under IHL or any other applicable rule of international law.97 Costa Rica considers this obligation to reflect customary international law binding on all States. In Costa Rica’s view, the obligation is also applicable to cyber means and methods of warfare. For instance, this would include an obligation to review whether ransomware or other forms of malware designed or expected to be employed in times of armed conflict are capable of being used in accordance with IHL. Information and psychological operations 57. IHL sets important limits on information and psychological operations during armed conflicts, including when conducted through digital communication platforms. In particular, parties to armed conflicts must ‘not encourage persons or groups engaged in the conflict to act in violation’ of IHL.98 Moreover, IHL prohibits parties to armed conflicts from threatening that no quarter will be given to surrendering enemy soldiers,99 from spreading fear and terror among civilian populations,100 or from using propaganda to secure voluntary enlistment of protected persons in occupied territories.101 In Costa Rica’s vision, these prohibitions apply offline as well as online, and irrespective of which means of communication are used. The use of information or psychological operations must also not amount to outrages against the dignity of either civilians or captured soldiers, for instance by exposing protected civilians or prisoners of war to public curiosity through disclosing their photographs or videos on social media.102 Overall, parties to an armed conflict should integrate a gender perspective in the planning and execution of information and psychological operations. This might include tailoring messaging campaigns to address the specific circumstances and needs of women, girls, members of the LGBTQ+ community and other vulnerable groups in conflict-affected areas. Specific protection 58. IHL affords specific protection to certain persons, objects and activities, such as medical personnel and units; humanitarian personnel and relief objects; and objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population. 59. Under IHL, medical facilities must be respected and protected by the parties to the conflict at all times.103 The obligation to respect and protect such facilities entails that it is also 97 Additional Protocol I, Article 36. ICJ, Military and Paramilitary Activities in and against Nicaragua case, Judgment, 1986, para. 220; see also Oxford Process, ‘The Oxford Statement on International Law Protections in Cyberspace: The Regulation of Information Operations and Activities’ (June 2021), para. 8. 99 Additional Protocol I, Article 40; ICRC, Customary International Humanitarian Law Study, Rule 46. 100 Additional Protocol I, Article 51(2); ICRC, Customary International Humanitarian Law Study, Rule 2. 101 Geneva Convention IV, Article 51. 102 Geneva Convention III, Article 13(2); Geneva Convention IV, Article 27(4); see also ICRC, Commentary on the Third Geneva Convention, 2020, commentary on Article 13, para. 1624. 103 Geneva Convention I, Article 19; Geneva Convention II, Article 12; Geneva Convention IV, Article 18; Additional Protocol I, Article 12; Additional Protocol II, Article 11; ICRC, Customary International Humanitarian Law Study, Rules 25, 28, and 29. 98 16