Kuala Lumpur (VNA) – Children in oil palm estates in Sabah state’s Tawau district of Indonesia are set to benefit from an 18-month programme launched in conjunction with the World Day Against Child Labour on Wednesday (June 12).
Jointly organised by the European Union (EU), the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the programme aims to protect the rights of children and provide them with socio-economic inclusion.
The initiative, which will last until June 2025, seeks to provide children with better access to education and training and address the root causes of child labour in the region.
It also aims to build a common roadmap between the Malaysian government and the UN to eliminate child labour and child right-related issues in Sabah. The 2018 Employment Survey in Plantations by the Malaysian government estimated that 33,600 children aged 5 - 17 work in the oil palm industry, with Sabah accounting for 58.8% (about 19,800 children) of this total.
Delegation of the EU Cooperation Team leader Dr. Audrey Anne Rochelemagne said eradicating child labour is a top priority for the EU, and working proactively to prevent it is all the more urgent right now.
The EU and its member states are committed to ensuring sustainable initiatives where no one is left behind, she stressed./.
