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The Norwegian Nobel Committee has awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 2014 to Kailash Satyarthi and Malala Yousafzay for their struggle against the suppression of children and young people and for the right of all children to education.
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‘In the poor countries of the world, 60% of the present population is under 25 years of age. It is a prerequisite for peaceful global development that the rights of children and young people be respected. In conflict-ridden areas in particular, the violation of children leads to the continuation of violence from generation to generation.’
Nobel Committee
Showing great personal courage and maintaining Gandhi’s tradition, Kailash Satyarthi has headed various forms of peaceful protest and demonstration, 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.
Despite her youth, Malala Yousafzay has already fought for several years for the right of girls to education, and has shown by example that children and young people, too, can contribute to improving their own situations. This she has done under the most dangerous circumstances; through her heroic struggle she has become a leading spokesperson for girls’ rights to education.
The Nobel Committee noted that ‘it’s an important point’ for a Hindu and a Muslim, an Indian and a Pakistani, to join in a common struggle for education and against extremism.
Many other individuals and institutions in the international community have also contributed; it has been calculated that there are 168 million child labourers around the world today – in 2000 the figure was 78 million higher. The world has come closer to the goal of eliminating child labour.
‘The struggle against suppression and for the rights of children and adolescents contributes to the realisation of the ‘fraternity between nations’ that Alfred Nobel mentions in his will as one of the criteria for the Nobel Peace Prize.’
Nobel Committee
The Malala Fund is the official organisation led by Malala Yousafzay.
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