A/HRC/RES/56/11 facilities, making it difficult for them to manage their menstrual hygiene safely and with dignity, Recognizing that progress on the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls, in particular in rural and remote areas, has been held back owing to the persistence of historical and structural barriers and unequal power relations between women and men, poverty and inequalities and disadvantages in access to resources and opportunities that limit women’s and girls’ capabilities, growing gaps in equality of opportunity, discriminatory laws, policies, attitudes, harmful customary and contemporary practices, gender stereotypes and negative social norms, and women’s and girls’ unequal distribution of unpaid care work and the precarious working conditions experienced by many women engaged in paid care work, and taking into consideration the impacts of armed conflicts on women and girls in rural and remote areas and the spiralling effects of the costof-living crisis, climate and environmental emergencies and the continuing effects of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, which have compounded underlying and persistent gender gaps and inequality, Expressing concern that many women living in rural and remote areas continue to be economically and socially disadvantaged because of their limited access to economic resources and opportunities and their limited or lack of access to quality education, in particularly dropping out of school, owing to menstruation-related burdens, and expressing concern also about their limited access to decision-making bodies, as well as to information on menstrual hygiene management, conveyed through extension services and new technologies, Noting with deep concern that, while women and girls in rural and remote areas contribute enormously to global food production, they are disproportionately affected by hunger, food insecurity and poverty, partly as a result of gender inequality and discrimination stemming from negative perceptions of menstruation, Deeply concerned that the lack of adequate and accessible sanitation and hygiene facilities, including in rural and remote areas, increases women’s and girls’ exposure to all forms of violence, including sexual violence and harassment, as well as to child, early and forced marriage, which prevent the full realization of their potential in all aspects of life and undermine the realization of their human rights, Aware that all harmful practices, including female genital mutilation, when perpetrated on girls, have consequences and pose particular problems with regard to the management of menstrual hygiene that are particularly detrimental to health and growth, and recalling in this regard the need to guarantee the right of girls to be free from all forms of violence, and to address the root causes of such violence, Deeply concerned that the silence, stigma, misconceptions and taboos around menstruation, particularly in rural and remote areas, the lack of adequate access to menstrual hygiene products or to health-care services and medicines to identify and treat health issues relating to menstrual hygiene and the absence of appropriate information and education on menstrual hygiene management undermine the dignity, rights and well-being of women and girls and constitute therefore an obstacle to the achievement of gender equality, Stressing that situations of economic, humanitarian and health crisis exacerbate existing challenges to menstrual hygiene management, especially for women and girls with disabilities, Noting that recyclable and biodegradable products are often not available or affordable in rural and remote areas and that means of safe disposal are not provided, forcing women and girls to dispose of sanitary products in the open air, in waterways or in toilets or latrines, resulting in inappropriate and dangerous disposal practices and leading to unhealthy living conditions, air and water pollution and other environmental damage, as well as to environmental degradation, thereby creating health risks, Noting also that none of the core international human rights instruments deals explicitly and directly with the issue of menstrual hygiene, and expressing regret that, despite the efforts made by relevant bodies and mechanisms within the United Nations human rights system, including in particular the treaty bodies and the special procedures of the Human 3