A/HRC/43/43 (d) States must work with affected communities to develop and promote environmentally sound housing construction and maintenance to address the effects of climate change while ensuring the right to housing. The particular vulnerability of indigenous peoples to climate change must be recognized and all necessary support should be provided to enable indigenous peoples to develop their own responses. Forests and conservation areas must be protected in a manner that fully respects the rights of indigenous peoples to their lands and resources and to their traditional and environmentally sustainable practices in housing. Guideline No. 14. Engage in international cooperation to ensure the realization of the right to adequate housing 73. The current human rights crisis in housing is global in nature and cannot be effectively addressed without international cooperation and assistance. Many actors involved in housing operate at the transnational level and deal with complex corporate structures that pose considerable obstacles to accountability. Regulating global capital flows and preventing the parking of resources into residential real estate to avoid taxation and for money-laundering purposes all require international cooperation. 74. International financial institutions and development banks have applied approaches that are detrimental to the realization of the right to housing. For example, they have imposed deregulation, the liberalization of housing markets and austerity measures, including the selling of social housing, and required mortgage finance programmes that do not assist the lowest-income households.84 75. Articles 2 (1) and 11 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights refer to international cooperation and assistance as means to achieve the full realization of the right to housing, recognizing its essential importance. Moreover, States parties to the Covenant are obliged to ensure the realization of the right to housing by all appropriate means, which includes international cooperation. 85 76. Implementation measures: (a) States should recognize international cooperation as a firm legal obligation where it is necessary for the realization of the right to housing. This includes controlling global capital flows into residential real estate markets and preventing and combating transborder tax evasion and avoidance, which significantly limits the resources of States to realize the right to adequate housing;86 (b) States should avoid conduct that would create a foreseeable risk of impairing the enjoyment of the right to housing in other States, should adopt legislation to prevent violations of the right to housing abroad by corporations or other investors that are domiciled in their territory and/or jurisdiction and should ensure access to justice for such violations within domestic courts;87 (c) States should assess the impact on the right to adequate housing of trade and investment agreements prior to entering into them, and should include in such agreements a provision explicitly referring to their human rights obligations in respect of housing. Existing agreements should be interpreted in ways that do not impair States’ ability to realize the right to housing;88 (d) The role of international financial institutions and of development, humanitarian and other international organizations should be aligned with the promotion of the realization of the right to housing. Development banks and financial institutions should establish safeguard policies covering all aspects of the right to adequate housing. 84 85 86 87 88 A/HRC/37/53, para. 134, and A/73/310/Rev.1, paras. 99 ff. See also the Declaration on the Right to Development, art. 3. Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, general comment No. 24, para. 37. Ibid., para. 26. Guiding principles on human rights impact assessments of trade and investment agreements. 19