Nobel Peace Laureate Kailash Satyarthi today said parliamentarians must rise above conventional thinking to fight against violence against children. Addressing the inaugural session of the first meeting of the ‘parliamentarians without borders’ here in the capital today, Satyarthi said millions of children across the world are still living in the fear of violence. Satyarthi, who shared Nobel Peace Prize with Pakistani teenage girl Malala Yousafzai, said he has been working with the UN agencies to fight against violence against children. “The parliamentarians must discuss the ways to bring child rights to the center,” he said. He also recalled an incident when he had rescued Nepali children from an Indian circus. Speaker Subas Chandra Nembang lauded Satyarthi’s initiatives and contribution to ensure child rights and thanked him for rescuing Nepali children from the Indian circus. He said parliamentarians can play an important role to protect child rights and that he was committed to the cause. Nembang said the government should protect children in coordination with police and other government agencies, besides raising awareness among people to overcome the challenge.

The meeting organized by Global March Against Child Labour will conclude tomorrow. Parliamentarians from different countries including Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Afghanistan, the Netherlands, Brazil, Turkey, Paraguay, and India are taking part in the meeting. ‘Parliamentarians Without Borders’ is an active group of members of Parliament from different countries, spanning across continents working together to create awareness about children's rights and ways to implement those rights into local and international law, fulfilling the parliamentarians’ primary obligation as legislators. The parliamentarians will work within the framework of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. UNICEF Regional Director Karin Hulshof and Senator of Brazil Cristovam Buarque also addressed the inaugural session today.