Lauding the accomplishments of Indian children rights activist Kailash Satyarthi and Pakistani girl Malala Yousafzai, a leading human rights group said the Nobel Peace Prize to the two will draw attention to the severe challenges in enforcing child rights.
"Far too many children around the world risk their lives to get an education," Bede Sheppard, deputy children's rights director at Human Rights Watch said.
"This prize is an award to two activists, but it is also a testament to the fortitude of children everywhere fighting for the right to study and learn without fear."
Sheppard applauded Satyarthi for building a global movement against child labor and rescuing thousands of children from exploitative labor and trafficking.
"Satyarthi has campaigned for decades on ending child labor, particularly bonded labor, in India. Honouring Satyarthi and Yousafzai draws attention to the severe challenges in enforcing the child rights and protections in the subcontinent," Sheppard said.
Conferring the award on Yousafzai honours students around the world who take great risks to learn in the face of adversity and conflict, the organisation said.
"As the youngest winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, Malala Yousafzai has become a symbol of the challenges students face amid internal conflict and war," Sheppard said adding that "the Nobel Committee's recognition of Malala Yousafzai and Kailash Satyarthi should increase our commitment to ensuring that all children can attend school safely, no matter where they live."
Human Rights Watch added that the recognition of Satyarthi would also draw attention to gaps in enforcing India's ambitious Right to Education, which provides free and compulsory education to all children up to age 14.
While enrollment has spiked, retention remains a serious challenge, with many dropping out partly because of discrimination they face in the classroom, it said adding that many children in India and elsewhere end up joining the work force, instead of getting a chance at childhood.
Describing Yousafzai as a tenacious advocate for the rights of all children, HRW said she inspires young children and girls in particular, to go to school and receive a quality education, free from discrimination and fear.
On October 9, 2012, Yousafzai was shot and severely wounded by a gunman as she was taking a bus from school in Swat, Pakistan.
The militant Islamist group Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan claimed responsibility.
In September 2014 the Pakistani army announced that six months earlier they had arrested 10 members of a militant group for their role in the attack.
The rights group said that students, schools and education are also endangered when national armed forces or armed groups use schools for military purposes during armed conflict - for barracks, bases, weapons caches, detention centers, or training for soldiers.
In numerous armed conflicts, Human Rights Watch has called for the investigation and prosecution of all unlawful attacks on students, teachers, and schools.
Students kept from their studies by conflict should regain access to education as quickly as possible, as well as psycho-social support if necessary, it said.
"All national armed forces and non-state armed groups should refrain from using schools for any purpose to support their military effort," Human Rights Watch said.
In line with United Nations Security Council Resolution of March 2014, governments should develop concrete measures to deter the military use of schools.
The group has called for measures to ensure that girls and boys have equal opportunities to pursue education both during and after armed conflicts.
"Governments should focus on minimizing interruptions to education and increasing efforts to address longstanding barriers children face in conflict zones.
Some of the barriers include discriminatory attitudes and practices that impede girls' education, child marriage, sexual harassment at school, and a lack of adequate sanitary facilities," it said.
