principles of fair trial,
including the presumption of innocence.
--General Comment 29,CCPR/C/21/Rev.1/Add.11, paras. 9, 11 (2001).
Inter-American System
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has emphasized the relevance of
international humanitarian law to analysing counter-terrorism measures taken by
States in certain circumstances:
[I]n situations of armed conflict, the protections under international human
rights and humanitarian law may complement and reinforce one another,
sharing as they do a common nucleus of non-derogable rights and a common
purpose of promoting human life and dignity. In certain circumstances,
however, the test for evaluating the observance of a particular right, such as
the right to liberty, in a situation of armed conflict may be distinct from that
applicable in time of peace. In such situations, international law, including the
jurisprudence of this Commission, dictates that it may be necessary to deduce
the applicable standard by reference to international humanitarian law as the
applicable lex specialis.
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