“The decline of media freedom and the rise in threats to the safety of journalists is a worldwide trend, most sharply evident in backsliding democracies and recalcitrant totalitarian States,” said Irene Khan, UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, in a report to the Human Rights Council.

“In every region of the world, young feminist activists have been leading grass-root campaigns and initiatives, including in social media, to challenge stigma, taboos, gender inequality and period poverty,” said Michelet Bachelet, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights during the 50th session Human Rights Council high-level panel on menstrual hygiene management, human rights, and gender equality.