New Delhi. Eminent child rights activist and advocate Bhuvan Ribhu was awarded the prestigious ‘Medal of Honor’ award by the World Jurist Association at World Law Congress. Ribhu is the first Indian advocate to receive this international honor.
This World Law Congress was attended by more than 15 hundred legal sector veterans and 300 speakers from 70 countries. This oldest Jurist Association in the world honored Bhuvan Ribhu for two decades of struggles and achievements towards the safety of children and their rights through legal interventions and ground mobilization. The Congress concluded between 4 to 6 May in the Dominican Republic.
Accepting the award, Bhuvan Ribhu said that children should never be left alone in the fight for justice. The law should be their shield and justice. He was awarded the ‘Medal of Honor’ by Dominican Republic’s Labor Minister Eddie Olivaran Teega and World Jurist Association President Javier Kremades. Dominican Republic’s Women Minister Myra Zimanez was also present on the occasion.
Bhuvan Ribhu has been a prominent architect of change in child protection system of India from legal handicrafts and advocates. He has led legal campaigns and ground actions against child marriage, children’s trafficking, child labor and child sexual abuse. As a result of their continuous efforts, systemic reforms towards the elimination of child marriage in India are leading the country to a decisive point for the end of this evil practice by 2030. He is also a leading character in the global movement to eliminate child marriage from the world by 2030.
Appreciating Ribhu’s struggles and achievements, WJA President Xavier Kremades said that Bhuvan Ribhu strongly believes that justice is the strongest pole of democracy and he has dedicated justice to children and women suffering from sexual violence in the country and all over the world. His efforts have created a legal framework with saving millions and women, which will also protect the coming generations. The award is respected by their efforts to create a safe and better world for children through legal interventions.
The impact of PILs and Legal Handakshops of Bhuvan Ribhu, the founder of Just Rights for Children, is that today there has been a complete change in the prevention of crime against children in the country and the methods of prosecution. Historical decisions have come on more than 60 public interest petitions filed in Ribhu’s Supreme Court and various High Courts. In 2011, on his PIL, the Supreme Court defined trafficing in accordance with the United Nations protocol. Similarly, a historic decision came on the issue of missing children in 2013.
Ribhu’s book “Wann Children has Children: Tipping Point to Ind Child Marriage” introduced a composite blueprint as a picket strategy to eliminate child marriage, which the Supreme Court recognized as a comprehensive guide in the guidelines issued in 2024.
The World Jurist Association, established in the year 1963, is the oldest institution of the world’s jurisdles who have honored historical personalities such as Winston Churchill, Nelson Mandela, Ruth Bed Ginsburg, King Felip Shashtam, Rene Cassin and Carry Kennedy for their contribution in the establishment of the rule of justice.