A/RES/79/178 Human rights and extreme poverty including those that address social, economic and environmental determinants of health, Deeply concerned that gender inequality, gender-based violence and discrimination exacerbate extreme poverty, disproportionally impacting women and girls, and that the disproportionate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the social and economic situation of women and girls is deepening already existing inequalities and risks slowing down the progress towards achieving gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls made in recent decades, while recognizing the important role and contribution of women and girls in eradicating poverty, and acknowledging the mutually reinforcing links between the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls and the eradication of poverty in all its forms and dimensions, including extreme poverty, Recognizing the importance of supporting countries in their efforts to eradicate poverty in all its forms and dimensions, including extreme poverty, and to promote the empowerment of the poor and of people in vulnerable situations, including women, children, young people, Indigenous Peoples, local communities, older persons, persons with disabilities, migrants, refugees, internally displaced persons, persons belonging to national, ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities and people of African descent, Concerned by the challenges faced today, including those derived from the ongoing impact of the financial and economic crisis, food insecurity, volatile food prices and other ongoing concerns over global food security, epidemics and large movements of refugees and migrants, as well as the increasing challenges posed by climate change and the loss of biodiversity, and by the resulting increase in the number of people living in extreme poverty, and their negative effect on the capacity of all States, especially developing countries, to fight extreme poverty, Bearing in mind that, in order to break the cycle of intergenerational poverty and vulnerability, promote the well-being of all persons of all ages, including persons with disabilities, boost development efforts, contribute to better outcomes for children and address the feminization of poverty, positive action needs to be taken, including in the form of policies, at the national and international levels, that address existing inequalities in the distribution of services, resources and infrastructure, as well as access to food, healthcare, education and decent work in cities and other human settlements, Recognizing that the eradication of extreme poverty is a major challenge within the process of globalization that requires the coordination and continuation of inclusive policies through decisive national action and international cooperation, and recognizing also in this context the role of the private sector, including the corporate sector, in the eradication of extreme poverty, Recalling the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, 19 endorsed by the Human Rights Council in its resolution 17/4 of 16 June 2011, 20 which established a framework to prevent and address the adverse human rights impact of business activities, based on the three pillars of the United Nations “Protect, Respect and Remedy” Framework, and recognizing in this regard the efforts made to imple ment the Guiding Principles by some States, business enterprises, international organizations and members of civil society, __________________ 19 20 4/8 A/HRC/17/31, annex. See Official Records of the General Assembly, Sixty-sixth Session, Supplement No. 53 (A/66/53), chap. III, sect. A. 24-24219