Nobel Peace Prize winner Satyarthi dedicates award to oppressed children

Child rights activist Kailash Satyarthi, who won the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize, on Friday said that the award is a great honour for all children who are deprived of their childhood globally.

"I am very happy because this is the honouring of the plight of all those children who are oppressed. Crores of children are even today the victims of slavery and are bought and sold at prices lower than that of an animal," he told ANI.

"This prize will help in the struggle of all those children and will help give a voice to these kids," he added.

Satyarthi, who leads the Bachpan Bachao Andolan, also stated that the people across the world who fight for the rights of children have been recognized with this award.

"This is not just an honour for me. It is an honour for all those who were fighting child labour globally. There are many people who are sacrificing their time and their energy for the cause of the rights of a child. This prize is for everyone who is fighting child slavery," he said.

Satyarthi further said that it was a true honour for him to win the Nobel Peace Prize as an Indian.

"This is also a very big honour for India and I would like to congratulate every one of my compatriots," he said.

Earlier in the day, Satyarthi and Pakistani child education activist Malala Yousafzai were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize by the Norwegian Nobel Committee.

"Showing great personal courage, Kailash Satyarthi, maintaining Mahatma Gandhi's tradition, has headed various forms of protests and demonstrations, all peaceful, focusing on the grave exploitation of children for financial gain. He has also contributed to the development of important international conventions on children's rights," the committee said.

Pointing out that the figure for child labourers had come down by 78 million globally, the committee also said that the fight for the right of children led to fraternity between nations.

"The struggle against suppression and for the rights of children and adolescents contributes to the realization of the "fraternity between nations" that Alfred Nobel mentions in his will as one of the criteria for the Nobel Peace Prize," it stated.