A/HRC/34/64 10. Moreover, the ICCPR provides that exceptional circumstances such as internal political instability or any other public emergency may not be invoked to justify derogation from the right to life and security of person. 13 The right to food 11. With respect to right to food, the legal obligations of states are set out in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (“ICESCR”).14 The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in General Comment No. 12 also defined the obligations that States parties have to fulfil in order to implement the right to adequate food at the national level. The obligation to respect existing access to adequate food requires states not to take any measures that result in preventing such access; the obligation to protect requires measures by the state to ensure that enterprises or individuals do not deprive individuals of their access to adequate food; the obligation to fulfil (facilitate) means the State must pro-actively engage in activities intended to strengthen people’s access to and utilisation of resources and means to ensure their livelihood, including food security; and whenever an individual or group is unable, for reasons beyond their control, to enjoy the right to adequate food by the means at their disposal, States have the obligation to fulfil (provide) that right directly. This obligation also applies for persons who are victims of natural or other disasters. The right to water 12. The human right to water is explicitly and widely recognised through several international human rights treaties, declarations, and numerous other standards. 15 As noted in General Comment No. 15 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), “[t]he human right to water entitles everyone to sufficient, safe, acceptable, physically accessible and affordable water for personal and domestic uses. An adequate amount of safe water is necessary to prevent death from dehydration, to reduce the risk of water-related disease and to provide for consumption, cooking, personal and domestic hygienic requirements.” One-hundred and twenty-two UN member states acknowledged the right to water in GA resolution A/64/292.16 Intentionally attacking, destroying, removing or otherwise rendering useless objects which are indispensable to the survival of a besieged civilian population, including water stations, is prohibited under IHL.17 Education 13. As defined by General Comment No. 13 of the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, “education is both a human right in itself and an indispensable means of realizing other human rights. As an empowerment right, education is the primary vehicle by which economically and socially marginalized adults and children can lift themselves out of poverty and obtain the means to participate fully in their communities.” 13 14 15 16 17 26 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 999, p. 171 [hereinafter “ICCPR”], at art. 4, para. 2. International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 993, p. 3 [hereinafter “ICESCR”], at art. 2. See, e.g., Human Rights Council resolution 18/1 on the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation. General Assembly resolution 64/292 on the human right to water and sanitation. International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Customary International Humanitarian Law, 2005, Volume I: Rules [hereinafter “ICRC Rule”], at Rule 54.