such States, should they continue to be recognized, could thus potentially face many of the same problems as stateless persons. Should such States be considered to have become extinct, former nationals of such States would be de jure stateless. It should be noted that even if cessation of statehood should arise, this would not prevent a government from continuing to have some international qualities.61 The Sovereign Military Order of Malta constitutes a particularly relevant case. It claims to be a sovereign entity with its own government and public institutions. It issues passports to its members,62 entertains diplomatic relations with a considerable number of States and has been admitted as a permanent observer to the United Nations.63 It lacks, however, a territory64 and is generally not considered to be a State.65 3. Statehood, statelessness, low-lying island States As noted above, the loss of the entire territory of a State or the exile of the entire population and government is without precedent. Given that island States are recognized as States, the presumption of continuity would apply. Insofar as there was a possibility that the elements of statehood could be restored, continuity of the State would likely not be questioned. The situation could be different, however, if the loss of territory or the exile of the population and government were to become permanent. The International Scientific Congress on Climate Change announced in March 2009 that a rise in sea levels over one meter was possible by the end of the century.66 Such a rise is considerably more than projected by the IPCC in its 2007 report and would be sufficient to submerge much of Tuvalu, Kiribati and the Maldives, for instance. Presumably, even the most minuscule territory could be sufficient to meet the criteria for statehood.67 The requirement of territory could be considered to be legally met for some time still, although territorial sea and economic zones would presumably decrease and could become defunct prior to complete loss of all land territory.68 In view of the points of highest elevation 61 See Crawford, note 27 above, 27-31; Shaw, note 32 above, 195-197. See the official site of the Order: http://www.orderofmalta.org/site/struttura.asp?idlingua=5 (last accessed 25 January 2011). Members retain, however, the citizenship of their countries. 63 Website of the Order of Malta, note 62 above. With respect to the permanent observer status in the United Nations, see UNGA Resolution 48/265, 30 August 1994. 64 This has not always been the case historically, see the official site of the Order, note 62 above. 65 See Crawford, note 27 above, 30; N. Cox, ‘The Acquisition of Sovereignty by Quasi-States: The Case of the Order of Malta’, (2002) 6 (1&2) Mountbatten Journal of Legal Studies 26-47; see also the records of the meeting of the General Assembly resolution discussing the admission the Order of Malta as a permanent observer, where reference is made to the Order's long-standing dedication to provide humanitarian assistance and its special role in international humanitarian relations. However, statehood was objected by a number of speakers who referred instead to the Order as a non-governmental organization. See General Assembly, Official records, Forty-eighth Session, 103rd Meeting, 24 August 1994, UN Doc. A/48/PV.103, and General Assembly, Summary record of the 13th meeting, 22 July 1994, UN Doc. A/BUR/48/SR.13. 66 At the International Scientific Congress on Climate Change held in March 2009 in Copenhagen, scientists highlighted that sea level could rise by up to one meter or more by 2100, and was unlikely to be less than 0.5m, see Climate Secretariat, University of Copenhagen, ‘Rising sea levels set to have major impacts around the world’, 10 March 2009, available online at: http://climatecongress.ku.dk/newsroom/rising_sealevels/ (last accessed 29 March 2011). 67 Brownlie notes that ‘[t]he concept of territory includes islands, islets, rocks and reefs’, note 30 above, 105. 68 Art. 47 of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, 1833 UNTS 397, 10 December 1982, (‘UNCLOS’) defines how the baseline should be determined with respect to archipelagic island States. It provides for straight baselines to be drawn from the outermost islands and drying reefs subject to specific conditions set out in the Article. As islands of the archipelago are submerged, the question arises to what extent this would result in 62 8