residents not citizens of the affected States, would also need to be considered to determine the extent to which they could benefit from such arrangements.140 These arrangements would also have to address the environmental, social and economic viability of such resettlement to ensure sustainability. An important consideration would be the protection of the islanders as peoples with a common social and cultural identity, history and traditions.141 The principle of family unity would be important to consider as well, ideally beyond the nuclear family. In the case of the Vanuatu settlement on Tegua Island, which was relocated some 300 meters inland, all 60 inhabitants reportedly belonged to a single extended family.142 Although it may be impossible to relocate the whole population of an affected island State to a single third State, the relocation of communities may be desirable and could be explored further. Additional issues which may need to be addressed, include the right to live as communities, the provision of land where they could live as such, the rights of persons wishing to live outside such communities, and the type of support they could expect. Any arrangements should take into account lessons learned from earlier processes of relocating entire communities even if these were internal.143 6. Early actions to be taken The relocation of entire populations would likely be a measure of last resort. Affected States wish to ensure their existence through adaptation for as long as possible, although island States likely to be affected are beginning to raise concerns about their future.144 In view of the complexity of resettling entire populations across borders, early planning is essential. Timely work on such arrangements could enhance confidence in engaging in adaptation mechanisms locally, by easing concerns about where the population could go if the territory of the affected island States were to become uninhabitable. Early planning would also permit cultural and communal artefacts to be preserved.145 140 This approach would also be in line with Art. 18 of the Draft Articles on Nationality of Natural Persons in Relation to the Succession of States, note 25 above, and Art. 13 of the Council of Europe Convention on the Avoidance of Statelessness in relation to State Succession, note 109 above (see also, Explanatory Report to the Convention). This may include any refugees or stateless persons currently habitually resident on affected island States; see also note 136 above. 141 See also the ‘Report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the relationship between climate change and human rights’, UN Doc. A/HCR/10/61, 15 January 2009, 17-18. As noted above, questions of self-determination could also arise. 142 P. Boehm, ‘Global warning: Devastation of an atoll’, The Independent (UK), 30 August 2006, available online at: http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0830-07.htm (last accessed 25 January 2011). 143 As noted above, such relocations generally raised a host of challenges and issues; see for example, Campbell, Goldsmith, Koshy, note 136 above; Field, note12 above; United Nations University - Institute for Environment and Human Security, ‘Human security, climate change and environmentally induced migration’, note 92 above. 144 See for example, ‘UNHCR and displacement solutions: Climate change, human rights and forced human displacement: Meeting report’, Canberra, Australia, 10 December 2008. 5, available online at: http://www.unhcr.org.au/pdfs/ClimateChangeandDisplacementmeetingreport_000.pdf (last accessed 25 January 2011). See also the Submission of the Maldives to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, 25 September 2008, note 89 above. 145 See also I. Kelman, ‘Island evacuation’, (2008) 31 Forced Migration Review, 20-21. This may be particularly complex, as the displaced population may consider itself an indigenous population with spiritual links to its lands; see for example, Permanent Mission of the Republic of the Marshall Islands to the United Nations, New York, ‘National communication regarding the relationship between human rights and the impact of climate change’, note 4 above; see also Hampson, note 113 above. 20