Global March Against Child Labor - Origins of This March

Origins of This March

The march had 140 different countries that participated the act with thousands of partners. It consisted of events, rallies, foot marches and bus caravans. The first country that began the march was in Manila, Philippines on January 17, 1998. The marches took place in Asia, Africa, Latin America and the United States. Out of all of those people who participated in the march, only the select few known as the core marchers moved on to Geneva, Switzerland where the ILO were meeting for a possible revision of a new international convention on the most intolerable forms of child labor (Convention no. 182).

The United States led their own nationwide march. It began in Los Angeles, California on May 2, 1998. The marchers went through all the major cities such as: Dallas, Little Rock, St Louis, Detroit and New York. The last city they visited was Washington, D.C. on May 26, 1998. From there, the core marchers went to Geneva, Switzerland. "The U.S. march has two main goals: to focus attention on domestic child labor problems, particularly those related to sweatshops and migrant agricultural work, and to encourage consumers to demand, retailers to sell and manufacturers to produce child-labor-free goods".

Within their nationwide march many organizations got actively involved. These U.S. organizations co-sponsored the Global March against Child Labor.

  • AFL-CIO
  • American Federation of Teachers
  • Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs
  • Childreach/US Member of PLAN
  • International Child Labor Coalition
  • Church of the Brethren General Board/Office of Brethren Witness
  • Community Action on Latin America
  • Dr. Homa Darabi Foundation
  • Free the Children/U.S.A.
  • General Federation of Women's Clubs
  • Global Kids Inc.
  • International Labor Organization Washington/Branch Office
  • International Labor Rights Fund
  • The Kids Campaign To "Build A School for Iqbal"/Broad Meadows Middle School
  • Kids Meeting Kids Can Make a Difference
  • National Consumers League
  • Political and Social Action Committee/Washington Ethical Society
  • Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights
  • United Methodist Church General Board of Church and Society
  • United Methodist Church: Women's Division General Board of Global Ministries
  • Washington Ethical Action Office/American Ethical Union
  • Women's Environment & Development Organization
  • Youth Advocate Program International

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