A/HRC/28/66 55. Special procedures and commissions of Inquiry have also addressed human rights violations committed in the name of religion by armed groups with effective control over territory.17 “Effective control” means that the non-State armed group has consolidated its control and authority over a territory to such an extent that it can exclude the State from governing the territory on a more than temporary basis. 18 Furthermore, armed groups without effective control over territory have been held to have committed human rights violations.19 In May 2014, a report by the United Nations Mission in the Republic of South Sudan20 stressed that the most basic human rights obligations, in particular those emanating from peremptory international law (jus cogens), bind both the State and armed opposition groups in times of peace and during armed conflict. (b) International humanitarian law 56. In the event that a non-State armed group is party to an armed conflict, international humanitarian law can also be invoked. Article 3 common to the four Geneva Conventions of 1949 defines certain minimum guarantees that all parties involved in a non-international armed conflict should observe, including to treat in all circumstances persons who take no active part in the hostilities humanely, without any adverse distinction founded on religion or faith. Furthermore, a number of norms contained in the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and the Additional Protocols I and II of 1977 have reached the status of customary international law and, as such, are binding on all parties to the armed conflict. 21 57. Most notably, international humanitarian law requires that both the State and nonState armed groups take all measures to minimize the impact of violence on civilians, respect the principles of distinction and proportionality when carrying out military operations and ensure the safety and protection of civilians by enabling them to leave areas affected by violence in safety and dignity as well as to access basic humanitarian assistance at all times.22 (c) International criminal law 58. Certain conduct of members of non-State armed groups may also trigger individual responsibility under international criminal law. The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court provides definitions of “genocide” in article 6, of “crimes against humanity” in article 7 and of “war crimes” in article 8. These provisions also include several references to the terms “religious” or “religion”, for example, in article 6 (“acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a […] religious group, as such”), article 7, paragraph 1 (h), (“persecution against any identifiable group or collectivity on […] religious […] grounds”) as well as article 8, paragraphs 2 (b)(ix) and (e)(iv), 17 18 19 20 21 22 14 See, for example, A/56/253, paras. 27 and 30, concerning the Taliban; A/HRC/2/7, para. 19, concerning Hezbollah; A/HRC/18/48, para. 31, concerning Al-Shabaab; and www.ohchr.org/Documents/HRBodies/HRCouncil/CoISyria/HRC_CRP_ISIS_14Nov2014.pdf, concerning Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant. See article 42 of the Regulations respecting the Laws and Customs of War on Land; CCPR/C/21/Rev.1/Add.13, para. 10; and CAT/C/GC/2, para. 16. See www2.ohchr.org/SPdocs/Countries/LRAReport_December2009_E.pdf and www2.ohchr.org/SPdocs/Countries/LRAReport_SudanDecember2009.doc, concerning the Lord’s Resistance Army. See www.unmiss.unmissions.org/Portals/unmiss/Human%20Rights%20Reports/ UNMISS%20Conflict%20in%20South%20Sudan%20-%20A%20Human%20Rights%20Report.pdf. See Jean-Marie Henckaerts and Louise Doswald-Beck, Customary International Humanitarian Law, Volume I: Rules, International Committee of the Red Cross (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005), with rules 3, 27, 30, 38, 40, 88, 104 and 127 specifically referring to “religious” issues. See www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=14884&LangID=E.