Kailash Satyarthi, Nobel Peace Laureate and founder of the Satyarthi Movement for Global Compassion, is one of the world’s most influential human rights leaders. For over five decades, he has dedicated his life to championing the freedom, dignity, and dreams of the world’s most vulnerable, transforming moral conviction into large-scale, systemic change.
His leadership has shaped international norms, national legislation, and global movements committed to justice, equity, and human dignity. Through his grassroots movement, Bachpan Bachao Andolan, Mr. Satyarthi has liberated more than 138,000 children from slavery, trafficking, and exploitation, establishing global models for rehabilitation, education, and justice.
Mr. Satyarthi led the Global March Against Child Labour, mobilising over 7 million people across 103 countries in 1998. This unprecedented movement led to the adoption of ILO Convention 182, the fastest-ratified and only universally ratified convention in the history of the International Labour Organization. His sustained efforts were also instrumental in the inclusion of child labour elimination under UN Sustainable Development Goal Target 8.7.
Mr. Satyarthi is the founding president of the Global Campaign for Education and led the movement that helped secure the Right to Free and Compulsory Education Act in India (2009). He also founded GoodWeave International, pioneering child labour-free certification and promoting ethical supply chains.
In 2024, he launched the Satyarthi Movement for Global Compassion (SMGC) — a powerful call to embed compassion in leadership, public policy, and everyday life. SMGC unites youth leaders, global leaders and communities to build a more just, peaceful, and sustainable world.
