A/HRC/22/50/Add.2 Rapporteur’s visit, the Government had declared a state of emergency in the Far North region, and a call for international assistance had been issued. An early warning unit had been set up in the Government to coordinate the response to recurring food emergencies. 11. The Special Rapporteur welcomes these initiatives. However, during his meeting in Maroua with members of the humanitarian cluster that includes representatives of the Government and United Nations organizations (WFP, FAO, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO)), and that was conducting a humanitarian operation to help households in areas affected by the drought,6 he was struck by the limited capacity of these structures and the lack of resources at their disposal to deal with the humanitarian crisis. It has been shown that taking action early on to strengthen local production capacity and prepare the population to deal with the impact of climatic shocks is both more effective and less costly than intervening aften a crisis has already started. The Special Rapporteur calls on the partners of Cameroon to bear this in mind when deciding how to respond to appeals to the international community. C. Marginalized and vulnerable groups Prisoners’ right to food 12. During his visits to the main prisons and central prison in Yaoundé, the Special Rapporteur was able to evaluate the situation of prisoners with regard to the right to food. Men are entitled to a single daily ration, generally made up of fufu, maize, millet or rice and sometimes including green vegetables, meat or fish. Women receive food at regular intervals, which they prepare themselves. Furthermore, both male and female prisoners who can afford to do so can order food from a messenger, who will buy it outside the prison. An estimated one third of prisoners in Yaoundé central prison receive additional food from family members during prison visits. 13. The current situation is not satisfactory. When a State decides to deprive persons of their liberty, it undertakes to treat them with humanity and to provide conditions of detention that are consistent with respect for human dignity and do not lead to inhuman or degrading treatment.7 This implies, in particular, that the State should provide prisoners with sufficient and adequate food so that they do not have to rely on food brought in by members of their families in order to be able to feed themselves properly. Account must also be taken of the particular needs of pregnant and breastfeeding women. 14. Article 20, paragraph 1 of the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners provides that “Every prisoner shall be provided by the administration at the usual hours with food of nutritional value adequate for health and strength, of wholesome quality and well prepared and served.”8 The argument that there are insufficient budgetary resources is not acceptable. In fact, it was when adopting a decision on Cameroon that the Human Rights Committee recalled that article 20 of the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners should always be observed, “even if economic or budgetary considerations may make compliance with these obligations difficult”.9 This applies all the 6 7 8 9 GE.12-18864 World Food Programme, Emergency Operation Cameroon 200396. Articles 7 and 10 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Adopted by the First United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders, held at Geneva in 1955, and approved by the Economic and Social Council by its resolutions 663C (XXIV) of 31 July 1957 and 2076 (LXII) of 13 May 1977. Albert Womah Mukong v. Cameroon, communication No. 458/1991, CCPR/C/51/D/48/1991 (1994), para. 9.3. 5