A House with Two Rooms - The Advocates for Human Rights

I. Introduction
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Appendix B
International human rights and humanitarian law developed largely in response to monumental
human tragedies in the modern era. International humanitarian law (IHL) is older than human
rights law and traces its roots to the middle of the nineteenth century. IHL, commonly called the
“law of war,” applies in specifically defined instances of international and internal armed conflict.
IHL regulates the conduct of hostilities and aims to protect victims of war (e.g., civilians, wounded
and sick, prisoners, displaced persons, etc.) and prevent excessive human suffering and material
destruction.
International human rights law (IHRL), which developed primarily after the Second World War,
generally provides broader protection than IHL. IHRL protects a number of individual rights,
including freedom of movement, liberty and security, freedom of association, and freedom of
speech. Under IHRL, however, certain human rights may be suspended in limited circumstances,
such as in times of public emergency that threaten the life of the nation, but only to the extent
required by the exigencies of the situation. Still, not all human rights may be suspended, and,
importantly, IHL and IHRL apply simultaneously to limit the suspension of an individual’s right to
exercise his or her basic human rights. Together, IHL and IHRL establish an essential set of human
rights that cannot be suspended under any circumstances. These core protections include the right
to life, the prohibition of slavery and servitude, the prohibition of torture and inhumane treatment,
and the prohibition of any retroactive application of the law.
The core IHL and IHRL protections apply in Liberia. In fact, Liberia has joined most of the treaties
and conventions that comprise the foundations of IHRL and IHL, either through ratification or
accession, or by signature only. Liberia did not ratify many of these conventions, however, until
after the exile of Charles Taylor in 2003. For example, Liberia signed the International Covenants on
Civil and Political Rights and Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in 1967, but did not ratify those
instruments until 2004. Likewise, Liberia joined the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel,
Inhuman or Degrading Punishment or Treatment in 2004, after having taken no action on it for
twenty years, and did not sign the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child
on the involvement of children in armed conflict until 2004.
This section will discuss the sources of international law, the major instruments of IHRL, including
universal and regional instruments, and the major instruments of IHL.