Difference Between International Human Rights Law And International Humanitarian Law

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Recommended: Universal Declaration of Human Rights and UN Charter

Connecting international human rights law and international humanitarian law
i. Justifications used for developing these two branches of law Both branches of law evolved from the universal declaration of human rights (UDHR) in 1948, which was adopted by the UN shortly after the end of WWII. This international effort came as a response to the ethical obligations to seek better recognition and respect to the states’ obligations towards their people. International Human Rights law (IHRL) is the set of norms which constitute the social contract between states and their citizens. It was inspired by UDHR and aimed to protect basic rights and fundamental freedoms, and can be found within international treaties and UN conventions. While international …show more content…

One can argue that one of the similarities between the two is the fact that the deprivation of a right is subject to state sovereignty. However, this argument is being challenged in the recent years, as Simmons argues: “it is no longer acceptable for a government to make sovereignty claims in defense of egregious rights abuses” . Prohibition of torture is one of the examples where we can illustrate this argument, torture is illegal within times of war and peace. It falls under both crimes against humanity and war crimes within Rome statue of the International Criminal court, and therefore is considered a crime of concern to the international community, it can be brought into court even if it took place in or by a country that has not ratified ICCPR or CAT . Nevertheless, a main difference between IHL and IHRL is that IHL carries out more limitations to Human Rights. Applying Human Rights norms to times of armed conflicts can be immensely challenging. While legal theory and legal procedures exist, and can be applicable to current situations. The facts on the ground are not always in conjunction with theory and scholarly …show more content…

The R2P concept has been present in UN efforts towards better recognition of Human Rights, and lastly has been addressed in the 2005 World Summit Outcome Document, which indicates that states commit to take adequate collective measures to protect populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against

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