A/HRC/21/50 final point to be made concerns the nature of the investigation that must be conducted to satisfy this obligation. The UN has developed guidelines for such investigations and they center around four universal principles: independence, effectiveness, promptness and impartiality.33 These four principles lie at the heart of human rights protection and are binding on UN members in that they have been relied upon and further developed in the jurisprudence of UN-backed international courts and also have been agreed upon by the States represented within the relevant United Nations bodies. VIII. State responsibility 25. Every internationally wrongful act of a State incurs the international responsibility of that State.34 Similarly, customary international law provides that a State is responsible for all acts committed by members of its military and security forces. 35 The State is therefore responsible for wrongful acts, including crimes against humanity, committed by members of its military and security forces. 26. The prohibition of crimes against humanity is a jus cogens or peremptory rule, and the punishment of such crimes is obligatory pursuant to the general principles of international law.36 Furthermore, crimes against humanity are the culmination of violations of fundamental human rights, such as the right to life and the prohibition of torture or other forms of inhuman and degrading treatment.37 According to the principles of State responsibility in international law, the Syrian Arab Republic bears responsibility for these crimes and violations, and bears the duty to ensure that individual perpetrators are punished and that victims receive reparation.38 IX. Individual responsibility 27. The principle of individual criminal responsibility for international crimes is well established in customary international law.39 According to article 27 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, which the Syrian Arab Republic has signed but not ratified, the Statute applies equally to all persons, without any distinction based on official capacity. In this context, Syrian laws afford extensive immunities, in most cases, for crimes 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 Principles on the Effective Prevention and Investigation of Extra-Legal, Arbitrary and Summary Executions (Economic and Social Council resolution 1989/65;text available at: http://www1.umn. edu/humanrts/instree/i7pepi.htm) and the Principles on the Effective Investigation and Documentation of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (General Assembly resolution 55/89, 2000; text available at: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/ investigation.htm). Note that the investigation need not be conducted by a court or even a judicial body. Administrative investigations, where appropriate, may equally comply with the four principles. Official Records of the General Assembly, Fifty-sixth Session, Supplement No. 10 (A/56/10), chap. IV, sect. E, art. 1. Ibid., commentary to article 7. Case of Almonacid-Arellano et al v. Chile, Inter-American Court of Human Rights, Judgement of September 26, 2006, (Preliminary Objections, Merits, Reparations and Costs), para. 99. See also Official Records of the General Assembly (see footnote 33), Art. 26. Almonacid-Arellano et al. v. Chile, para. 111. See the Preamble to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court: ―Recalling that it is the duty of every State to exercise its criminal jurisdiction over those responsible for international crimes.‖ Prosecutor v. Tharcisse Muvunyi, Judgement, Case No. ICTR-00-55-T, 12 September 2006, para. 459. 51