...applies to private actors, all human rights treaties require States to protect all within their jurisdiction from violations committed by private actors, including non-State armed groups. By becoming parties to international treaties, States assume obligations and duties under international law to respect, to protect and to fulfil human rights. The obligation to respect means that States must refrain from interfering with or curtailing the enjoyment of human rights. The obligation to protect requires States to......above, the Guidebook focuses on State obligations to prevent, stop, and respond to CRSV under international law, whether committed by State or non-State, public or private actors. The Guidebook does not cover the (criminal) responsibility of individuals and, as a result, does not have a chapter on international criminal law (ICL). The focus on certain international legal instruments over others is motivated by the amount of information on CRSV available under each system, and by......how different areas of international law interact with one another to address CRSV. Next, we explain how, in certain circumstances, States have to implement their international legal obligations beyond their borders. Finally, we consider how States should address CRSV committed by private actors. 5.2 An Intersectional Approach to International Law🔗 Intersectionality is a term coined by Prof. Kimberlé Crenshaw. Originally, she used the term to analyse the multiple and overlapping forms of discrimination experienced by......to that State’s presence in its territory, for example by treaty or UNSC resolution.94 Functional jurisdiction. Functional jurisdiction is the control that States may have over activities that affect the enjoyment of human rights. A State has extraterritorial obligations under IHRL when its conduct, including ‘its military or other activities’, or the conduct of private actors may lead to harm against human rights ‘in a direct and reasonably foreseeable manner’.95 Functional jurisdiction is the broadest......measures to prevent or avoid that danger; There was a causal link between the violation committed within a State’s jurisdiction and the harm caused to that person’s life and/or integrity.98 5.6 Preventing and Responding to CRSV Committed by Private Actors🔗 All parties to a conflict, whether State or non-State, public or private, are bound by the provisions of IHL.99 Under IHRL, the matter is more complex. While there are debates as to whether IHRL directly...

...important step for ending CRSV.34 Private actors including private military and security companies (PMSC). Under IHL, States have obligations to prevent and respond to violations of IHL committed by private actors.35 In certain circumstances, States can also become directly responsible for the violations, which entails further obligations such as to provide reparations.36 States’ obligations have been given particular consideration in relation to the activities of PMSCs, including: ‘armed guarding and protection of persons and objects,...

...penal tribunal able to try the alleged crimes; ‘or the responsible State may have acknowledged the breach’.51 Attributing genocide committed by private actors to States. While the issue of attribution of genocide committed by private actors to States and the customary rules governing State responsibility is beyond the scope of the Guidebook, as a general matter, whether States may incur international responsibility for genocide committed by private actors depends on three issues:52 First, whether the acts......state, public officials or private actors.43 States must also provide effective penalties for perpetrators of genocide in their domestic law.44 Under article VI, only a State on whose territory any of the acts listed in article III were committed must prosecute the perpetrators in a competent tribunal of that State. Alternatively, perpetrators must be tried by an international penal tribunal whose jurisdiction States Parties have accepted.45 While article VI does not prohibit other States from prosecuting any...

...women in different regions.58 III.6 States must address CRSV committed by private actors🔗 Under article 2(e), States must eliminate discrimination against women by any private actor, including national corporations operating extraterritorially in conflict-affected areas, armed groups, paramilitaries, private military contracts, organised criminal groups and vigilantes.59 The international responsibility of a State may be engaged if: The acts or omissions of private actors empowered by that State to exercise governmental authority, including private bodies providing public......consult the “International Human Rights Law” chapter, “Introduction” section, and the “Introduction” chapter, “Methodology” section. III. Obligations🔗 Prevention🔗 III.1 States must criminalise CRSV🔗 Under article 2, States must adopt legislative and other measures prohibiting all forms of discrimination against women. States have a due diligence obligation ‘to prevent violence or violations of human rights, protect victims and witnesses from violations, investigate and punish those responsible, including private actors, and provide access to redress for human......private actors’, and adopt specific protection measures for women and girls, including those who are internally displaced or refugees; Supervise recruitment agencies and training centres due to their role in facilitating migration. States should monitor human rights abuses such as ‘illegal recruitment processes, including the traffickers of migrant women for forced labour and sexual exploitation’, and impose substantial penalties on companies ‘that fail to respect the rights of the employees they recruit’;121 Ensure that the......authorities; Consultation processes over economic activities by State and private actors in Indigenous territories; Public service and decision-making positions at the local, national, regional, and international levels; Their work as human rights defenders;160 In line with Security Council resolutions, ensure and create spaces for Indigenous women and girls to participate as decision-makers and actors in peacebuilding efforts and transitional justice processes;161 Ensure the equal participation of Indigenous women and girls at all levels ‘in the......should prioritise ‘the agency, wishes, decisions, safety, dignity and integrity’ of victims/survivors.265 Victims/survivors of trafficking. Victims/survivors of trafficking often encounter significant difficulties in claiming compensation and other forms of reparation, including damages, for the harm suffered at the hands of either public or private actors.266 States should: Refrain from making redress conditional upon cooperation with law enforcement authorities; Provide victims/survivors with access to ‘high-quality, gender-sensitive, trauma-informed legal aid and representation’; Refrain from linking residency permits to criminal...

...have ‘extraterritorial effect’.40 III.3 States must address CRSV committed by private actors🔗 Under articles 2 and 16, States must take effective measures to prevent torture and ill-treatment. While the CAT imposes obligations on States Parties and not on individuals, States may bear international responsibility for the acts and omissions of their officials and others, ‘including agents, private contractors, and others acting in official capacity or acting on behalf of the State, in conjunction with the......State, under its direction or control, or otherwise under colour of law’.41 Where State authorities or others acting in official capacity or under colour of law ‘know or have reasonable grounds to believe that acts of torture or ill-treatment are being committed by non-State officials or private actors’, they must exercise due diligence to prevent, investigate, prosecute and punish such actors. If they fail to do so, the State bears responsibility and its officials should...

...all levels and regions of all devolved governments and jurisdictions and/or territories’ under a State’s control. Implementation of the CRPD is not limited to a State’s territory only.19 III.3 States must address CRSV committed by private actors🔗 States are under an obligation ‘to take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination on the basis of disability by any person, organization or private enterprise’ (‘such as service providers’).20 This includes ‘preventing violence or violations of human rights,......protecting victims and witnesses from violations, investigating, prosecuting and punishing those responsible, including private actors, and providing access to redress and reparations where human rights violations occur’.21 III.4 States must ensure an inclusive environment for people with disabilities to eradicate CRSV effectively🔗 The CRPD recognises the crucial role that inclusive environments play in enabling and empowering persons with disabilities to exercise their human rights and fundamental freedoms. The Conference of States Parties to the CRPD22...

...Africa (the Robben Island Guidelines), States should: Ensure that acts falling within the definition of torture, ‘based on Article 1 of the UN Convention against Torture‘, are offences within States’ national legal systems;34 Criminalise all forms of sexual and gender-based violence;35 Prohibit and prevent ‘the use, production and trade of equipment or substances designed to inflict torture or ill-treatment’.36 Private actors. Under article 1, States should protect their citizens not only through appropriate legislation and effective enforcement,...

...private and family life against acts of private actors.37 While States have discretion in how to provide protection against acts of individuals in breach of article 8, States must enact efficient criminal law provisions to ensure ‘effective deterrence against grave acts such as rape’.38 CRSV in the form of trafficking. States must ensure ‘the practical and effective protection of the rights of victims or potential victims of trafficking’ in national legislation.39 Under article 4, which prohibits slavery...

...with all the human and material resources needed to ‘perform their tasks adequately, independently and impartially’.75 Investigations must be ‘serious, impartial and effective’,76 whether the perpetrator is a State or private actor. Investigations must be aimed ‘at determining the truth and the pursuit, capture, prosecution and eventual punishment of the perpetrators’.77 A failure to investigate torture and sexual violence in armed conflicts and/or systematic patterns ‘constitutes a breach of the State’s obligations in relation to grave human...