A/HRC/10/61 page 14 38. Human rights guarantees in the context of climate change include: (a) adequate protection of housing from weather hazards (habitability of housing); (b) access to housing away from hazardous zones; (c) access to shelter and disaster preparedness in cases of displacement caused by extreme weather events; (d) protection of communities that are relocated away from hazardous zones, including protection against forced evictions without appropriate forms of legal or other protection, including adequate consultation with affected persons.59 6. The right to self-determination 39. The right to self-determination is a fundamental principle of international law. Common article 1, paragraph 1, of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights establishes that “all peoples have the right of self-determination”, by virtue of which “they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development”.60 Important aspects of the right to self-determination include the right of a people not to be deprived of its own means of subsistence and the obligation of a State party to promote the realization of the right to self-determination, including for people living outside its territory.61 While the right to self-determination is a collective right held by peoples rather than individuals, its realization is an essential condition for the effective enjoyment of individual human rights. 40. Sea level rise and extreme weather events related to climate change are threatening the habitability and, in the longer term, the territorial existence of a number of low-lying island States. Equally, changes in the climate threaten to deprive indigenous peoples of their traditional territories and sources of livelihood. Either of these impacts would have implications for the right to self-determination. 41. The inundation and disappearance of small island States would have implications for the right to self-determination, as well as for the full range of human rights for which individuals depend on the State for their protection. The disappearance of a State for climate change-related reasons would give rise to a range of legal questions, including concerning the status of people inhabiting such disappearing territories and the protection afforded to them under international law (discussed further below). While there is no clear precedence to follow, it is clear that insofar as climate change poses a threat to the right of peoples to self-determination, States have 59 In this regard the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement (E/CN.4/1998/53/Add.2, annex) provide that “at the minimum, regardless of the circumstances, and without discrimination, competent authorities shall provide internally displaced persons with and ensure safe access to: … basic shelter and housing” (principle 18). 60 The right to self-determination is enshrined in Articles 1 and 55 of the Charter of the United Nations and also contained in the Declaration on the Right to Development, art. 1, para. 2, and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, arts. 3 and 4. 61 Human Rights Committee, general comment No. 12 (1984) on art. 1 (Right to self-determination), para. 6. See also Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), general recommendation 21 (1996) on the right to self-determination.