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Affordability of water and sanitation services 2015, para. 22
- Paragraph text
- The costs of ensuring access to water and sanitation may be high. Yet, the price of not investing is even higher. The lack of access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene underlies severe human costs such as poor health and high mortality rates, as well as major economic losses - globally, an estimated $ 260 billion is lost yearly due to lack of access to sanitation alone. In developed nations, advances in life expectancy and child mortality accompanied economic growth only after governments began making substantial investments in water supply and, more importantly, sanitation.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child 1990, para. 2h
- Paragraph text
- State Parties to the present Charter shall undertake to pursue the full implementation of this right and in particular shall take measures: to ensure that all sectors of the society, in particular, parents, children, community leaders and community workers are informed and supported in the use of basic knowledge of child health and nutrition, the advantages of breastfeeding, hygiene and environmental sanitation and the prevention of domestic and other accidents;
- Body
- Organization of African Unity
- Document type
- Regional treaty
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 1990
Paragraph
Challenges and achievements in the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals for women and girls 2014, para. 22
- Paragraph text
- The Commission notes that with regard to Millennium Development Goal 4 (reducing child mortality), taking into account the important interconnections between women's and children's health and gender equality and empowerment of women, significant progress has been made in reducing child mortality globally, including through the efforts to eliminate new HIV infections and vertical transmissions in children, to combat malnutrition, malaria, diarrhoea, hunger and anaemia and by addressing other factors including the lack of access to vaccines, but the targets are likely to be missed. The Commission notes with deep concern that child deaths are increasingly concentrated in the poorest regions and in the first month of life, and expresses concern that children are at greater risk of dying before the age of 5 if they are born in rural and remote areas or to poor households. The Commission also notes with deep concern that some regions have higher female under-five mortality rates owing to discriminatory practices. The Commission recognizes that progress on reducing child mortality is linked with women's access to health-care services, safe drinking water, sanitation and housing, as well as mothers' basic education and nutrition.
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Infants
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Challenges and achievements in the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals for women and girls 2014, para. 42j
- Paragraph text
- [The Commission urges Governments, at all levels [...] to take the following actions:] [Realizing women's and girls' full enjoyment of all human rights]: Enact and implement legislation to protect, support and empower child-headed households, in particular those headed by girls, and include provisions to ensure their economic well-being and access to health-care services, nutrition, safe drinking water and sanitation, shelter, education and inheritance, and ensure that these families are protected, supported and assisted to stay together;
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Girls
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Child slavery in the artisanal mining and quarrying sector 2011, para. 40
- Paragraph text
- Generally, regions where mining and quarrying communities live suffer from a lack of basic public services (potable water, sanitary facilities and electricity), including social services. The lack of these basic services means that families have to assume the costs for these services. This places a further financial burden on families, which can result in child slavery in this sector (see A/HRC/18/30/Add.2).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Child slavery in the artisanal mining and quarrying sector 2011, para. 82
- Paragraph text
- Lastly, unregulated artisanal mines and quarries pose serious medium- and long-term risks to food security and the environment. They are the cause of rapid deforestation, destruction of landscape, soil erosion and loss of biodiversity. Water, soil and air contamination occur as a result of: cyanide and mercury poisoning; direct dumping of tailings and effluents into rivers; river siltation; and river damage in alluvial areas. Children drinking, cooking and washing in contaminated water face immediate and long-term risks to their health.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Child slavery in the artisanal mining and quarrying sector 2011, para. 112
- Paragraph text
- Governments should provide frontier communities with basic services such as potable water and sanitary facilities. Governments should also provide health clinics and ensure that communities can access good-quality health services free of charge or at an affordable price. This would improve family living and health conditions and thereby diminish their expenses and their need to bring children to work with them.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Children deprived of their liberty from the perspective of the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment 2015, para. 58
- Paragraph text
- Unsanitary and unsafe conditions may also lead to a violation of the prohibition of ill-treatment. The Special Rapporteur observes that overcrowding is present in many institutions, leading to severe constraints on institutional resources, shortages of adequate food, clean drinking water, bedding and medical care. Overcrowding also increases the risk of disease transmission and infection. Furthermore, adults and children are often not segregated in institutional facilities, leading to issues of exploitation.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Children deprived of their liberty from the perspective of the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment 2015, para. 61
- Paragraph text
- In addition, many child migrants suffer appalling and inhuman conditions while detained including overcrowding, inappropriate food, insufficient access to drinking water, unsanitary conditions, lack of adequate medical attention, and irregular access to washing and sanitary facilities and to hygiene products, lack of appropriate accommodation and other basic necessities. In some cases, detention centres refuse to keep migrant children with their families also being detained, and have denied migrant children's right to communicate with their families. Such practices effectively isolate child detainees from social support groups.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Movement
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Common violations of the human rights to water and sanitation 2014, para. 52
- Paragraph text
- The Indian Supreme Court ordered schools to provide adequate toilet facilities in schools. Relying on empirical research showing that "parents do not send their children (particularly girls) to schools" wherever sanitation facilities are not provided, the Court found that a lack of toilets violated the right to education. Failure to provide water and sanitation to those deprived of liberty has been addressed by courts and international bodies primarily as constituting cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. The High Court of Fiji held that prisoners' right to freedom from inhuman and degrading treatment was violated by lack of access to adequate sanitation facilities. The Human Rights Committee has found human rights violations, as have regional human rights bodies, in a number of cases in which prisoners have been denied access to sanitation.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Girls
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Common violations of the human rights to water and sanitation 2014, para. 59
- Paragraph text
- Failure to provide reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities has far-reaching effects and may amount to violations of the rights to water or sanitation. The Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities raised concerns about water and sanitation service provision not taking into account the needs of persons with disabilities. The Special Rapporteur is also concerned about the lack of reasonable accommodation in sanitation facilities for children with disabilities in schools, in extreme instances forcing parents to stay at school with their children to allow them to meet their sanitation needs. Moreover, inadequate facilities for menstrual hygiene management have been shown to prevent girls from attending school, as well as creating serious health consequences. People with health conditions also often require particular protection. The Colombian Constitutional Court found that the disconnection of water services to a woman with chronic kidney failure violated the right to life, and ordered the reinstatement of the service.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Comprehensive prevention strategies against sale and sexual exploitation of children 2013, para. 57
- Paragraph text
- Poverty is not merely a monetary, absolute concept. Relative poverty emphasizes the fact that poverty is defined within a given context. It highlights the disparities that may exist within the same country or area, in particular between urban and rural areas, but also in the same location. Poverty is further defined in terms of the deprivation of basic needs, such as shelter, water, education, sanitation, information, and health. Poverty therefore stems from a lack of access to social services. It is closely correlated with social exclusion and the inability of the State and community to fulfil children's rights.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution, child pornography and other child sexual abuse material
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Poverty
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Development cooperation and the human rights to water and sanitation 2017, para. 44
- Paragraph text
- The current UNICEF Strategic Plan (2014-2017) outlines a water, sanitation and hygiene indicator framework including targets for access in households and schools. It designates several outcomes and outputs that express an ample integration of issues of particular relevance to human rights. Some of those targets include enhanced support for children and families leading to sustained use of safe drinking water, adequate sanitation and good hygiene practices; increased national capacity to provide access to those services; strengthened political commitment, accountability and national capacity to legislate, plan and budget for the scaling up of interventions; and increased capacity of Governments of partner States to identify and respond to key issues for the human rights to water and sanitation. Most of the outcomes and outputs in the strategy rely on country-wide measurements, that is, “countries with an established target to provide access to drinking water to underserved populations”.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Development cooperation in the water and sanitation sector 2016, para. 43
- Paragraph text
- In other States, policies specifically concerning the water and sanitation sector contain formulations that reflect the human rights framework in rather distinct ways. For example, the water supply and sanitation assistance strategy of the Japan International Cooperation Agency reflects recognition of the declaration by the General Assembly in 2010 that access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation are basic human rights. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands indicated that the Netherlands recognized the right to safe drinking water and sanitation as basic human rights and that such recognition granted it the ability to point out, during policy discussions with partner countries, the responsibilities of the Government and the rights of the population, in particular vulnerable groups. The Swiss Agency for Development Cooperation indicated that its new water strategy also set a rights-based approach to water. An official document from Belgium on development cooperation mentioned that human rights principles, including the rights to water, health and decent work and the rights of women, children and indigenous peoples, were all important components of its normative framework. In a reference document on realizing the human rights to water and sanitation, the Government of Sweden recalled its declaration of full support for the human rights to water and sanitation and that richer States had an obligation to assist other States in fulfilling the right to water and sanitation. Spain also has strongly integrated human rights language into its development cooperation policies, aiming to adopt a rights-based approach in its cooperation policy and supporting the implementation of the human rights to water and sanitation.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Different levels and types of services and the human rights to water and sanitation 2015, para. 8
- Paragraph text
- Sanitation facilities must be physically accessible for everyone within or in the immediate vicinity of each household, health or educational institution, public institutions and places, and the workplace (see A/HRC/12/24, para. 75). Sanitation facilities should be designed in a way that enables all users to physically access and use them, including, especially those with special access needs, such as children, persons with disabilities, elderly persons, pregnant women, parents accompanying children, chronically ill people and those accompanying them. Considering the needs of these individuals has implications for the entrance size, the interior space, handrails or other support mechanisms and the position of defecation, as well as other aspects.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Older persons
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Different levels and types of services and the human rights to water and sanitation 2015, para. 10
- Paragraph text
- Where the sanitation facility is not located on the premises, the path leading to it should be secure and convenient for all users. The risk of attack or assault from animals or people, particularly for women and children, must be minimized. Public or shared latrines in residential areas must be safely accessible in the night, as well as in the day. Any form of sanitation for domestic use that is situated outside the premises should only be a short-term measure. Focussed efforts must be made to replace these with adequate sanitation within the premises.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Different levels and types of services and the human rights to water and sanitation 2015, para. 20
- Paragraph text
- Certain human rights obligations related to hygiene can be inferred from the rights to water and sanitation, as well as the right to health, the right to food, the right to privacy, human dignity and other human rights. This report focuses on the human rights obligations related to hand-washing at appropriate times, menstrual hygiene, management of child faeces and domestic food hygiene. A working group created under WHO and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation explained that "… various components are considered essential to menstrual hygiene management. The first is that women and adolescent girls use clean materials to absorb or collect menstrual blood, and are able to change them in privacy as often as necessary for the duration of their menstrual period. It also involves using soap and water for washing the body as required, and having access to safe and convenient facilities to dispose of used menstrual management materials. Further, women and girls need access to basic information about the menstrual cycle and how to manage it with dignity and without discomfort or fear."
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Different levels and types of services and the human rights to water and sanitation 2015, para. 21
- Paragraph text
- Facilities to meet hygiene requirements must be available wherever there are toilets or latrines, where water is stored and where food is prepared and served. These are required particularly for hand-washing, menstrual hygiene, the management of children's faeces and the preparation and consumption of food and drink.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Different levels and types of services and the human rights to water and sanitation 2015, para. 22
- Paragraph text
- Hygiene facilities must be physically accessible for everyone within or in the immediate vicinity of each household, health or educational institution, public institutions and places, and the workplace. Ideally, they should be located adjacent to toilets. Women, persons with disabilities, children and others may have particular hygiene requirements. Access to hygiene facilities should be secure and convenient for all users, including children, elderly persons, persons with disabilities, women, including pregnant women, and chronically ill people. Moreover, hygiene facilities need to be accessible on a reliable and continuous basis, at home, work and school, and in public places, as to satisfy all needs throughout the day.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Older persons
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Different levels and types of services and the human rights to water and sanitation 2015, para. 53
- Paragraph text
- Sanitation shared between a few households, where all residents know each other and maintenance and cleaning is shared, is a common form of access in many countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. This form of access can contribute to the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation, where the construction and maintenance of the toilet or latrine is adequate, and where everyone within the households has access to the toilet or latrine, regardless of their age, physical ability or status within the household. There may be particular concerns for persons with disabilities, children, older persons, people with a chronic illness (which may be stigmatized, such as HIV), renters or those who do not belong to the main household. In some cultures, menstruating women are not allowed to use a latrine shared by other people, and this problem may be compounded when the latrine is shared by several households (see A/67/270, para. 73).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Older persons
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Different levels and types of services and the human rights to water and sanitation 2015, para. 72
- Paragraph text
- Hygiene practices include hand-washing, personal hygiene, domestic hygiene, hygienic use and management of toilets or latrines, the hygienic disposal of child faeces, menstrual hygiene and food hygiene.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in economic and social life with a focus on economic crisis 2014, para. 36
- Paragraph text
- Most countries only track enrolment and not completion rates, yet enrolment is an inherently flawed measure of girls' access to education. Attendance is a better measure, as girls' attendance may be cut short due to domestic responsibilities such as cooking, fetching water and firewood, and childcare; lack of adequate sanitation in schools to meet the needs of menstruating girls; early marriage or pregnancy; and gender-based violence and harassment, including in schools. In situations of economic contraction, as households cope with declining household income, girls are more vulnerable to being pulled out of school, with girls experiencing a 29 per cent decrease in primary school completion rates versus 22 per cent for boys.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in economic and social life with a focus on economic crisis 2014, para. 79
- Paragraph text
- Furthermore, failure to provide access to housing, food and water has disproportionately burdened women as vulnerable members of communities, as childbearers and as primary carers. These issues have been gender-mainstreamed in reports by, for example, the Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living, and on the right to non-discrimination in this context; the Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights; the Special Rapporteur on the right to food; the Special Rapporteur on the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation; and Independent Expert on the effects of foreign debt and other related international financial obligations of States on the full enjoyment of all human rights, particularly economic, social and cultural rights.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Poverty
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Elimination of all forms of discrimination and violence against the girl child 2007, para. 14.1.c
- Paragraph text
- [The Commission [...] urges Governments [...] to:] [14.1. Poverty] (c) Improve the situation of girl children living in poverty, deprived of nutrition, water and sanitation facilities, with no access to basic health-care services, shelter, education, participation and protection, taking into account that while a severe lack of goods and services hurts every human being, it is most threatening and harmful to the girl child, leaving her unable to enjoy her rights, to reach her full potential and to participate as a full member of society;
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Poverty
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2007
Paragraph
Fertility, reproductive health and development 2011, para. 24
- Paragraph text
- Welcoming the Secretary-General's Global Strategy for Women's and Children's Health, undertaken by a broad coalition of partners, in support of national plans and strategies, in order to significantly reduce the number of maternal, newborn and under-five child deaths as a matter of immediate concern by scaling up a priority package of high-impact interventions and integrating efforts in sectors such as health, education, gender equality, water and sanitation, poverty reduction and nutrition, and welcoming also the various national, regional and international initiatives on all the Millennium Development Goals, including those undertaken bilaterally and through South-South cooperation, in support of national plans and strategies in sectors such as health, education, gender equality, energy, water and sanitation, poverty reduction and nutrition as a way to reduce the number of maternal, newborn and under-five child deaths,
- Body
- Commission on Population and Development
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Infants
- Women
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Financing for the Realization of the Rights to Water and Sanitation 2011, para. 12
- Paragraph text
- Contrasting with these substantial costs, the reality is that neither governments nor donors are committing sufficient resources to water and sanitation services. In 2008, the total international aid commitment to water and sanitation was just US$ 7.4 billion, or 5 per cent of all reported international aid. Compared to spending on health and education, the proportion of international aid devoted to water and sanitation has dwindled over the past decade, even though investments in water and sanitation have a crucial impact in achieving other Millennium Development Goals, such as reduction of maternal mortality, achievement of universal primary education, empowerment of women and reduction of child mortality. Water and sanitation must figure more prominently in the priorities of Governments, both domestically and internationally, if all of the Goals are to be achieved and the rights to water and sanitation fully realized.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Women
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Financing for the Realization of the Rights to Water and Sanitation 2011, para. 37
- Paragraph text
- In discussing the costs of investing in water and sanitation it is easy to lose sight of the benefits. Indeed, the economic costs of not spending more on water and sanitation are potentially much higher. In developed nations, advances in life expectancy and child mortality accompanied economic growth only after governments began making substantial investments in water supply and, more importantly, in sanitation.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Financing for the Realization of the Rights to Water and Sanitation 2011, para. 39
- Paragraph text
- Universal access to water and sanitation combined could produce benefits of US$ 170 billion in countries non-members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. These benefits are particularly felt in improved health: for instance, through averted cases of diarrhoea and savings in the treatment of illnesses caused by lack of access to water and sanitation. Indeed, the total global disease burden in terms of disability-adjusted life years could be reduced by at least 10 per cent through investment in improvements to water and sanitation services. The benefits of a household connection also have considerable positive impacts on reducing child mortality; one study carried out in Argentina found that increased household connections reduced child mortality in the poorest municipalities by 24 per cent. The economic benefits of improved access to water and sanitation include increased productivity of adults and school attendance of children, both of which may be affected by chronic illness that stems from poor hygiene.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Gender equality in the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation 2016, para. 37
- Paragraph text
- Affordability is of special concern to women and girls, who often have less access to financial resources than men. Women and girls need toilets for urination, defecation and menstrual hygiene management as well as for assisting younger children. Combined with women's lower access to financial resources, pay-per-use toilets with the same user fee for men and women are in practice often more expensive for women. Besides, public urinals are often free for men but not for women. To tackle this, the municipal government of Mumbai is currently constructing several toilet blocks the maintenance of which is financed through family passes instead of by charging a fee for each use. Some public toilets can be used free of charge by women and other groups that often lack access to economic resources, such as children and older people.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Men
- Older persons
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Gender equality in the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation 2016, para. 47
- Paragraph text
- Human rights law requires that a sufficient number of sanitation facilities be available with associated services to ensure that waiting times are not unreasonably long. Many public facilities have an identical number of stalls for men and women, although in practice women and girls often have to wait in long lines to use the toilet, while men have much quicker access. The clothes women tend to wear and have to take off using the toilet require more time than for men, and women spend time assisting children using the toilet. Some States have adopted legislation in which equality requires a ratio of two women's cubicles for every cubicle provided for men.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph