Harvard humanitarian award for Satyarthi

IANSWashingtonIn another recognition of his contribution in the field of child rights and abolition of child slavery, 2014 Nobel Peace Prize recipient Kailash Satyarthi has become the first Indian to be honoured with Harvard University’s prestigious “2015 Humanitarian of the Year” award.The child rights activist received the award during a ceremony organised at the Harvard University campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on Friday.“I humbly accept the award on behalf of millions of left out children, for whose rights we strive to work for. Let us all pledge together to eradicate child slavery from the world,” Satyarthi said in his acceptance speech.“We believe that your notable contributions to Indian child rights deserve special recognition,” S Allen Counter Jr, director of the Harvard Foundation, wrote to Satyarthi in the recognition letter. The annual award is given to an individual whose work has served to improve the quality of life of people and inspired them to reach greater heights.Recently, Satyarthi succeeded in getting child protection and welfare-related clauses included in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).The crusader for child rights expressed the hope that he would “see the end of child labour” across the globe in his lifetime.“I am positive that I would see the end of child labour around the world in my lifetime as the poorest of the poor have realised that education is a tool that can empower them,” Satyarthi had said on the sidelines of a media interaction organised at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club last year.“Hence, they are educating their children while the number of child labourers is gradually decreasing around the world,” Satyarthi added.Quoting figures from the International Labour Organisation (ILO), he said the latest data has shown that the number of child labourers around the world is 168mn compared to 260mn in the mid-90s.