Nobel peace laureate Kailash Satyarthi urges U.N. to end child slavery

Nobel Peace Prize winner Kailash Satyarthi urged the United Nations to prioritise abolition of child slavery while addressing people at a candlelight vigil in the capital.

Satyarthi, 60, whose non-government organisation (NGO) Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA) has been credited with freeing over 80,000 child labourers in India over 30 years, said it was unbelievable that slavery was still so prevalent.

BBA along with other NGOs is organising several events from November 20 to 26 to end child slavery as part of end child slavery week.

A lot of children were seen holding candles as part of the vigil.

"We are asking the United Nations to bring explicit paragraph, or some sentences at least, which can prioritise the abolition of child slavery in the post-2015 agenda or the sustainable development agenda," said Satyarthi.

"We have seen in many countries that trafficking has increased," Satyarthi said. "The demand for cheap docile labour for domestic help, free docile and cheap labour for supply chains has been increasing in many sectors in the world.

"And that is why we wanted to demand as an international anti-slavery community, anti-child labour community that abolition of child slavery must be given the top priority," he added.

Satyarthi also said they had started a petition and are expecting at least five and a half million petitions to be sent to the U.N.

The End Child Slavery Week campaign is an initiative involving various groups including the Global March against Child Labour, Anti-Slavery International, International Trade Union Confederation, the Kids Rights Foundation, and the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Satyarthi said slavery was continuing despite enormous advancements in terms of technology, economics, business, governance, politics and religious and culture developments.