Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, General Recommendation #37, par. 66, par. 69 and par. 72 (a) (2018)

Text of the recommendation

66. (...) The susceptibility of women and/or girls to disease is heightened as a result of inequalities in access to food, nutrition and health care and the social expectations that women will act as primary caregivers for children, older people and the sick.

69. The impacts of climate change are already being experienced in many areas, in connection with decreased food security, land degradation and more limited availability of water and other natural resources. There is evidence that the effects of food, land and water insecurity are not gender-neutral and that women are more likely to suffer from undernourishment and malnutrition in times of food scarcity. (...)

72. States parties should: (a) Promote and protect women’s equal rights to food, housing, sanitation, land and natural resources, including adequate drinking water, water for domestic use and for food production, and take positive measures to guarantee the availability and accessibility of those rights, even during times of scarcity. (...)