Menstrual Hygiene Management, Human Rights and Gender Equality

A/HRC/RES/47/4View PDF

Who created this mandate?

A Resolution of the Human Rights Council, under agenda item 3Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development, published in 2021.

What other versions does this mandate have?

2 versions · 2021–2024

This is an older version — the most recent is A/HRC/RES/56/11

2024A/HRC/RES/56/11Menstrual hygiene management, human rights and gender equalityLatestCompare with previous version
2021A/HRC/RES/47/4Menstrual hygiene management, human rights and gender equality

Versions are identified automatically by matching titles within the same organ (~97% accuracy on a manual audit).

What subjects does this mandate have?

6 topics

Gender Equality Health Education Menstruation Right to Drinking Water Sanitation Women's Rights

What does this mandate say?

12 operative paragraphs

Calls upon States to ensure that women and girls have access to adequate facilities, information and products for optimal and effective menstrual hygiene management, including by taking measures:

To ensure that women and girls, including in particular those in vulnerable situations, have equitable access to affordable, safe and clean water, adequate sanitation, hygiene and washing facilities with soap, including a choice of menstrual hygiene products, such as sanitary pads that are safe, culturally sensitive and environmentally friendly;

To eliminate or reduce sales taxes on menstrual hygiene management products, including sanitary pads, and to provide support to women and girls in situations of economic vulnerability;

To develop safe and efficient infrastructures and means of transport for the delivery of sanitary pads and other menstrual hygiene products in rural or isolated areas, including humanitarian settings, and to reduce the digital divide among and within countries in order to increase access to information about menstrual hygiene in these areas;

To ensure that women and girls, including those with disabilities, have access to separate and adequate basic sanitation facilities in public and private spaces, including affordable and accessible disposal options for used menstrual hygiene management products;

To ensure that women and girls with disabilities and those in vulnerable situations have free access to medical care and medicines to prevent, identify and treat health issues relating to menstrual hygiene;

To conduct publicity and awareness-raising campaigns to tackle the stigma, shame, stereotypes and negative social norms surrounding menstruation and menstrual hygiene, such as the requirement that women and girls isolate themselves during menstruation or wear dark school uniforms, in order to foster a culture in which menstruation is recognized as healthy and natural, and to ensure that men and boys are also included in all educational initiatives;

To integrate menstrual hygiene management into relevant national policies, including water, sanitation and hygiene programmes and emergency preparedness and response programming, and to promote women’s and girls’ access to adequate and accessible information and education on menstrual hygiene management, including within family units and out-of-school settings;

To include information on progress made and challenges affecting menstrual hygiene management in relevant periodic reports to the human rights treaty bodies and to the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review, as well as in the context of existing regional and other human rights review processes, as appropriate;

Urges States to ensure access to infrastructure and public services, including access to safe and affordable water and sanitation, as well as menstrual hygiene management for all women and girls, and safe and affordable transportation, inter alia during humanitarian emergencies, including in rural areas and informal settlements, settlements for internally displaced persons, refugee camps, and migrant shelters;

Decides to convene a panel discussion on menstrual hygiene management, human rights and gender equality at its fiftieth session, inviting States, civil society organizations, United Nations agencies, women and girls and other relevant stakeholders to address the implementation of States’ obligations under relevant provisions of international human rights law, and to discuss challenges and best practices in this regard, and requests the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to prepare a summary report on the panel discussion and to submit it to the Human Rights Council at its fifty-third session;

Also decides to remain seized of the matter.

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Who created this mandate?

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What does this mandate say?

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