LONDON: The world should recognize abject poverty as a human rights violation, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation’s Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission said on Sunday. In a statement released to mark the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty 2021, the IPHRC said the world has a “shared responsibility to mobilize all possible efforts to end poverty.”  It said the fact that 689 million people still live in extreme poverty with less than $1.90 a day to live on is a “moral outrage.” The commission added that the effects of the Coronavirus disease pandemic reversed many years of progress in the fight against poverty, and that between 88 and 115 million people are being pushed into poverty. The majority of the new extreme poor live in south Asian and sub-saharan countries where poverty rates were already high, the commission added. The IPHRC emphasized the importance of addressing the issue of extreme poverty as a top priority for the international community. Despite the global focus on fostering development and eradicating poverty, the pandemic has clearly proven that the world needs structural changes to efficiently eradicate poverty beyond the ambitious political narratives that fail to inspire real action, it said.  The human rights commission called upon the international community to translate the global focus on human rights protection and sustainable development goals into concrete, measurable actions on the ground to effectively address the core issue of poverty.  The principle of “leaving no one behind” must guide efforts to eradicate poverty at the national and global levels, the commission added. It urged all governments to strengthen their legal framework of human rights that places human dignity at the heart of policy and action against existing structural disadvantages and inequalities.  People living in poverty must be meaningfully engaged in decision-making processes that directly affect their lives, it added. The commission urged OIC member states to redouble their efforts to devise human rights-based and people-centered socio-development policies. It highlighted that eradicating poverty is a moral and spiritual imperative of Islam and a strategically beneficial goal for the political, economic, and social progress of all member states. IPHRC also emphasized the international community’s collective responsibility to create a conducive socio-economic environment for the enjoyment of human rights by everybody around the world.