Normative Frameworks of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law

Some have argued that there exists a real and meaningful difference between the normative frameworks of human rights and humanitarian lawThis difference rests on the fact that human rights law is centered on granting rights to the individual, while humanitarian law protects the interests of the individual through means other than granting rights.This article analyses and compares the normative frameworks of international human rights law and humanitarian law by examining the way in which each is constructed to achieve its purpose, whether in the first case, granting fundamental rights to the individual or in the second the alleviation of human suffering in times of armed conflict. We examine, first, whether individuals are rights- holders under humanitarian law, and, secondly, the general pattern of protection in that legal system.