The U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of International Labor Affairs today is releasing $10 million in competitive solicitation for cooperative agreements in an effort to counter child labor in Cambodia's agriculture, fishing and domestic-service sectors.

Projects receiving financial support under the solicitation are to concentrate on reducing social exclusion and encouraging economic opportunities for Cambodian households with children who are susceptible to child labor. The DOL is looking for eligible applicants to determine ways to fight child labor by providing better access to high-quality education as well as vocational and skills training. Applicants should also address ways to promote sustainable livelihoods for impacted households, improve beneficiaries' access to national social protection programs and increase access to decent jobs for young workers of the legal working age.

Appropriated funds for ILAB to conduct technical cooperation projects to put an end to child labor infractions internationally have been established by Congress, and ILAB-funded projects include specific action programs in certain sectors of work and comprehensive programs to back national efforts to eradicate the worst types of child labor as defined by International Labor Organization Convention 182. ILAB is responsible for helping save children from exploitative labor under the provision of education and other services, and it supports the collection of reliable data on child labor as well as helps improve governments' abilities to address child labor in a sustainable manner.