Vijayawada: Eminent child rights lawyer and Just Rights for Children founder Bhuwan Ribhu has become the first Indian lawyer to be conferred with the ‘Medal of Honour’ by the World Jurist Association (WJA) at the World Law Congress in Dominican Republic. Bhuwan Ribhu has strong connections with NTR district as Vijayawada-based Vasavya Mahila Mandali is a partner of the Just Rights for Children network.

Elated with this honour conferred to the founder of JRC, Dr B Keerthi, president of Vasavya Mahila Mandali said, “This is not just an individual honour for Bhuwan Ribhu.

It is a moment of immense pride for all of us working on the ground to protect every child. We are committed to making NTR district child marriage-free by 2030.”

Bhuwan Ribhu received the ‘Medal of Honour’ from Eddy Olivares Ortega, Minister of Labor of Dominican Republic, and Javier Cremades, President of the World Jurist Association.

Bhuwan Ribhu has led over 60 PILs resulting in landmark rulings in the Supreme Court and various High Courts. His 2011 case led to the Supreme Court defining trafficking in line and his 2013 campaign on missing children triggered a historic judgment changing the way India’s legal system perceived missing children cases.

His PICKET strategy to end child marriage, outlined in When Children Have Children, was endorsed by the Supreme Court in its 2024 guidelines. The strategy is also followed by the Vasavya Mahila Mandali, which is determined that the district would be free from child marriage by 2030.