“The story of India is one of growth, achievement and challenges. On one hand, when the nation is reaping the benefits of the demographic dividend of a young and emergent work force, it also faces the grave problem of child labour and other forms of crime against children. The good news is child labour has been decreasing, though at an abysmal rate of 2.2% per year from 2001 to 2011. The bad news is One in every 11 children below 14 years in India is working. This is as per International Labour Organization’s World Report on Child Labour 2015 and CRY analysis of the Census 2011.” Said Ms Bharat Ram.
“The primary objective of FLO is women empowerment. However, our responsibility towards the society doesn’t end there. With nearly half million children in the country, we need to ensure that the gaps are bridged and we contribute towards the survival, growth, development and sustenance of India’s greatest asset: its children”, she added.
“As a part of its activities, FLO brings together achievers from various arenas for interactive sessions on breaking through challenges and innovating change to achieve success. Nobel Peace Prize winner Kailash Satyarthi has been at the forefront of the global movement to end child slavery and exploitative child labour since 1980. Child labour is a human rights issue that has staggering effects on poverty, illiteracy and humanity. Mr Satyarthi and the grassroots movement founded by him, Bachpan Bachao Andolan (Save the Childhood Movement), have liberated more than 84,000 children from exploitation and developed a successful model for their education and rehabilitation.” Said Ms Bharat Ram.
As a worldwide campaigner, Mr Kailash Satyarthi has been the architect of the single largest civil society network for the most exploited children, the Global March Against Child Labour, which is a worldwide coalition of NGOs, Teachers’ Union and Trade Unions active in 140 countries. Mr. Satyarthi’s efforts led to the adoption of ILO Convention 182 on worst forms of child labour in 1999.
Mr. Satyarthi is a member of several high level groups on child labour and education. He is one of the rare civil society leaders to have addressed the United Nations General Assembly, International Labour Conference, UN Human Rights Commission, UNESCO and is one of the commissioners of the high-level International Commission on the Financing of Global Education Opportunities.
In 2014, he was jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for the “struggle against the suppression of children and young people and for the right of all children to education.”
Mr. Satyarthi’s efforts to end child slavery, trafficking, forced labour and violence received international support when in September 2015, he succeeded in getting child protection and welfare-related clauses included in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations.
