A/HRC/29/51 B. Legal framework 21. The Special Rapporteur has previously recalled the criteria for the existence of armed conflicts of a non-international character,26 namely the intensity and protraction of the conflict and the degree of organization of the parties. It is generally accepted that ISIL is a sufficiently organized non-State armed group to be considered as a party to the noninternational armed conflicts in Iraq and the Syrian Arab Republic,27 and that the situations in both countries amount to armed conflicts of a non-international character.28 22. International humanitarian law applicable to armed conflicts of a non-international character is applicable in both Iraq and the Syrian Arab Republic.29 All parties to the conflict, including ISIL, are therefore bound by common article 3 of the Geneva Conventions, which establishes minimum standards concerning the treatment and protection of civilians, those no longer actively participating in the hostilities and civilian objects. They are also bound by the customary law norms contained in the protocol additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 relating to the protection of victims of non-international armed conflicts. 23. In addition, it is now well established that in a situation of armed conflict, international human rights law continues to apply, and both international human rights law and international humanitarian law frameworks will act in a complementary and mutually reinforcing way.30 Both Iraq and the Syrian Arab Republic are parties to the major human rights treaties and a number of optional protocols.31 C. Human rights and humanitarian law violations attributable to the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant 24. The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic, established on 22 August 2011 by Human Rights Council resolution S-17/1, the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq and OHCHR,32 as well as a number of non26 27 28 29 30 31 32 See the Report of the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism (A/68/389), para. 63. See also International Committee of the Red Cross, “How is the term ‘armed conflictʼ defined in international humanitarian law?”, opinion paper, March 2008. Available from www.icrc.org/eng/assets/files/other/opinion-paperarmed-conflict.pdf. See also International Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of the Former Yugoslavia since 1991, case No. IT-94-1-A, Prosecutor v. Duško Tadic, para. 70, and case No. IT-0484-T, Prosecutor v. Ramush Haradinaj et al, paras. 49 and 60. See A/68/389, para. 66. For Iraq, see A/HRC/28/18, para. 13. For the Syrian Arab Republic, see A/HRC/28/69, para. 1. In his report on the implementation of Security Council resolutions 2139 (2014) and 2165 (2014), the Secretary-General referred to a “complex, protracted regional conflict” (see S/2014/756, para. 58). Neither Iraq nor the Syrian Arab Republic have acceded to the protocol additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the protection of victims of non-international armed conflicts. They are also not parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. For an overview of the legal framework applicable in the Syrian Arab Republic, see the report of the independent international commission of inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic (A/HRC/21/50), annex 2. For a full list, for Iraq, see UNAMI/OHCHR, “Report on the Protection of Civilians in the Non International Armed Conflict in Iraq: 5 June–5 July 2014”, p. 6; for the Syrian Arab Republic, see A/HRC/21/50, annex 2, para. 8. See A/HRC/28/18 and UNAMI/OHCHR “Report on the Protection of Civilians in the Non International Armed Conflict in Iraq: 5 June–5 July 2014”. 7