A/HRC/42/CRP.1 3. International Criminal Law 57. Yemen is not a party to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court,20 nor are most coalition members, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.21 Nevertheless, the principle of individual criminal responsibility for war crimes has long been recognized by customary international law.22 War crimes include grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions, as well as other serious violations of international humanitarian law. The Rome Statute lists the acts that are considered as such by the International Criminal Court, and is regarded as a reflection of customary international law in this regard.23 58. According to international criminal law, individual members of armed forces are liable for war crimes they have committed or attempted to commit, and for assisting in, facilitating, aiding or abetting the commission of a war crime. Planning or instigating the commission of a war crime is also a mode of liability. Commanders and other superiors are also criminally responsible for war crimes committed pursuant to their orders. Furthermore, the latter may be criminally responsible for failing to prevent, repress or report war crimes committed by their subordinates. Individual members of non-State armed groups, as well as their superiors, can equally be held responsible for war crimes under international criminal law.24 In addition, members of non-State armed groups are liable to prosecution before the courts of the State in which they operate, as well as before the courts of other States which apply universal jurisdiction. Finally, individuals, including from third States, may also be held criminally responsible if they aid, abet or otherwise assist in the commission of war crimes. C. Legal Analysis 59. In this report, the legal analysis pertaining to alleged violations of international humanitarian law, international human rights law and international criminal law, if relevant, is normally included after the description of facts in each emblematic section. However, as certain areas are cross-cutting and their complexity warrants some precision, the Group of Experts chose to develop them in the present section. In terms of international humanitarian law, this is particularly the case for targeting law and weapon use. With regard to international human rights law, clarifications have been added as to the extent of the obligations of respective duty-bearers. 1. International Humanitarian Law 60. International humanitarian law has developed along two major strands. Whilst both are to be found in existence from ancient times, they developed separately in treaty form. The first strand dealt with the conduct of hostilities and was primarily governed by State interests. This strand is often referred to as “Hague law”, following the adoption of many rules on the conduct of hostilities in the Hague Peace Conferences of 1899 and 1907.25 The second strand dealt originally purely with victims of war, initially limited to combatants, and is often referred to as “Geneva law”, growing out of the first Geneva Convention of 1864 on the wounded and sick on the battlefield and the establishment of the International Committee of the Red Cross. Whilst these two strands came together in the two Additional Protocols of 1977 to the four Geneva Conventions of 1949, there remain philosophical differences between the two. Thus “Geneva law” essentially approaches matters from the point of view of the victim, whereas “Hague law” is more focused on the position of the parties to the conflict themselves. This is best illustrated in the law in relation to targeting. 20 Yemen has signed the Rome Statute on 28 December 2000, but has never ratified it. The only members of the coalition that are party to the Rome Statute are Jordan and Senegal. 22 See ICRC Study on customary IHL, rule 151. 23 See ICRC Study on customary IHL, rule 156. 24 See ICRC Study on customary IHL, rules 151-153. 25 See for example, Regulations concerning the Laws and Customs of War on Land, annexed to Convention (IV) respecting the Laws and Customs of War on Land, The Hague, 1907. 21 15