and with respect for the inherent dignity of the human person; the prohibitions against the taking of hostages, abductions or unacknowledged detention; the international protection of the rights of persons belonging to minorities; the deportation or forcible transfer of population without grounds permitted under international law; and the prohibition against propaganda for war or in advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred that would constitute incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence. Compliance with international law obligations also prevents the adoption of derogating measures purporting to authorize conduct which would constitute a basis for individual criminal responsibility for a crime against humanity. As the right to a fair trial is explicitly guaranteed under international humanitarian law during armed conflict, the Human Rights Committee has expressed the opinion that the requirements of fair trial must also be respected during a state of emergency. So as to respect the principles of legality and the rule of law, the protection of those rights recognized as non-derogable requires that certain procedural safeguards, including judicial guarantees, are available in all situations. The Committee has emphasized that only a court of law may try and convict a person for a criminal offence and that the presumption of innocence must be respected. In order to protect non-derogable rights, the right to take proceedings before a court (to enable the court to decide without delay on the lawfulness of detention) must not be diminished by a State party’s decision to derogate from the Covenant. (b) What is a “public emergency which threatens the life of the nation”? The ability to derogate under article 4 (1) of the Covenant is triggered only in a time of “public emergency which threatens the life of the nation.” In its general comment N° 29, the Human Rights Committee has characterized such an emergency as being of an exceptional nature. Not every disturbance or catastrophe qualifies as such. The Committee has commented that, even during an armed conflict, measures derogating from the Covenant are allowed only if and to the extent that the situation constitutes a threat to the life of the nation. Whether or not terrorist acts or threats establish such a state of emergency must therefore be assessed case by case.47 28