A/HRC/22/50/Add.2 stresses the importance, in the implementation of the mechanism, of providing guarantees for indigenous populations that depend on the forests in accordance with articles 25 to 27 of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. 67. By taking the above-mentioned measures, Cameroon could speed up the country’s poverty eradication and socioeconomic development process. In particular, Cameroon would be in a position to exploit its natural resources more sustainably, reducing the negative impact on the local population. VI. Towards a national strategy on the right to food 68. Cameroon has recently adopted a range of measures to improve food availability and affordability for the population; it is also taking steps to revive the agricultural sector. A number of challenges in the area of governance still need to be addressed, however. The responsibilities do not lie with one ministerial department alone. In addition to intervention by the Ministry for Agricultural and Rural Development, action by the Ministry of Trade is needed to organize distribution, by the Ministry of Labour and Social Services to ensure decent working conditions in plantations, by the Ministry of Social Affairs to protect vulnerable groups, and by the Ministry for the Advancement of Women to promote gender equality. There is a need for improved coordination between the different departments, whose efforts must complement and support each other. 69. There is also a need to strengthen the dialogue with civil society and producers’ organizations. The establishment of a platform for focused and ongoing dialogue will open the way for the adoption of more informed policies that take account of the views of beneficiaries and will boost the legitimacy and effectiveness of the work done by the Government in this domain. The creation of a national framework for consultations with representatives of producers’ organizations is a step in this direction. 70. Cameroon should take measures to guarantee food security in the short term by, inter alia, doing more to ensure the affordability of basic foodstuffs for vulnerable groups, and it should prepare for the long term by laying plans to expand social welfare coverage and revive subsistence agriculture, thus making the country less dependent on fluctuations in international market prices. Multi-year and multi-sectoral strategies are needed to manage the situation in the short-term while the preparations are being made for the transition over the long term. 71. Lastly, the deadlines for the adoption of measures, the responsibilities of the different actors involved and the remedies available to beneficiaries in the event that commitments are not honoured need to be defined more precisely. In this way, it will be possible to turn political pronouncements concerning the importance of food security into recognition of the right to food, even if a gradual approach to achieving the latter is required. 72. A framework law on the right to food would provide the legislative and institutional structure required to move forward along this path. It would mainly define: the modalities for adopting a national strategy on the right to food, with the participation of civil society and those involved in the food production sector; the procedures for measuring progress; the resources to be allocated to the strategy and ways and means of ensuring transparency in the utilization of these resources; and the penalties for failing to act in accordance with the strategy. The Special Rapporteur was informed about initiatives being taken to establish a framework law on agriculture, the draft text of which is being discussed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. If Cameroon were to adopt a framework law on the right to food that included, among other things, elements of a framework law on agriculture, it would be joining the ranks of countries like Mali in West Africa and others in GE.12-18864 17