Human Rights of Armed Forces Personnel right to life is involved,101 states are required to establish effective and independent means of investigating the circumstances of death.102 This is especially relevant in cases where the death was caused by alleged mistreatment or bullying in the armed forces. In addition, the right not to be subject to torture or inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment imposes on states a positive duty to prevent such acts and to punish those responsible via a legal process initiated following an independent and effective investigation. Fundamental rights under European Union law European Union law applies to the 27 OSCE participating States that are members of the European Union.103 The Treaty on European Union proclaims the importance of human rights in the following terms: “1. The Union recognises the rights, freedoms and principles set out in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union of 7 December 2000104, as adapted at Strasbourg, on 12 December 2007, which shall have the same legal value as the Treaties. […] “3. Fundamental rights, as guaranteed by the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and as they result from the constitutional traditions common to the Member States, shall constitute general principles of the Union’s law.”105 The European Council may, with the assent of the European Parliament, decide to investigate persistent and serious human rights breaches in a member state and impose sanctions by suspending the rights of that state.106 The European Court of Justice can review measures of European Union institutions, and the implementation of these measures by member states, for consistency with human rights standards.107 54 101 Ibid., Art. 2. 102 European Court of Human Rights, McCann v. the United Kingdom (Application no. 18984/91, Grand Chamber judgment of 27 September 1995), paras. 161-163. See also: European Court of Human Rights, Kaya v. Turkey (Application no. 22729/93, judgment of 19 February 1998), para. 87; and European Court of Human Rights, Hugh Jordan v. the United Kingdom (Application no. 24746/94, judgment of 4 May 2001), paras. 106-109. 103 At the time of writing, the United Kingdom was a member of the European Union and had withdrawn by publication date. 104 Article 4, “Prohibition of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment”, Article 5, “Prohibition of Slavery and Forced Labour, Article 6, “Right to Liberty and Security”, Article 11, Freedom of Expression and Information”, Article 12, “Freedom of Assembly and of Association”, Article 23, Equality between Men and Women”, Article 28, “Right of Collective Bargaining and Action”, and other rights. 105 European Union, “Consolidated Version of the Treaty on European Union”, OJ C 202, 7 June 2016, pp. 13–388 (EN), Art. 6. 106 Ibid., Art. 7. 107 See, for example: Bernadette Rainey, Elizabeth Wicks and Clare Ovey, Jacobs, White and Ovey: The European Convention on Human Rights (Oxford University Press, 7th edition, 2014), pp. 13–14.