The Interaction of International Humanitarian Law and International Human Rights Law in Armed Conflict

International humanitarian law and international human rights law can apply concurrently during armed conflict, but their relationship requires more than a general appeal to complementarity. This article examines the legal conditions governing that interaction through doctrinal analysis of treaties, selected international and regional decisions, interpretive materials and scholarship. It focuses on the right to life, detention, occupation and accountability, with particular attention to Africa and Uganda. The analysis finds that the existence of armed conflict does not terminate human rights obligations, while the application of humanitarian rules depends on conflict classification and the conduct concerned. The principle of lex specialis may inform interpretation but does not establish the automatic displacement of an entire human rights regime. Detention in non-international armed conflict remains especially sensitive because humanitarian safeguards should not be confused with an unrestricted legal power to intern. The article proposes an issuespecific framework that identifies the conflict, jurisdiction, applicable rule, concrete tension and available remedy. It concludes that coherent application depends on precise legal reasoning, operational guidance, preservation of evidence and effective review. The findings are legal conclusions from selected sources, rather than empirical claims about compliance in every African conflict.