A/HRC/24/59 in August 2013, some 484,000 people were vulnerable to food insecurity in the country, in particular internally displaced persons.6 IV. International legal framework 19. In legal terms, the mission differentiated two distinct periods since December 2012: (a) from the offensive of the Séléka coalition on 10 December 2012 to the takeover of Bangui on 24 March 2013; and (b) from the seizure of power of the Séléka on 24 March 2013 and the self-declaration of Mr. Djotodia as President of the National Transitional Council until the end of the period under review. 20. The mission noted the existence of a non-international armed conflict during the initial period.7 This implies that international humanitarian law was applicable from 10 December 2012 until the takeover by the Séléka of Bangui, on 24 March 2013. The Central African Republic is a party to the four Geneva Conventions of 1949 and to Additional Protocol II, on the protection of victims of non-international armed conflicts. Both the State armed forces and the Séléka, as parties to the conflict, were thus bound by the provisions of the treaties as well as by customary international humanitarian law. 21. International human rights law is applicable in peacetime and in armed conflict situations. The Central African Republic is a party to six major United Nations human rights treaties8 and two optional protocols thereto,9 as well as to the core human rights instruments of the African Union. It is, therefore, under a clear obligation to respect international human rights law. 22. Moreover, it is increasingly accepted that a non-State armed group, such as the Séléka before taking power in the Central African Republic, must respect and ensure respect for human rights in the territory it controls.10 23. The Central African Republic became a party to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court in 2001. As a consequence, allegations of international crimes (war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide) committed in the territory of the 6 7 8 9 10 Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Situation Report No. 25, 23 August 2013. Available from http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Situation%20Report%2025_EN.pdf. In its annual report for 2012 (available from www.icrc.org/eng/assets/files/annual-report/icrc-annualreport-2012.pdf), the International Committee of the Red Cross stated that, in December, “the Séléka, an alliance of armed groups, took control of the north and centre of the country. The non-international armed conflict led to casualties, looting, further displacement and the temporary evacuation of most humanitarian workers” (p. 111). The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ratified in 1981), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ratified in 1981), the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ratified in 1971), the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (ratified in 1991) and the Convention on the Rights of Child (ratified in 1992). The Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights ( ratified in 1981), and the Optional Protocol to the convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography ( ratified in 2012). In the context of the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Security Council affirmed that all parties, including non-State armed groups, must abide by the international humanitarian standards and ensure respect for human rights in the sectors they control (S/PRST/2002/27). In her report on the situation of human rights in Mali (A/HRC/22/33), the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights also made extensive reference to human rights violations by nonState armed groups, including violations of the right to health, culture, education and freedom of religion. 7