A/HRC/29/51 roundabouts of the larger towns.61 The displaying of mutilated bodies serves as a warning to the local population of the consequences of failure to submit to the armed group’s authority,62 to deter those who may oppose the group’s rule and to spread terror among the population.63 The attacks perpetrated by ISIL on churches and historic monuments that do not represent military targets are apparently committed to enforce religious and ideological hegemony and to instil fear in minority populations. 64 The systematic and targeted assassination and abduction of community, political and religious leaders, government employees, education professionals, journalists and health workers65 also appear to be aimed at demonstrating the supremacy of ISIL in areas it controls. The brutal nature and overall scale of abuses appears to be intended to reinforce the group’s absolute monopoly on political and social life and to enforce compliance and conformity among communities under its control.66 The result is that civilians who remain in ISIL-controlled areas live in a state of constant and almost unimaginable fear.67 30. Some still argue that human rights, as a body of law, can only bind States, and cannot or should not apply to non-State armed groups. However, as the Special Rapporteur has previously highlighted in other contexts, a central tenet of international human rights law is that it must keep pace with a changing world. Human rights apply at all times, inherently belong to individuals and are key to individual dignity. Increasingly, non-State armed groups control parts of territories in which populations live. This is the case with ISIL, which now controls large swathes of territory in which millions of individuals live; it has declared itself a “State”, and runs both a civil and a military administration, including the establishment of a “court” system. The threshold for ISIL to be bound by human rights obligations has clearly been met.68 This means, at a minimum, that ISIL is bound under international law to respect core human rights obligations, such as the right to life, the absolute prohibition of torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, the prohibition of slavery and the prohibition of enforced disappearance, as well as the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. 31. In addition, where ISIL engages in violations that are unrelated to the conflict and not direct consequences of it, the governing legal framework should be international human rights law. In practice, this means that ISIL is legally bound to respect freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and freedom of movement. These rights should be protected without discrimination on any of the grounds prohibited by international law. The right to a fair trial should also be guaranteed. In areas of substantive overlap between international human rights and international humanitarian law, the principles that provide assistance in determining which framework is applicable are those of lex specialis69 and effective control: the more effective control ISIL has over a territory or individuals, the 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 10 See “Rule of terror”, paras. 33–35. Ibid., para. 33. Ibid., para. 21. Ibid., para. 31. See UNAMI/OHCHR “Report on the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict in Iraq: 6 July–10 September 2014”, pp. 5–8. See “Rule of terror”, para. 30. Ibid., para. 19. See the statement by the President of the Security Council on the situation in Iraq (S/PRST/2014/20), p. 2, and Security Council resolution 2170 (2014), para. 3. See “Fragmentation of international law: difficulties arising from the diversification and expansion of international law – Report of the Study Group of the International Law Commission” (A/CN.4/L.682 and Corr.1), paras. 56–57.