Amnesty International hails Malala Yousafzai, Kailash Satyarthi Nobel Peace Prize win

LONDON: Amnesty International today hailed the Nobel Peace Prize committee's decision of recognising the children's rights work by Indian activist Kailash Satyarthi and Pakistani teenager Malala Yousafzai who jointly shared the Nobel Peace Prize honours for 2014.

"The work of Kailash Satyarthi and Malala Yousafzai represents the struggle of millions of children around the world," said Salil Shetty, Secretary General of Amnesty International.

"This is an award for human rights defenders who are willing to dedicate themselves entirely to promoting education and the rights of the world's most vulnerable children," he said.

He said the Nobel Prize Committee has recognised the fundamental importance of child rights for the future of our world.

"The choice of winners shows that this is an issue that matters to us all, no matter what our age, gender, country or religion," he said.

Satyarthi's award is an acknowledgement of the tireless, decades-long campaigning by civil society activists on child trafficking and child labour in India and that Malala sets a powerful example that has inspired people all over the world, Amnesty said.

While 60-year-old Satyarthi runs an NGO in India that has been in the forefront of rescuing children from forced labour and trafficking, 17-year-old Malala shot to limelight after the Taliban militants pumped bullets into her for advocating education for girls.