24 c. Expert report of Manuel Pérez González, lawyer The expert witness is Head of the Department of International Public Law at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid. Both international human rights law and international humanitarian law are designed to protect human dignity. Although the application of international humanitarian law is restricted to situations of armed conflict, human rights continue to be applicable in other situations. In its Advisory Opinion on the Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons, the International Court of Justice stated that the protection established in the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights did not cease in time of war, except when its Article 4 was applied to the suspension of certain rights in situations of national emergency. There is still an irrefutable nucleus of rights, which cannot be suspended, even in exceptional circumstances, which constitute the minimum protection guarantees by Article 3 common to the Geneva Conventions of August 12, 1949 (hereinafter “the Geneva Conventions”) and the Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions and relating to the Protection of Victims of NonInternational Armed Conflicts (hereinafter “Protocol II”). Article 72 of the Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions and relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts (hereinafter “Protocol I”) and the preamble to Protocol II recall that the international human rights instruments offer the human being fundamental protection. Hence, both branches of international law should be coordinated to come to the aid of all those who suffer the consequences of a situation of armed conflict. The criminal prosecution of lawful professional activities, on the pretext of combating terrorism violates Article 9 of the American Convention, by penalizing a lawful act: a medical activity. The application of Article 3 common to the Geneva Conventions and Protocol II does not prevent the prosecution and, if applicable, sentencing of acts proved in a trial with sufficient guarantees that may have endangered the constitutional order. Moreover, international humanitarian law condemns terrorist activities absolutely, in situations of both international and internal conflict. Nevertheless, a State’s actions against terrorism do not exempt it from the obligation to respect the individual rights and freedoms protected by international humanitarian law and international human rights law. For some years, Peru experienced a period of armed conflict, a situation that was confirmed by the Peruvian Truth and Reconciliation Commission (hereinafter “The Truth Commission”), created to clarify the nature and process of the acts of this armed conflict. The Truth Commission took the position that international human rights law and international humanitarian law apply. In the context of the existence of an internal armed conflict, the application of the latter gave rise to concerns that it would grant the condition of combatant to the subversive groups, which would weaken the sovereign position of the State. The Truth Commission took the position that the application of international humanitarian law did not affect the legal status of the subversive groups or