International human rights law is not limited to the enumeration of rights within treaties, but also includes rights and freedoms that have become part of customary international law, which means that they bind all States even if they are not party to a particular treaty. Many of the rights set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights are widely regarded to hold this character. The Human Rights Committee has similarly observed, in its general comments N° 24 (1994) and N° 29 (2001), that some rights in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights reflect norms of customary international law. Furthermore, some rights are recognized as having a special status as norms of jus cogens (peremptory norms of customary international law), which means that there are no circumstances whatsoever in which derogation from them is permissible. The prohibitions of torture, slavery, genocide, racial discrimination and crimes against humanity, and the right to self-determination are widely recognized as peremptory norms, as reflected in the International Law Commission’s articles on state responsibility. The International Law Commission also lists the basic rules of international humanitarian law applicable in armed conflict as examples of peremptory norms.2 Similarly, the Human Rights Committee has referred to arbitrary deprivation of life, torture and inhuman and degrading treatment, hostage-taking, collective punishment, arbitrary deprivation of liberty, and violations of certain due process rights as non-derogable, while the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, in its Statement on racial discrimination and measures to combat terrorism, has confirmed the principle of nondiscrimination as a norm of jus cogens. 3. The nature of States’ obligations under international human rights law Human rights law obliges States, primarily, to do certain things and prevents them from doing others. States have a duty to respect, protect and fulfil human rights. Respect for human rights primarily involves not interfering with their enjoyment. Protection is focused on taking positive steps to ensure that others do not interfere with the enjoyment of rights. The fulfilment of human rights requires States to adopt appropriate measures, including legislative, judicial, administrative or educative measures, in order to fulfil their legal obligations. A State party may be found responsible for interference by private persons or entities in the enjoyment of human rights if it has failed to exercise due diligence in protecting against such acts. For example, under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, State parties have an obligation to take positive measures to ensure that private persons or entities do no inflict torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment on others within their power.