A/HRC/19/33 III. The question of the legality of unilateral coercive measures under international law 5. Whether unilateral coercive measures are legal or illegal under public international law cannot be easily answered in general. Much depends upon the specific form of coercive measures, on the applicable treaty law, if any, and on customary international law rules relevant to the assessment of coercive measures, as well as on potential grounds for precluding the wrongfulness of such measures. Consistent with resolution 15/24 of the Human Rights Council, the main focus in the present report, in terms of the legality of unilateral coercive measures, is the issue of the extent to which negative human rights impacts of unilateral coercive measures may render such measures unlawful. 6. As a preliminary matter, it is helpful to distinguish between broad general economic sanctions used between States and the more recent so-called smart or targeted sanctions aimed at individuals,6 because different sets of legal rules are implicated by their imposition. A. General coercive measures 7. A potential unlawfulness of general economic sanctions can have various sources. International humanitarian law as well as human rights treaties may contain limitations on the imposition of economic sanctions. 1. Treaty law Human rights and international humanitarian law treaties 8. Human rights and international humanitarian law treaties may be implicated in cases of unilateral coercive measures affecting basic human rights or the civilian population at large. Examples of specific human rights and international humanitarian law treaty norms limiting the use of unilateral coercive measures will be discussed in more detail in chapter IV. 9. In the field of human rights law, the rights most relevant to assessing the legality of economic measures seem to be the right to life, 7 the right to an adequate standard of living, including food, clothing, housing and medical care, 8 the right to freedom from hunger,9 and the right to health.10 10. In the field of international humanitarian law, the prohibition against the starvation of a civilian population as a method of warfare is among the most relevant provisions. 11 In 6 7 8 9 10 11 4 See sources in footnote 5 above. Universal Declaration of Human Rights, art. 3; International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, art. 6, para. 1. Universal Declaration of Human Rights, art. 25, para. 1; International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, art. 11, para. 1. International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, art. 11, para. 2. Ibid., art. 12, para. 1; Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, general comment No. 8 (1997) on the relationship between economic sanctions and respect for economic, social and cultural rights, para. 3. Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts (Protocol I), art. 54; Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the Protection of Victims of Non-International Armed Conflicts (Protocol II), art. 14.