against combatants” and “[a]ttacks must not be directed against civilians.” 346 International humanitarian law contains specific rules to determine who qualifies to come under the fundamental safeguards of Common Article 3 of the four Geneva Conventions. The scope of personal application of safeguards is also addressed in Common Article 3 of the four Geneva Conventions, which covers: “[p]ersons taking no active part in the hostilities, including members of armed forces who have laid down their arms and those placed 'hors de combat' by sickness, wounds, detention, or any other cause”. 277. The alleged victims in the case before the Court were not civilians, but members of the MRTA, actively involved in the hostilities.347 Even so, they could potentially be beneficiaries of the safeguards contained in Common Article 3 of the four Geneva Conventions, so long as they had ceased to take part in the hostilities and could be identified as hors de combat. The Court notes that, according to customary international humanitarian law, three types of persons could be considered hors de combat: “(a) anyone who is in the power of an adverse party; (b) anyone who is defenseless because of unconsciousness, shipwreck, wounds or sickness; or (c) anyone who clearly expresses an intention to surrender; provided he or she abstains from any hostile act and does not attempt to escape.” 348 The Court finds that these criteria were indeed applicable at the time of the facts to determine whether a person was hors de combat and should thus have fallen under the protection of Common Article 3 of the four Geneva Conventions. 278. Thus, as stipulated in Common Article 3 of the four Geneva Conventions, the State should have extended humane treatment to those were not participating directly in the hostilities or who were out of combat for any reason, without any unfavorable distinction. More particularly, international humanitarian law prohibits attacks on the life or personal integrity of the persons listed above, at any time and in any place. 349 The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has examined the rule that no person out of combat may come under attack, holding it to be a standard of customary law applicable to armed conflict whether of international or non-international scope.350 Peru’s practice demonstrates the domestic application of this rule.351 279. In short, as the Court considers the claim that the right to life was violated in this case, it must examine the facts in light of the circumstances already described and the most specific International Committee of the Red Cross, Customary International Humanitarian Law, vol. I, edited by Jean-Marie Henckaerts and Louise Doswald-Beck, 2007, Rule 1, available at: 346 https://www.icrc.org/en/doc/assets/files/other/customary-international-humanitarian-law-i-icrc-eng.pdf Cf. International Committee of the Red Cross, Interpretive guidance on the notion of direct participation in hostilities under international humanitarian law, Nils Melzer, legal adviser, ICRC, CICR, 2009, available at https://www.icrc.org/en/doc/assets/files/other/icrc-002-0990.pdf 347 International Committee of the Red Cross, Customary International Humanitarian Law, vol. I, edited by Jean-Marie Henckaerts and Louise Doswald-Beck, 2007, Rule 47, available at https://www.icrc.org/en/doc/assets/files/other/customary-international-humanitarian-law-i-icrc-eng.pdf 348 Cf. Case of Bámaca Velásquez v. Guatemala. Merits, supra, para. 207. See also, ECtHR, Varnava and Others v. Turkey [GS], Nos. 16064/90, 16065/90, 16066/90, 16068/90, 16069/90, 16070/90, 16071/90, 16072/90 and 16073/90. Judgment of September 18, 2009, para. 185. 349 Cf. International Committee of the Red Cross, Customary International Humanitarian Law, vol. I, edited by Jean-Marie Henckaerts and Louise Doswald-Beck, 2007, Rule 47, available at https://www.icrc.org/en/doc/assets/files/other/customary-international-humanitarian-law-i-icrc-eng.pdf 350 Peru, Derechos Humanos: Decálogo de las Fuerzas del Orden, Joint Command of the Armed Forces, Ministry of Defense, Army of Peru, 1991, pp. 6 and 7, and Peru, Código Militar de Justicia, 1980, Article 94, available in Spanish at http://www.icrc.org/customary-ihl/eng/docs/v2_cou_pe_rule47 351