The human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation A/RES/80/216 accessible and appropriate to their needs, which has an impact on their ability to live independently and participate fully in all aspects of life, including education and employment, which is particularly concerning in situations of homelessness and humanitarian emergencies and crises, Deeply concerned also that widespread silence, stigma, misconceptions and taboos surrounding menstruation and menstrual health and hygiene mean that women and girls often lack basic information and education thereon, whether in school or out of school, and are excluded and stigmatized, that the enjoyment of their human rights, including the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, can be negatively affected and that they are thus prevented from realizing their full potential, Deeply concerned further that the lack of access to adequate water and sanitation services, including for menstrual health and hygiene management, especially in schools and other educational settings, workplaces, health centres and public facilities and at home, negatively affects gender equality, the empowerment of women and girls and their enjoyment of human rights, including the right to education and the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, and recognizing the specific hygiene needs of women and girls during menstruation, and that women have specific hygiene needs during pregnancy, childbearing and rearing and throughout the life course, Deeply concerned that women and girls are particularly at risk of and exposed to attacks, sexual and gender-based violence, harassment and other threats to their safety while collecting household water and when accessing sanitation facilities outside their homes or, when lacking adequate sanitation facilities, practising open defecation and urination, limiting their ability to move freely and safely in the public sphere, Deeply concerned also that non‑existent or inadequate sanitation facilities and serious deficiencies in water management and wastewater treatment can negatively affect water provision and sustainable access to safe drinking water and that, according to the United Nations World Water Development Report 2021, an estimated 80 per cent of the world’s wastewater is released into the environment without treatment, Affirming the importance of regional and international cooperation, where appropriate, as a means to promote the progressive realization of the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation, with the understanding that it has no bearing on the issues of international water law, including international watercourse law, Expressing concern that climate change increases the frequency and intensity of sudden-onset natural disasters, extreme weather events and slow-onset events, and that these events have adverse effects on the full enjoyment of all human rights, including the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation, and recalling the need to accelerate action on mitigation, enhance adaptive capacity, strengthen resilience and reduce vulnerability to climate change, including through adopting a sustainable and integrated approach to resilient water and sanitation systems and water management implemented within a guiding framework aimed at the full realization of human rights, Noting that adequate responses to the adverse impacts of climate change and the progressive realization of the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation are linked to the health and sustainability of ecosystems, including aquatic ecosystems, which are also endangered by overexploitation and increasing levels of pollution, 25-20968 5/9