A/HRC/45/CRP.7 27. International human rights law applies both in times of peace and in times of armed conflict. As the International Court of Justice (ICJ) stated in its 2004 Advisory Opinion on the Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, “the protection offered by human rights conventions does not cease in case of armed conflict, save through the effect of provisions for derogation of the kind to be found in article 4 of the [ICCPR]” which, as noted, has not been invoked by Yemen.10 Its application during armed conflict may, however, be modified by international humanitarian law as the lex specialis. In practice, the inter-relationship may be more complex than this description suggests. As the ICJ has recognised, “some rights may be exclusively matters of international humanitarian law; others may be exclusively matters of human rights law; yet others may be matters of both these branches of international law”.11 Ultimately, international humanitarian law and international human rights law are “complementary, not mutually exclusive”.12 28. The Government of Yemen remains responsible for the fulfilment of its human rights obligations in the entirety of its territory, including the parts over which it has lost control, within the limits of its effective power.13 Indeed, a State’s obligation to protect individuals under its jurisdiction extends to responding to the threats to the enjoyment of human rights posed by non-State armed groups, including de facto authorities.14 Similarly, in areas outside their control, for instance, there remains a need not to impede the enjoyment of human rights. De Facto Authorities 29. Non-State actors, such as Ansar Allah/Houthis, the de facto authorities in the northwest of Yemen, and the STC in parts of the south of Yemen, cannot formally become parties to international human rights treaties. However, where these authorities exercise territorial control and government-like functions, they can be regarded as being bound by international human rights norms.15 Extra-territorial application of international human rights law 30. Other States carrying out operations in Yemen also bear responsibilities under international human rights law. It has been recognised that the scope of application of international human rights law is not restricted to a State’s territorial limits, but extends to protection of non-derogable rights. This includes for instance, the right to bring proceedings before a court to enable the court to decide on the lawfulness of detention as well as procedural rights associated with the application of the death penalty: Human Rights Committee, General Comment No. 29 on states of emergency (art. 4), (2001) paras. 13-15. 10 Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Advisory Opinion of 9 July 2004, ICJ Reports 2004, p 136, para.106. 11 Ibid. The Court maintained the same approach in Armed Activities on the Territory of the Congo (Democratic Republic of the Congo v Uganda) ICJ Reports 2005, p 168, para. 216. 12 Human Rights Committee, General Comment No. 36: Article 6: the right to life (2019), para.64. 13 Concluding Observations of the Human Rights Committee on the Republic of Moldova, 4 November 2009, para. 5 (CCPR/C/MDA/CO/2). The Government of Yemen has stated that it would not tolerate any violation committed against its citizens within the entirety of the Yemeni territory, whether committed in areas under its control or under the control of the Houthis: Joint memo dated 8 August 2018 addressed to the Group of Experts by the Government of Yemen, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. 14 Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights, “Human Rights Obligations of Armed Non-State Actors: An Exploration of the Practice of the UN Human Rights Council,” Academy In-Brief No. 7, December 2016, p. 15. 15 See A/HRC/42/CRP.1, para.82. The Group notes that the de facto authorities have in their written correspondence to the Group of Experts acknowledged these obligations in stating that their forces respect their international obligations to protect civilians in accordance with both international humanitarian law and international human rights law and have also referred to the applicability of human rights treaties ratified by the Government of Yemen to their administration. The Group also notes that the STC signed the 3 of the Geneva Call Deeds of commmitments, see https://stceu.org/en/the-supreme-commander-of-the-stc-signs-3-deeds-of-commitment-with-geneva-call-toimprove-the-protection-of-civilians-during-armedconflicts/#:~:text=The%20Deed%20of%20Commitment%20is,legal%20recognition%20to%20these %20actors 11