“the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights is applicable to the acts of a State acting in the exercise of its jurisdiction outside its own territory”.18 157. The same applies to international human rights instruments given that none of the said instruments excludes the application of the principle of extraterritorial jurisdiction.19 The Court affirms, as does the Human Rights Committee, that “anyone who is under the power or effective control of the forces of a State Party operating outside its territory enjoys extraterritorial protection”.20 158. It follows that the Court has territorial jurisdiction not only where the facts of the case occurred in the territory of the respondent State, but also extends to acts performed by a State outside its territory. In other words, the Court’s territorial jurisdiction is not limited to the physical boundaries of a particular state. 159. In the instant case, the Applicant State alleges human rights violations caused by an armed conflict on its territory between it and the armed group M23, a conflict in which the Respondent State is involved, allegedly, by reason of its support to the said armed group. It is thus proper for the Court to examine whether, in the instant case, there is truly an armed conflict on the territory of the Applicant State and, if so, determine the involvement of the Respondent State in the said conflict. 160. The Court emphasizes that involvement in an armed conflict is distinct from the question of State responsibility. In this regard, it endorses the ICJ's Occupied Palestinian Territory, Advisory Opinion, July 9, 2004; I.C.J. Reports, pp. 178 - 179 §§ 106 and 109. Legal consequences arising from Israel's policies and practices in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, Advisory Opinion, § 98. 18 Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Advisory Opinion, July 9, 2004; I.C.J. Reports, pp. 178-179, § 111. 19 Communication 227/99, Democratic Republic of Congo v. Burundi, Rwanda et Uganda, May 2003, 33rd Ordinary Session, Niamey, Niger. 20 Human Rights Committee, General Comment No. 31 (2004), § 10. 38