The right to food A/RES/68/177 agricultural policies are important tools for promoting land and agrarian reform, rural credit and insurance, technical assistance and other associated measures to achieve food security and rural development; and that support by States for small farmers, fishing communities and local enterprises, including through the facilitation of access of their products to national and international markets and empowerment of small producers, particularly women, in value chains, is a key element for food security and the provision of the right to food; 16. Stresses the importance of fighting hunger in rural areas, including through national efforts supported by international partnerships to stop desertification and land degradation and through investments and public policies that are specifically appropriate to the risk of drylands, and in this regard calls for the full implementation of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa; 9 17. Urges States that have not yet done so to favourably consider becoming parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity 10 and to consider becoming parties to the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture 11 as a matter of priority; 18. Recalls the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, 12 acknowledges that many indigenous organizations and representatives of indigenous peoples have expressed in different forums their deep concerns over the obstacles and challenges they face in achieving the full enjoyment of the right to food, and calls upon States to take special actions to combat the root causes of the disproportionately high level of hunger and malnutrition among indigenous peoples and the continuous discrimination against them; 19. Notes the need to further examine various concepts such as, inter alia, “food sovereignty” and their relation with food security and the right to food, bearing in mind the need to avoid any negative impact on the enjoyment of the right to food for all people at all times; 20. Requests all States and private actors, as well as international organizations, within their respective mandates, to take fully into account the need to promote the effective realization of the right to food for all, including in the ongoing negotiations in different fields; 21. Recognizes the need to strengthen national commitment as well as international assistance, upon the request of and in cooperation with the affected countries, towards the full realization and protection of the right to food, and in particular to develop national protection mechanisms for people forced to leave their homes and land because of hunger or humanitarian emergencies affecting the enjoyment of the right to food; 22. Takes note with appreciation of the growing movement, in different regions of the world, towards the adoption of framework laws, national strategies and measures in support of the full realization of the right to food for all; _______________ 9 United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 1954, No. 33480. Ibid., vol. 1760, No. 30619. 11 Ibid., vol. 2400, No. 43345. 12 Resolution 61/295, annex. 10 5/8