October 10, 2014
JUDY GEARHART, INTERNATIONAL LABOR RIGHTS FORUM
The International Labor Rights Forum congratulates Kailash Satyarthi and Malala Yousafzai for winning the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of their struggle against the oppression of young people and exploitation of children for their labor, and for the right of all children to education.
Seventeen-year-old Malala is an incredibly inspiring role model for young women everywhere with her fearless advocacy against the Taliban’s efforts to deny women an education.
Kailash Satyarthi, a long-time member of ILRF’s Board of Directors, is a global leader in the movement to end child labor and child slavery. He calls child labor a crime against humanity, a development disaster, and a black spot on the face of the entire human kind and laments that the pace in ending child labor is too slow. He emphasizes the importance of social dialogue and the need for all actors to work together to end child labor.
“The corporations are most responsible. We all know that children are the cheapest source of labor. Children are most vulnerable physically and mentally for exploitation. They cannot form their unions, they cannot go to the court of law. And that’s why they are exploited. The corporate sector must be honest in admitting the very fact that large numbers of children are enslaved, sold and bought like animals, and working in their supply chains,” Kailash said on the World Day Against Child Labor last year.
