A/HRC/RES/56/11 Recalling General Assembly resolution 78/181 of 19 December 2023 on the improvement of the situation of women and girls in rural areas, in which the Assembly recognized that the lack of safe and adequate sanitation facilities, including for menstrual hygiene, prevented girls’ equal enjoyment of their right to education, Recalling also the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, in which it is reaffirmed that all human rights, including the right to development, are universal, indivisible, interdependent and interrelated, the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development and the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, Recalling further all previous resolutions of the General Assembly and the Human Rights Council relevant to the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation and to menstrual hygiene, including Assembly resolutions 70/169 of 17 December 2015, 72/178 of 19 December 2017 and 74/126 of 18 December 2019 and Council resolutions 33/10 of 29 September 2016, 39/8 of 27 September 2018, 45/8 of 6 October 2020 and 51/19 of 6 October 2022, as well as resolution 47/4 of 12 July 2021, in which the Council underscored the interlinkages between menstrual hygiene and human rights and gender equality, Welcoming initiatives, including joint efforts between States, civil society and the United Nations system, to address menstrual hygiene management, including for women in rural and remote areas, Recalling that the human rights to safe drinking water and to sanitation are derived from the right to an adequate standard of living and are inextricably related, inter alia, to the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health and the right to life and human dignity, Noting that the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health includes access to health care and medicines to identify and treat menstruation-related health issues or pain, as well as access to health-related information within the framework of menstrual hygiene management, Expressing concern at the adverse effect of health issues relating to menstrual hygiene and the lack of access to appropriate information and treatment in this regard, particularly in rural and remote areas, Deeply concerned that the lack of access to adequate water and sanitation services, including in rural and remote areas, especially for menstrual hygiene management, in public and private spaces, particularly in households, schools, workplaces, health centres and public facilities and buildings, negatively affects gender equality and women’s and girls’ enjoyment of human rights, including the rights to education, to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, to safe and healthy working conditions and to participate in public affairs, Recognizing that the attendance at school, university and work and the professional development of women and girls, including those in rural and remote areas, are affected by negative perceptions of menstruation and discrimination and the lack of means to maintain safe personal hygiene, such as water, sanitation and hygiene facilities in schools and work environments that meet the needs of female students, teachers and workers, and that this has a severe impact on their dignity and well-being, as well as on their right to education and to employment, Recognizing also that the full, equal, meaningful and effective participation of women in rural and remote areas of all ages in all fields and at all levels of decision-making in the public and private sectors is essential for the full realization of their human rights and the full and complete economic, political, social and cultural development of a country and for achieving lasting solutions to global challenges and the realization of peace, Noting with regret that a large number of women and girls in rural and remote areas, particularly women and girls with disabilities, who face compounding forms of discrimination, and those in vulnerable situations continue to face discrimination based on harmful social norms and stereotypes, as well as inaccessible water, sanitation and hygiene 2