Q & A with Marcia Eugenio

What initially drew you to work on issues of child labor, forced labor and human trafficking? 

My mother was a child domestic servant in the Dominican Republic, who was pulled out of school during the 6th grade because her family couldn’t afford to keep her in school. Despite this, my mother was a firm believer in education as a way out of poverty and made many sacrifices for her children. I have always been very proud of my mom for her hard work and resilience, but I wonder what her future would have been if she had completed school and had better opportunities for decent work.  

In one of my first assignments in ILAB, I visited garment factories in the Dominican Republic. I spoke with women workers about the challenges they faced at the factories. At that moment, I felt that I had come full circle – I had personal experience with a lack of decent work and economic opportunities, and now I was able to research those issues and contribute to solutions. 

Can you share a bit about your experience at ILAB when Convention 182 on the worst forms of child labor was adopted?  

At the time Convention 182 was adopted, we had been working for years to raise the issue and help craft text for a new child labor convention that the U.S. could adopt and ratify. It was a time of pride and joy for all of us working on this issue. President Bill Clinton traveled to Geneva to cast the U.S. vote for adopting the convention, and the U.S. was the third country in the world to ratify the convention. 

What would you say have been some key successes of Convention 182?  

One major success has been wider recognition that child labor is not acceptable. This is a big change from the early 1990s when governments and industry representatives thought of child labor as culturally acceptable and an inevitable symptom of poverty that was too daunting to tackle. It has also increased the global knowledge base on child labor. Before then, there was very little data available to guide our work.  

Do you believe that we can eradicate the worst forms of child labor within the next 25 years? 

Reaching this goal is possible, but it requires renewed commitment, resources and worker-centered policies and approaches.   

Governments must prioritize compliance with and enforcement of the ILO Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, particularly the right to freedom of association and collective bargaining. This will help ensure that workers can advocate for better wages to sustain their families and keep them out of poverty. 

Another priority is mandatory due diligence requirements for companies. The private sector can no longer claim ignorance about who makes their goods and under what conditions. Governments also have a responsibility to ensure that their supply chains for goods and services are not tainted with child labor, forced labor, or other egregious violations of worker rights. 

If you could send a message to your younger self, what would it be?   

Always remember who is at the center of the work you do every day. The work is going to be hard, and progress will be slow. It is OK to feel frustrated; use it as a motivation to keep going, innovating and doing your small part to make the world a better place for children, their families and all workers. 

Learn more about ILAB's work to combat child labor, forced labor and human trafficking.