The interplay between IHL and IHRL poses specific challenges in the context of conduct of hostilities, especially when law enforcement operations are conducted along or in connection with military operations.
In contemporary armed conflicts, armed forces are increasingly expected to conduct not only combat operations against the adversary, but also law enforcement operations, in order to maintain or restore public security, law and order.
In practice, it is sometimes difficult to draw the line between situations governed by the conduct of hostilities paradigm (derived from IHL) and those governed by the law enforcement paradigm (mainly derived from human rights law).
To see why determining the appropriate applicable paradigm may have a crucial impact on the humanitarian consequences of an operation, and how the two paradigms differ, read the related chapter on IHL and Human Rights. [1]
Links
[1] https://casebook.icrc.org/law/ihl-and-human-rights
[2] https://casebook.icrc.org/case-study/united-states-america-death-osama-bin-laden
[3] https://casebook.icrc.org/case-study/us-lethal-operations-against-al-qaida-leaders
[4] https://casebook.icrc.org/case-study/echr-al-skeini-et-al-v-uk
[5] https://casebook.icrc.org/case-study/united-states-use-armed-drones-extraterritorial-targeted-killings
[6] https://casebook.icrc.org/case-study/un-statement-special-rapporteur-drone-attacks
[7] https://casebook.icrc.org/case-study/general-assembly-use-drones-counter-terrorism-operations
[8] https://casebook.icrc.org/case-study/human-rights-committee-guerrero-v-colombia
[9] https://casebook.icrc.org/case-study/inter-american-court-human-rights-bamaca-velasquez-v-guatemala
[10] https://casebook.icrc.org/glossary/human-rights-applicable-armed-conflicts
[11] https://casebook.icrc.org/glossary/use-force
[12] https://casebook.icrc.org/glossary/conduct-hostilities
[13] https://casebook.icrc.org/glossary/law-enforcement
[14] https://casebook.icrc.org/glossary/lex-specialis
[15] https://www.icrc.org/eng/resources/documents/publication/p4171.htm
[16] https://www.icrc.org/eng/resources/documents/event/2014/webinar-use-of-force.htm
[17] http://www.icrc.org/download/audio/V-S-51053-A-04.mp3