"EU, UN agencies launch program to tackle child labor in Sabah", 12 June 2024

The European Union and two United Nations agencies launched an initiative ... to end child labor at palm oil plantations in the eastern Malaysian state of Sabah.

Nearly 20,000 children work in the palm oil industry in Sabah, one of two Malaysian states on Borneo island, according to a 2018 government survey of plantation workers. Nationwide at least 33,600 children aged between 5 and 17 years old were employed that year on palm oil plantations.

The new initiative seeks to provide thousands of child workers better access to education and training opportunities, particularly in Sabah’s Tawau district, officials from the EU bloc, the International Labour Organization (ILO) and UNICEF said.

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