E/C.12/GC/26 endangered. Article 11 (2) of the Covenant provides that States parties, recognizing the connection between the right to be free from hunger and the utilization of natural resources, which include land, should develop or reform agrarian systems in such a way as to achieve the most efficient development and utilization of natural resources. In the Committee’s general comment No. 12 (1999) on the right to adequate food and in the Voluntary Guidelines to Support the Progressive Realization of the Right to Adequate Food in the Context of National Food Security, the importance of access to productive resources is highlighted as a key element for the realization of the right to adequate food, particularly in rural areas, where most peasants and pastoralists live and where people are more likely to experience hunger. 7. Second, as access to land provides space for housing, the enjoyment of the right to adequate housing depends largely on having secure access to land. Without such access, people could be subject to displacement and forced eviction, which could violate their right to adequate housing. Secure access to land in rural areas serves the rights to both adequate food and housing, as housing is often built on land used for the purpose of food production. 8. Third, land is also directly linked to the enjoyment of the right to water. For example, the enclosure of communal grounds deprives people from access to water sources that are necessary to meet their personal and domestic needs. 9. Fourth, the use of land may affect the enjoyment of the right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health. For example, land use that relies on pesticides, fertilizers and plant growth regulators or that results in the production of animal waste and other microorganisms has contributed to various respiratory diseases. 10. Fifth, land is closely and often intrinsically related to the enjoyment of the right to take part in cultural life owing to the particular spiritual or religious significance of land to many communities, for example, when land serves as a basis for social, cultural and religious practices or the expression of cultural identity.7 This is particularly relevant for Indigenous Peoples and for peasants and other local communities living traditional lifestyles. 11. Sixth, land is also closely linked to the right to self-determination, enshrined in article 1 of the Covenant, the importance of which was emphasized in Declaration on the Right to Development (1986). The realization of self-determination is an essential condition for the effective guarantee and observance of individual human rights and for the promotion and strengthening of those rights.8 Indigenous Peoples can freely pursue their political, economic, social and cultural development and dispose of their natural wealth and resources for their own ends only if they have land or territory in which they can exercise their selfdetermination.9 The present general comment deals only with the internal self-determination of Indigenous Peoples, which has to be exercised in accordance with international law and respecting the territorial integrity of States. 10 Thus, according to their right to internal selfdetermination, the collective ownership of lands, territories and resources of Indigenous Peoples shall be respected, which implies that these lands and territories shall be demarcated and protected by States parties. 7 8 9 10 GE.23-00043 African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, Centre for Minority Rights Development (Kenya) and Minority Rights Group (on behalf of Endorois Welfare Council) v. Kenya, communication No. 276/03, Decision, forty-sixth ordinary session, 11–25 November 2005, para. 241; Inter-American Court of Human Rights, Mayagna (Sumo) Awas Tingni Community v. Nicaragua, Judgment, 31 August 2001, paras. 148–149 and 151, and Yakye Axa Indigenous Community v. Paraguay, Judgment, 17 June 2005, paras. 131–132; and Human Rights Chamber for Bosnia and Herzegovina, The Islamic Community in Bosnia and Herzegovina v. The Republika Srpska, Case No. CH/96/29, Decision, 11 June 1999, paras. 182 and 187. Human Rights Committee, general comment No. 12 (1984), para. 1. United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, preamble and arts. 10 and 26. Käkkäläjärvi et al. v. Finland (CCPR/C/124/D/2950/2017). 3