China's permanent representative to the United Nations Ma Zhaoxu (C) speaks during a side event of the 12th Session of the Conference of States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities at the UN headquarters in New York, June 11, 2019. The Chinese envoy on Tuesday highlighted the importance of poverty eradication for persons with disabilities. (Xinhua/Li Muzi)
UNITED NATIONS, June 11 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy on Tuesday highlighted the importance of poverty eradication for persons with disabilities.
Speaking at a side-event of the 12th Session of the Conference of States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Ma Zhaoxu, China's permanent representative to the United Nations, said that eradicating poverty among persons with disabilities and leaving no one behind is essential to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
As equal members of the community of mankind, persons with disabilities face special difficulties in poverty eradication, said Ma.
To live free from poverty is a fundamental right of people pursuing a better life, he said, adding that to end poverty in all its forms everywhere is the primary goal of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres made a similar appeal.
While addressing the conference, the UN chief urged "all actors, particularly State Parties to the Convention and their international partners, to be more ambitious in implementing their commitments to ensure the realization of the rights of all persons with disabilities."
The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was adopted by the UN General Assembly in December 2006. The convention is one of the most widely-ratified international human rights treaties, with 177 ratifications, and protects the rights of some 1.5 billion people around the world.
