Submission in Support of Petitioners Case No. CHR-NI-2016-0001 Those who are displaced temporarily as a result of extreme weather events will frequently return to homes that are destroyed or no longer habitable.117 Permanently displaced persons will face even bleaker prospects: they may be secure adequate and permanent housing a timely manner, the options for resettlement will probably be highly restricted, and there is no guarantee that they will be given any restitution for the loss of their housing, land, and property. Displacement due to sea level rise is a major concern in the Philippines, due to the rapid increase in sea levels (which, as noted above, is five times the global average) and the number of people who live on the coast.118 More severe typhoons and floods have been and will continue to be a significant driver of displacement as well. Decreased agricultural yields and inadequate job opportunities in the agricultural sector may also result in migration from rural to urban areas in the Philippines, putting additional pressure on already depressed urban areas and mega cities.119 6. Right to Self-Determination and Development The ICESCR and ICCPR recognizes that “[a]ll peoples have the right to self-determination” and “[b]y virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social, and cultural development.”120 The UN General Assembly affirmed this principle when it adopted the 1986 Declaration on the Right to Development, which stated that the “right to development is an inalienable human right by virtue of which every human person and all peoples are entitled to participate in, contribute to, and enjoy economic, social, cultural and political development, in which all human rights and fundamental freedoms can be fully realized.121 The Declaration also recognized that the right of peoples to self-determination includes “the exercise of their inalienable right to fully sovereignty over all their natural wealth and resources.”122 Private actors, as well as states, have a duty to create conditions favorable to the 117 SHERWOOD ET AL., (2014), supra note 30. H. Brecht et al., Sea-level rise and storm surges: High stakes for a small number of developing countries, 21(1) JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENT DEVELOPMENT 120 (2012) 119 PAGASA (2011), supra note 10, at 50. 120 ICESCR Art. 1(1); ICCPR Art. 1(1). 121 Declaration on the Right to Development, Art. 1(1). 122 Id. Art. 1(2). 118 Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, Columbia Law School 22