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The United Arab Emirates' (UAE) announcement to end the use of
children as camel jockeys and making it a punishable offence is
welcome but must be implemented.
On 30 July, Head of the Camel Racing Federation, Minister of State
for Foreign Affairs Sheikh Hamdan bin Zaid al-Nahayan, announced
from 1 September, jockeys under 15 and those less than 45 kilos
would be banned.
Though a positive announcement, using children as jockeys has been
illegal since 1980 under the UAE's Federal Labour Code. In 1993,
UAE President Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan al-Nahyan banned this practice.
And since the early 1990s the UAE Camel Jockey Association has had
a rule stating that employing a child under the age of 14 or weighing
less than 45 kilos is illegal. It is also illegal under international
law.
"The UAE Government's moves are a welcome step demonstrating
it recognises this practice is a serious problem. But for its measures
to be effective, there must be clear moves to protect children from
this abuse and penalties against offenders need to be enforced,
" Mary Cunneen, Director of Anti-Slavery International says.
Because these laws have not been implemented the problem of child
trafficking and using children as camel jockeys has openly continued.
Children as young as four have been trafficked from Pakistan, India,
Bangladesh and Africa to be used as camel jockeys. Because they
are too young to hold on they are tied on to the camels. To keep
them light, they are deprived of food and water before a race; they
are kept in harsh conditions and treated with brutality. Child camel
jockeys have been seriously injured and some have died as a result
of their treatment.
Because it is so dangerous for children, earlier this year the
International Labour Organization called for the minimum age for
camel jockeys to be 18 years. It is vital that the Government of
the UAE introduce regular unannounced inspections to identify and
release any child who is currently being used as a camel jockey.
That anyone responsible for trafficking or employing underage jockeys
is prosecuted under existing laws. And that laws are introduced,
and enforced, that prohibit employing children under 18 as camel
jockeys.
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