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Lawyer/Author Suranya Aiyar Received 2018 Laureate Award By NCHR
LAWYER & CHILDREN’S AUTHOR SURANYA AIYAR AWARDED THE 2018 LAUREATE BY THE NORDIC COMMITTEE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
13 September 2018: Suranya Aiyar has been conferred with the Nordic Committee for Human Rights’ (NCHR’s) honorary diploma, for “outstanding bravery, compassion and humanitarian engagement, not only for Indian children and families in Norway but also for children and families in her home country and internationally.”
The award makes special mention of her work mobilizing opinion to convince the Government of India to intervene in the case of the Indian family, Bhattacharya, whose children were forcibly removed from their care by the Norwegian child protection services in Stavanger, Norway. The children were eventually reunited with their family in India. The award also mentions the reports and analysis regularly published in The Sunday Guardian by Suranya and commentators engaged by her from around the world on the protection of children against forced removals and foster placements without just cause.
The National Committee for Human Rights – NCHR – is an international, non-governmental organization, free from politics and religion. Founded at Christiansborg, in Copenhagen on November 30, 1996, it aims to increase the rights and freedoms of private individuals and their families; and strengthen respect for basic human rights and fundamental freedoms in the Nordic countries.
On receiving her award, Suranya Aiyar says “This endorsement from people abroad of my work criticizing their own systems means a lot to me. I hope this award will encourage others in India, especially those in the child rights field, to question the system of child protection which has created so much suffering in the West and which is being implemented today in India. We need a different approach that will be better at identifying children who are really abused and guard against unjust and biased abuse allegations.”
She is also the author of Mama Suranya Books, a children’s independent multilingual publication that uses illustrated stories and coloring books to connect children to Indian art and culture.
