A/HRC/14/40 I. Introduction 1. In its resolution 9/9 on the protection of the human rights of civilians in armed conflict, the Human Rights Council invited the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to convene an expert consultation, open to the participation of Governments, regional organizations, relevant United Nations bodies and civil society organizations, and in consultation with the International Committee of the Red Cross, on the issue of protecting the human rights of civilians in armed conflict. As requested by the Council, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights reported on the outcome of this consultation, in the form of a summary of discussions, to the Council at its eleventh session. 2. In its resolution 12/5 the Council took note with appreciation of the report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on the outcome of the expert consultation on the protection of the human rights of civilians in armed conflict (A/HRC/11/31) and invited the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to convene, within the parameters set forth in paragraph 8 of Council resolution 9/9, a second expert consultation on the issue of protecting the human rights of civilians in armed conflict, with a view to enabling the completion of the consultations on this issue. The Council further requested the Office of the High Commissioner to report on the outcome of the consultation, in the form of a summary of discussions, to the Council at its fourteenth session. The present report is submitted in accordance with that request and provides a summary of the discussion by the experts. The draft was circulated to the experts for their comments. 3. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights consulted with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on the expert consultation and in a letter dated 3 March 2010, the High Commissioner brought the resolution to the attention of the President of the ICRC and invited him to appoint a focal point for the purpose of followingup the consultations. 4. The expert consultation was announced on the OHCHR website. On 9 March 2010, notes verbales were sent to all permanent missions in Geneva. 5. The expert consultation was held in Geneva on 31 March 2010. Representatives from 24 Member States of the United Nations: Argentina, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Canada, Egypt, Ethiopia, France, Germany, Greece, Pakistan, the Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Turkey, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the United States of America and Uruguay, as well as representatives the European Union and the European Council and representatives from civil society organizations, attended the expert consultation. 6. The expert consultation comprised one opening session and four substantive sessions. The substantive sessions were structured around the different human rights mechanisms: (a) Human Rights Council special procedures; (b) human rights treaty bodies; (c) international and regional judicial organs; and (d) other human rights mechanisms, including international fact-finding missions and commissions of inquiry, the universal periodic review of the Human Rights Council, and activities undertaken by international civil society organizations acting in the context of armed conflicts. 7. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights opened the expert consultation. It was recalled that over the years, the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Commission on Human Rights and more recently the Human Rights Council, have considered that in situations or armed conflict, parties to the conflict have legally binding obligations concerning the rights of persons affected by the conflict. The Council 3