MODULE 3

Human Rights Education

COURSE CODE: CLJ 2

COURSE DESCRIPTION: This is a three-unit (3 units) subject under
criminal law and jurisprudence course which deals with the body of laws,
rules, procedures, and institution designed to respect, promote; and protects
the human rights at the regional, national and international level. This also
includes victim’s welfare and rights of the accused and the standard and
ethical procedures employed by the law enforcement agencies as an
implementers of laws. It is also focused on the protection of human rights and
dignity as declared under Universal Human Rights. Human Security Act and
other related laws.
PRE-REQUISITE: CLJ 1

SPECIAL LECTURE ON HUMAN RIGHTS IN ARMED CONFLICT

“The greatest victory is that which requires no battle.”
― Sun Tzu, the Art of War

It is often during armed conflicts that human rights are infringed upon the most.
Therefore, over the years, experts have focused much attention on the formulation of
instruments aimed at alleviating human suffering during war and conflict. Today, three
areas of modern international law attempt to provide protection to victims of war: human
rights law, refugee law and humanitarian law.

https://www.humanrights.is/en/human-rights-education-project/human-
rights-concepts-ideas-and-fora/human-rights-in-relation-to-other-topics/
human-rights-and-armed-conflict

HUMANITARIAN LAW

Humanitarian law applies in armed conflict, restricting the actions of warring

parties, providing for protection and humane treatment of persons who are not taking part
or can no longer take part in the hostilities. Like international human rights law,
humanitarian law protects the lives and dignity of individuals, prohibiting torture or cruel
treatment, prescribing rights for persons subject to a criminal justice procedure, prohibiting
discrimination and setting out provisions for the protection of women and children. In
addition, humanitarian law deals with the conduct of hostilities, combatant and prisoner of
war status and the protection of the Red Cross, Red Crescent and Red Crystal emblems.

A distinction is generally made between the law designed to protect military and
civilian victims of armed conflicts on the one hand, and the laws governing the way war is
waged, on the other.

The international law of armed conflicts, of which international humanitarian law is

a part, was formulated much earlier than international human rights law. Important phases
in the development of the humanitarian law of armed conflicts were the (diplomatic)
Conferences of Paris (1856), Geneva (1864), St. Petersburg (1868), Brussels (1874), The
Hague (1899, 1907) and Geneva (1949 and 1977). (Id.)
 International humanitarian law is a set of rules which seek, for humanitarian
reasons, to limit the effects of armed conflict. It protects persons who are not or are no
longer participating in the hostilities and restricts the means and methods of warfare.

International humanitarian law (IHL), also referred to as the laws of armed

conflict, is the law that regulates the conduct of war. It is a branch of international
law which seeks to limit the effects of armed conflict by protecting persons who are not
participating in hostilities, and by restricting and regulating the means and methods of
warfare available to combatants.
International humanitarian law is inspired by considerations of humanity and the
mitigation of human suffering. It comprises a set of rules, established by treaty or custom,
that seeks to protect persons and property/objects that are, or may be, affected by armed
conflict and limits the rights of parties to a conflict to use methods and means of warfare of
their choice.
SOURCES:
1. the Geneva Conventions
2. Customary International Law 
3. Refugee Convention
4. Convention on the Rights of the Child
5. Prisoners of War (1949 Geneva Convention)
6. Nuremberg War Trials
7. Diplomatic Conferences of Paris (1856)

The law is mandatory for nations bound by the appropriate treaties. There are also
other customary unwritten rules of war, many of which were explored at the Nuremberg
War Trials. By extension, they also define both the permissive rights of these powers as
well as prohibitions on their conduct when dealing with irregular forces and non-
signatories. (Wikipedia)

FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES:

1. Persons who are not, or are no longer, participating in hostilities must be

protected; and
2. The right of parties to an armed conflict to choose methods and means of
warfare is not unlimited. ( https://ijrcenter.org/international-humanitarian-
law/)

PROTECTED SECTORS:
1. WOMEN AND CHILDREN
2. CIVILIANS
3. MEDICAL TEAM
4. RELIGIOUS TEAM
5. WOUNDED, SHIPWRECKED AND SICK COMBATANTS
6. PRISONERS OF WAR

ON CONDUCT OF HOSTILITIES:
 1. Requires the parties to a conflict to distinguish between combatants
and civilians, and to refrain from attacking civilians;
2. Prohibits or limits the use of weapons that are particularly cruel or that
do not distinguish between combatants and civilians;
3. Requires the parties to a conflict to care for the wounded and sick and
to protect medical personnel;
4. Requires the parties to a conflict to ensure that the dignity of prisoners
of war and civilian internees is preserved, in particular by allowing
visits by ICRC (International Red Cross and Red Crescent) delegates.

UN PROTOCOLS IN WAR ZONES:

Section 4: Violations of international humanitarian law

In case of violations of international humanitarian law, members of the military
personnel of a United Nations force are subject to prosecution in their national courts.

Section 5: Protection of the civilian population

5.1 The United Nations force shall make a clear distinction at all times between
civilians and combatants and between civilian objects and military objectives. Military
operations shall be directed only against combatants and military objectives. Attacks on
civilians or civilian objects are prohibited.

5.2 Civilians shall enjoy the protection afforded by this section, unless and for such
time as they take a direct part in hostilities.

5.3 The United Nations force shall take all feasible precautions to avoid, and in any
event to minimize, incidental loss of civilian life, injury to civilians or damage to civilian
property.

5.4 In its area of operation, the United Nations force shall avoid, to the extent
feasible, locating military objectives within or near densely populated areas, and take all
necessary precautions to protect the civilian population, individual civilians and civilian
objects against the dangers resulting from military operations. Military installations and
equipment of peacekeeping operations, as such, shall not be considered military objectives.

5.5 The United Nations force is prohibited from launching operations of a nature
likely to strike military objectives and civilians in an indiscriminate manner, as well as
operations that may be expected to cause incidental loss of life among the civilian
population or damage to civilian objects that would be excessive in relation to the concrete
and direct military advantage anticipated.

5.6 The United Nations force shall not engage in reprisals against civilians or
civilian objects.

Section 6: Means and methods of combat

6.1 The right of the United Nations force to choose methods and means of combat
is not unlimited.
 6.2 The United Nations force shall respect the rules prohibiting or restricting the use
of certain weapons and methods of combat under the relevant instruments of international
humanitarian law. These include, in particular, the prohibition on the use of asphyxiating,
poisonous or other gases and biological methods of warfare; bullets which explode, expand
or flatten easily in the human body; and certain explosive projectiles. The use of certain
conventional weapons, such as non-detectable fragments, anti-personnel mines, booby
traps and incendiary weapons, is prohibited.

6.3 The United Nations force is prohibited from employing methods of warfare
which may cause superfluous injury or unnecessary suffering, or which are intended, or
may be expected to cause, widespread, long-term and severe damage to the natural
environment.

6.4 The United Nations force is prohibited from using weapons or methods of
combat of a nature to cause unnecessary suffering.

6.5 It is forbidden to order that there shall be no survivors.

6.6 The United Nations force is prohibited from attacking monuments of art,
architecture or history, archaeological sites, works of art, places of worship and museums
and libraries which constitute the cultural or spiritual heritage of peoples. In its area of
operation, the United Nations force shall not use such cultural property or their immediate
surroundings for purposes which might expose them to destruction or damage. Theft,
pillage, misappropriation and any act of vandalism directed against cultural property is
strictly prohibited.

6.7 The United Nations force is prohibited from attacking, destroying, removing or
rendering useless objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population, such as
foodstuff, crops, livestock and drinking-water installations and supplies.

6.8 The United Nations force shall not make installations containing dangerous
forces, namely dams, dikes and nuclear electrical generating stations, the object of military
operations if such operations may cause the release of dangerous forces and consequent
severe losses among the civilian population.

6.9 The United Nations force shall not engage in reprisals against objects and
installations protected under this section.

Section 7: Treatment of civilians and persons hors de combat

7.1 Persons not, or no longer, taking part in military operations, including civilians,
members of armed forces who have laid down their weapons and persons placed hors de
combat by reason of sickness, wounds or detention, shall, in all circumstances, be treated
humanely and without any adverse distinction based on race, sex, religious convictions or
any other ground. They shall be accorded full respect for their person, honour and religious
and other convictions.

7.2 The following acts against any of the persons mentioned in section 7.1 are
prohibited at any time and in any place: violence to life or physical integrity; murder as
well as cruel treatment such as torture, mutilation or any form of corporal punishment;
collective punishment; reprisals; the taking of hostages; rape; enforced prostitution; any
form of sexual assault and humiliation and degrading treatment; enslavement; and pillage.
 7.3 Women shall be especially protected against any attack, in particular against
rape, enforced prostitution or any other form of indecent assault.

7.4 Children shall be the object of special respect and shall be protected against any
form of indecent assault.

Section 8: Treatment of detained persons

The United Nations force shall treat with humanity and respect for their dignity detained
members of the armed forces and other persons who no longer take part in military
operations by reason of detention. Without prejudice to their legal status, they shall be
treated in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Third Geneva Convention of 1949,
as may be applicable to them mutatis mutandis. In particular:

(a)  Their capture and detention shall be notified without delay to the party on which
they depend and to the Central Tracing Agency of the International Committee of the
Red Cross (ICRC), in particular in order to inform their families;

(b)  They shall be held in secure and safe premises which provide all possible
safeguards of hygiene and health, and shall not be detained in areas exposed to the
dangers of the combat zone;

(c)  They shall be entitled to receive food and clothing, hygiene and medical attention;

(d)  They shall under no circumstances be subjected to any form of torture or ill-
treatment;

(e)  Women whose liberty has been restricted shall be held in quarters separated from
men’s quarters, and shall be under the immediate supervision of women;

(f)  In cases where children who have not attained the age of sixteen years take a direct
part in hostilities and are arrested, detained or interned by the United Nations force, they
shall continue to benefit from special protection. In particular, they shall be held in
quarters separate from the quarters of adults, except when accommodated with their
families;

(g)  ICRC’s right to visit prisoners and detained persons shall be respected and
guaranteed.

Section 9: Protection of the wounded, the sick, and medical and relief personnel
9.1 Members of the armed forces and other persons in the power of the United Nations
force who are wounded or sick shall be respected and protected in all circumstances. They
shall be treated humanely and receive the medical care and attention required by their
condition, without adverse distinction. Only urgent medical reasons will authorize priority
in the order of treatment to be administered.

9.2 Whenever circumstances permit, a suspension of fire shall be arranged, or other local
arrangements made, to permit the search for and identification of the wounded, the sick and
the dead left on the battlefield and allow for their collection, removal, exchange and
transport.
9.3 The United Nations force shall not attack medical establishments or mobile medical
units. These shall at all times be respected and protected, unless they are used, outside their
humanitarian functions, to attack or otherwise commit harmful acts against the United
Nations force.

9.4 The United Nations force shall in all circumstances respect and protect medical
personnel exclusively engaged in the search for, transport or treatment of the wounded or
sick, as well as religious personnel.

9.5 The United Nations force shall respect and protect transports of wounded and sick or
medical equipment in the same way as mobile medical units.

9.6 The United Nations force shall not engage in reprisals against the wounded, the sick or
the personnel, establishments and equipment protected under this section.

9.7 The United Nations force shall in all circumstances respect the Red Cross and Red
Crescent emblems. These emblems may not be employed except to indicate or to protect
medical units and medical establishments, personnel and material. Any misuse of the Red
Cross or Red Crescent emblems is prohibited.

9.8 The United Nations force shall respect the right of the families to know about the fate
of their sick, wounded and deceased relatives. To this end, the force shall facilitate the
work of the ICRC Central Tracing Agency.

9.9 The United Nations force shall facilitate the work of relief operations which are
humanitarian and impartial in character and conducted without any adverse distinction, and
shall respect personnel, vehicles and premises involved in such operations. (UN Bulletin,
August 1999)

Basic Reference: “International Legal Protection of Human Rights in Armed Conflict”:

PDF - https://www.ohchr.org/documents/publications/hr_in_armed_conflict.pdf

PRACTICE:

(no practice test)

Lecturer:

ATTY. SHELLA MAE O. MAGALONGA-TAN

Del Rosario Benedicto Law Offices
33 Lopez Jaena Street, Jaro, Iloilo City
CP No. 09175490087
Email Add: [email protected]
Kalibo Office:

Leonida Ibardolaza and Associates

JGL Building Acevedo Street
Kalibo, Aklan