• Under each of the four Geneva Conventions, States Parties have an obligation ‘to respect and to ensure respect for the present Convention in all circumstances’.32 The obligation ‘to ensure respect’ for the Conventions is an obligation erga omnes and applies whether the State Party is engaged in a particular conflict or not. All States Parties are obliged to ‘ensure’ that combatants to any conflict ‘respect’ the Conventions. If there is an act that violates a provision in one of the Conventions or even if there is a risk of violation of a provision in one of the Conventions, all States Parties are obliged to act to ‘ensure respect’ for the Conventions. • Under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, States Parties are obliged to ‘pursue by all appropriate means and without delay a policy of eliminating racial discrimination in all its forms and promoting understanding among all races, and, to this end: … (b) Each State Party undertakes not to sponsor, defend or support racial discrimination by any persons or organizations’.33 • Under the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, a State Party is obliged to criminalise acts of torture under its national law and to extend its jurisdiction not only to acts of torture that occur within its territory but also to acts of torture committed anywhere, including outside the territory of the State.34 The State obligations can also arise under customary international law. Some parts of customary international law give rise to obligations erga omnes. All States are bound to comply with these obligations whether or not the situation arises within their own territory. Again, there are many examples, the clearest being ones that have formed the basis of decisions of the International Court of Justice either in contested cases or in advisory opinions. Four recent matters before the International Court of Justice are directly relevant to the Asia Pacific region. • In 2020, in the case The Gambia v Myanmar, the Court found “the existence of a real and imminent risk of irreparable prejudice to the rights protected under the [Genocide] Convention”.35 The Court made an order of provisional measures against Myanmar. The finding of ‘the existence of a real and imminent risk’ gives rise to obligations on the part of other States Parties to the Genocide Convention because of their obligations under Article 1 to ‘prevent’ genocide. The Court did not make specific orders in relation to other States Parties but the decision necessarily engages their obligations under the Convention. • In 2023 the Court received a request from the General Assembly for an advisory opinion on Obligations of states in respect of climate change.36 That request poses two questions: (a) What are the obligations of States under international law to ensure the protection of the climate system and other parts of the environment from anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases for States and for present and future generations? (b) What are the legal consequences under these obligations for States where they, by their acts and omissions, have caused significant harm to the climate system and other parts of the environment …? The Court has received written submissions on these matters and heard oral arguments. It is likely to deliver its opinion in 2025. That will indicate the legal obligations that States bear and lead to the requirement to take action to address climate change. For many years now, NHRIs have discussed issues of climate change and human rights. When the Court gives its advisory opinion, they will be well placed to advise their home States of the actions that must be taken to comply with international legal obligations. • In 2024, in the case South Africa v Israel, another case under the Genocide Convention, the Court found that “there is a real and imminent risk that irreparable prejudice will be caused to the rights found by the Court to be plausible”.37 Again, the Court did not make specific orders in relation to other States Parties but the decision necessarily engages their obligations under the Convention. 32. Geneva Conventions Common Article 1. 33. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination 1965 Article 2.1. 34. Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment 1984 Articles 4 and 5.1. 35. International Court of Justice The Gambia v Myanmar Request for the indication of provisional measures order of 23 January 2020 p 28 at https://icj-cij.org/sites/default/ files/case-related/178/178-20200123-ORD-01-00-EN.pdf. 36. International Court of Justice Obligations of States in respect of Climate Change at https://icj-cij.org/case/187 and terms of the request at https://icj-cij.org/sites/default/files/ case-related/187/187-20230412-app-01-00-en.pdf. 37. International Court of Justice South Africa v Israel Request for the indication of provisional measures order of 26 January 2024 p 22 at https://icj-cij.org/sites/default/files/ case-related/192/192-20240126-ord-01-00-en.pdf. 30 National action on international issues