ABSTRACT
The proliferation of armed conflicts and the need to advance the protection of people has given ample opportunities to a variety of actors to express views on the applicability of human rights standards. The Security Council appears to be one of the most common supporters of human rights applicability to Armed Non-State Actors (ANSAs). The practice of the Human Rights Council appears to follow the path of the Security Council, although it does not refer to human rights as a standard of ANSAs' conduct at every relevant occasion. The topic of ANSAs' obligations in human rights law and the corresponding accountability for violations constitutes a new and still-evolving field in international law. ANSAs should have human rights obligations for a number of reasons. First and foremost, state responsibility might not be adequate and international humanitarian law leaves certain gaps with regard to specific situations or particular rights.
