A Chinese envoy on Tuesday called for effective reduction and eradication of poverty so as to better facilitate the promotion and protection of human rights, when delivering a statement on behalf of a cross-regional group of states at the ongoing 45th session of the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council. 

Chen Xu, China's permanent representative to UN's Geneva Office, also called for efforts to make poverty reduction a major element of economic development and carry out targeted development-oriented poverty reduction policies. 

"We call on the states to put people at the center, by protecting and promoting public well-being, and putting in place and upgrading social protection networks that provide effective protection of the rights of people in vulnerable situations, such as women, children, the elderly and persons with disabilities, with a particular focus on alleviating the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the poor, in order to leave no one behind," he said. 

Recalling that ending poverty is the first goal of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Chinese envoy said that it is also an important way to promote and protect human rights. 

"We express our grave concern that nearly 800 million people are still living in extreme poverty across the world and, in particular, an estimated 71 million people may be pushed back into extreme poverty in 2020 due to COVID-19," he said. 

Chen said this exacerbates social inequality and will have a negative impact on the enjoyment of human rights by all. 

Poverty eradication, economic, social, cultural and environmental development, as well as human rights promotion and protection should all be addressed in a holistic and coordinated manner, he added. 

The envoy called for greater efforts in upgrading the infrastructure in poverty-stricken areas and delivering public services in health, sanitation, education, culture and job creation, in order to help the poor enhance their capacity for self-development. 

He also called for intensified international cooperation on poverty reduction and urged the developed countries to provide aid and technical support to the developing and least developed countries in the field of poverty reduction.