GLOSSARY

Here is a simple glossary of terms associated with International Human Rights Law and International Humanitarian Law.

Please contact us with any corrections or additions at: info@humanrightsportal.com

1. International Human Rights Law (IHRL)

Concepts regarding the relationship between the individual and the State.

Positive Obligation: The duty of a State to take active steps to protect a right (e.g., passing laws to prevent domestic violence).
Negative Obligation: The duty of a State to refrain from interfering with a right (e.g., the right not to be tortured).
Indivisibility: The principle that all human rights (civil, political, economic, social, cultural) are of equal status and cannot be ranked.
Interdependence: The idea that the enjoyment of one right often depends on the fulfillment of others.
Progressive Realization: The requirement for States to take steps to the maximum of their available resources to achieve socio-economic rights over time.
Core Obligations: The "minimum essential levels" of a right that a State must provide immediately (e.g., basic food and primary health care).
Margin of Appreciation: The degree of flexibility allowed to States in how they implement treaty obligations, recognizing national context.
Exhaustion of Domestic Remedies: The requirement that a victim must first seek justice in their own country before taking a case to an international body.
Non-refoulement: A fundamental principle prohibiting the return of a person to a country where they would face persecution or torture.
Arbitrary Detention: Arrest or imprisonment not conducted according to law or that is fundamentally unjust.
Extrajudicial Execution: A killing by government forces without any prior judicial process.
Enforced Disappearance: The arrest or abduction of a person by State agents, followed by a refusal to acknowledge their fate or whereabouts.
Freedom of Assembly: The right to gather peacefully in public or private for a common purpose.
Freedom of Association: The right to join or leave groups, such as trade unions or political parties.
Habeas Corpus: A legal action by which a person can report an unlawful detention to a court.
Fair Trial: A set of procedural guarantees, including an impartial judge and the right to a defense.
Inherent Dignity: The foundational concept that human rights belong to all humans simply because they are human.
Liberty and Security of Person: Protection against unlawful arrest and the right to be safe from physical harm.
Minority Rights: Specific protections for ethnic, religious, or linguistic groups to preserve their identity.
Right to Development: The right of individuals and peoples to participate in and enjoy economic, social, and cultural development.

2. International Humanitarian Law (IHL)

Rules governing the conduct of parties during an armed conflict.

International Armed Conflict (IAC): A conflict between two or more States.
Non-International Armed Conflict (NIAC): Fighting between a State and an organized armed group, or between such groups.
Hors de Combat: "Out of the fight." Refers to those who cannot fight due to injury, sickness, or surrender.
Combatant Immunity: The rule that soldiers cannot be prosecuted for lawful acts of war (like killing enemy soldiers) after the war ends.
Command Responsibility: The legal principle that leaders are responsible for crimes committed by their subordinates if they knew or should have known about them.
Perfidy: Deceitful acts (like faking surrender or using a Red Cross flag) to kill or wound an enemy. It is a war crime.
Reprisals: Acts that would otherwise be illegal but are done in response to an illegal act by the enemy to force them back into compliance (highly restricted).
Martens Clause: A principle stating that even in cases not covered by treaties, civilians and combatants remain under the protection of the "principles of humanity."
Occupying Power: A State that exercises effective control over territory that is not its own without the consent of the original sovereign.
Levée en Masse: When the inhabitants of a territory take up arms spontaneously to resist an invading force without having had time to form regular units.
Methods of Warfare: The tactics used to fight (e.g., sieges, psychological warfare).
Means of Warfare: The weapons or tools used to fight.
Superfluous Injury: Weapons that cause suffering beyond what is necessary to disable a combatant are prohibited.
Indiscriminate Attack: An attack that does not or cannot be directed at a specific military objective.
Military Objective: Any object which by its nature, location, or use makes an effective contribution to military action.
Civilian Objects: All objects which are not military objectives (e.g., houses, schools, places of worship).
Medical Neutrality: The duty to protect medical personnel, facilities, and transport during war.
Direct Participation in Hostilities (DPH): When a civilian performs acts that cause actual harm to the enemy; they lose their immunity from attack while doing so.
Cultural Property: Monuments, archeological sites, and works of art protected from attack under the 1954 Hague Convention.
Collective Punishment: Punishing a group of people for a crime committed by an individual; strictly prohibited under IHL.

3. The UN Treaty System & Mechanics

The administrative and procedural tools of international law.

Concluding Observations: The final report issued by a Treaty Body after reviewing a State’s human rights record.
Individual Communication: A "complaint" brought by an individual against their State to a UN Treaty Body.
Universal Periodic Review (UPR): A process where the human rights records of all 193 UN Member States are reviewed every 4.5 years.
Human Rights Council (HRC): An intergovernmental body within the UN system made up of 47 States responsible for the promotion of human rights.
OHCHR: The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (the UN's human rights "secretariat").
Treaty: A formal, legally binding agreement between States. Also called a Convention or Covenant.
Protocol: An agreement that amends or adds to an existing treaty.
General Comment: An official document where a Treaty Body interprets the content of a treaty's articles.
Inquiry Procedure: A process allowing some Treaty Bodies to investigate "grave or systematic violations" in a specific country.
Charter-based Bodies: Human rights bodies derived from the UN Charter (e.g., the Human Rights Council).
Treaty-based Bodies: Committees of experts created by a specific treaty (e.g., the Committee on the Rights of the Child).
State Party: A country that has ratified or acceded to a treaty and is legally bound by it.
Entry into Force: The moment a treaty becomes legally binding on the States that have ratified it.
Depositary: Usually the UN Secretary-General, who keeps the original treaty and records which States have signed/ratified it.
Signature ad referendum: A signature that requires later confirmation by the State.
Reservation: A formal statement by a State saying it does not agree to be bound by a specific part of a treaty.
Declaration: A statement of intent or interpretation by a State that is generally not as legally binding as a treaty.
Soft Law: Non-binding instruments (like resolutions or declarations) that can guide State behavior.
Hard Law: Legally binding obligations found in treaties or customary law.
Compulsory Jurisdiction: When a State agrees in advance to accept the judgment of a court like the ICJ.

4. International Crimes & Accountability

The legal mechanisms for prosecuting the most serious violations.

Genocide: Acts committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial, or religious group.
Crimes Against Humanity: Widespread or systematic attacks directed against any civilian population.
War Crimes: Serious violations of IHL committed during armed conflict (e.g., willful killing of civilians).
Crime of Aggression: The planning or execution by a leader of an act of force that violates the UN Charter.
Ethnic Cleansing: A policy designed by one ethnic or religious group to remove another group from certain geographic areas by violent means (not a stand-alone crime, but usually prosecuted as genocide or crimes against humanity).
Impunity: The failure to bring perpetrators of human rights violations to justice.
Reparation: Measures to make amends for a violation (e.g., compensation, restitution, or an apology).
Restitution: Returning the victim to the original situation before the violation occurred (e.g., returning stolen property).
Jus Cogens: Peremptory norms of international law that no State can ever violate (e.g., prohibitions on slavery and genocide).
Extradition: The formal process where one State surrenders an individual to another State for prosecution.
International Criminal Court (ICC): The permanent court established to prosecute individuals for genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.
Ad Hoc Tribunals: Temporary courts set up for a specific conflict (e.g., the ICTY for the former Yugoslavia).
Rome Statute: The 1998 treaty that established the ICC.
Non-State Actor: An individual or organization that has significant political influence but is not allied to any particular country (e.g., NGOs, armed groups).
Amnesty: A legal pardon often granted after a conflict; however, international law prohibits amnesties for war crimes or genocide.
Transitional Justice: Processes used by societies to address a legacy of massive human rights abuses (e.g., truth commissions).
Universal Jurisdiction: The ability of a national court to try a person for international crimes regardless of where the crime happened.
Truth Commission: A temporary body set up to investigate and report on past human rights violations.
Due Diligence: The standard of care a State must take to prevent human rights abuses by private parties.
Locus Standi: The right or capacity to bring an action or to appear in a court.

5. Vulnerable Groups & Specialized Law

Specific protections for groups at higher risk of abuse.