Communication 431/12 – Thomas Kwoyelo v. Uganda
153.
Third, on the concurrent application of human rights and IHL in armed
conflicts it should be noted that the application of IHL is generally confined to the
conduct of hostilities involving the armed fighting between the warring parties.
Acts that take place outside of or in context unrelated to the conduct of hostilities
are to be regulated by reference to human rights law. It should further be noted
that the privileges that IHL attributes to status of combatant does not apply upon
capture of non-state combatants. Accordingly, the status of prisoner of war does
not apply in situations of NIACs and as such combatants of dissident armed
groups upon their capture may be prosecuted for all hostile acts on the basis of
domestic law in force at the time of the capture of the non-state combatant.
154.
The different rules listed in Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions and
Articles 4, 5 and 6 of Protocol II to the Geneva Conventions on detention are the
ones the Commission relies on, to the extent they are relevant, in analysing the
specific rights allegedly violated in the present case. These rules in these
instruments can be divided into four broad categories: rules on the treatment of
detainees, rules on material conditions of detention, fair trial rights, and
procedural safeguards in internment.40 In the present case, these rules are in
particular to be applied with respect to the treatment of the Victim at the time of
his capture and from the time of his capture to the time of his transfer to the
custody of police for investigation and prosecution. Accordingly, while IHL rules
that apply to situations of NIACs are used to make a determination on violations
of Charter rights until the point of transfer of the non-state combatant to police
custody, from that point onwards the Commission applies the provisions of the
African Charter directly. The Commission will thus examine allegations of
violations of Articles 5, 6, 7 and 16 of the African Charter by reference to IHL rules
relating to NIACs and will analyse those of Article 3 and parts of 7 on their own.
155.
The Commission will accordingly analyse the provisions of the Charter
allegedly violated against the background of the foregoing framework of analysis
40
ICRC, n 34 above, pp. 15-16. See also Dormann, n 34 above, pp. 349-350.
41
62nd Ordinary Session, 25 April – 9 July 2018