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Anti-Slavery has made several submissions to the Working Group
regarding the continuing problem of the trafficking of children
for use as child camel jockeys in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Despite this, the practice appears to be continuing unabated.
The situation faced by camel jockeys
Camel jockeys are often kidnapped, sold by their parents or relatives,
or taken on false pretences from their own country. Most are taken
from Pakistan, India or Bangladesh, though there are also reports
that children are trafficked from the Sudan for this purpose.
The use of children as jockeys in camel racing is itself extremely
dangerous and can result in serious injury and even death. There
is also evidence of mistreatment and torture of camel jockeys by
traffickers and employers. However, the children's separation from
their families and their transportation to a country where the people,
culture and usually the language are completely unknown means that
the children are not in a position to report incidents of abuse.
The Extent of the problem in the UAE
The trafficking of children for use as camel jockeys is prohibited
by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child
(CRC) and by the International Labour Organization's (ILO) Conventions
No.29 on forced labour and No. 138 on minimum age - all of which
have been ratified by the UAE. The rules of the Emirates Camel Racing
Federation also specifically forbid the use of riders under the
age of 14, or weighing less than approximately 45 kilograms.
Nevertheless, there is strong evidence that children under 14 are
still being used as camel jockeys and that the UAE Government has
not taken adequate measures to tackle the problem.
On 6 September 2000, a 10-year-old boy from Pakistan was found
wandering the streets in Abu Dhabi after escaping from his trafficker
and was handed over to the police. Later in the same year, two brothers
aged six and four were rescued following a tip-off from the Pakistani
Embassy. The six year old was treated in hospital for injuries to
both legs after falling from a camel. The brothers had reportedly
been sold for £3,750 (US$5,325) each to a man in the UAE.
In March 2001, two more seven-year-olds from Pakistan who had been
trafficked to Dubai were sent back to Pakistan because they were
overweight.
In April 2001, a seven-year-old Bangladeshi boy died as a result
of kidney damage sustained during a camel race in Dubai. He was
brought back to Bangladesh for medical treatment, but died in a
hospital in Dhaka.
The US State Department's annual human rights report for 2000,
cites credible sources that estimate that "there were at least
20 cases during the year [2000] of underage camel jockeys who were
repatriated to their countries of origin".
A report from the Centre for Women and Children Studies in Dhaka,
Bangladesh, which was compiled on the basis of news clippings, found
that during the 1990s 1,683 boys were victims of trafficking. The
report noted that the overwhelming majority of these boys were less
than 10 years old and most were likely to be used as camel jockeys
in Gulf countries.
As implied by this report, the use of young children as camel jockeys
is not limited to the UAE alone. An article in Gulf Times
earlier this year included interviews with a camel jockey in Qatar
who was recovering from a broken arm and a former camel jockey who
confirmed that "There are many injuries to child jockeys. Bleeding
due to constant pressure… and smashing of genitals is common
and indescribably painful." Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim, President
of the race organising committee in Qatar, was also quoted as recognising
that the use of child camel jockeys "has sullied Qatar's image
abroad". The Supreme Council for Family Affairs and the Interior
Ministry in Qatar are currently reviewing the practice.
Anti-Slavery would like to draw attention to the positive measures
taken by the Government of Pakistan to try and help prevent trafficking
of children out of the country by improving the documentation procedures
and security at border crossings.
Recommendations
In view of the above, Anti-Slavery urges the Government of the
UAE to:
1. Enforce existing laws, including conducting regular inspections
to identify underage camel jockeys and ensure all those responsible
for employing underage camel jockeys, trafficking children to the
UAE and/or abusing these children are prosecuted.
2. Ensure the release and rehabilitation of any children under
14 who are currently being used as camel jockeys.
3. Invite an ILO direct contacts mission to the UAE to look at
ways the ILO can assist the Government in ensuring full compliance
with ILO Conventions Nos. 29 and 138.
4. Ratify ILO Convention No.182 and implement an action plan which
will seek to monitor and prevent the trafficking of children into
the UAE.
5. Invite the UN Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child
prostitution and child pornography to the UAE to investigate the
issue.
6. Report to the Working Group on steps they have taken to prevent
and eradicate this practice
Anti-Slavery also urges Qatar and any other Gulf States where this
practice may be occurring to fully investigate the matter and implement
the above recommendations.
Finally, Anti-Slavery calls on all countries from which children
are trafficked to redouble their efforts to:
(a) Combat the extreme poverty which leads parents to part with
their children.
(b) Increase the number of registered births and thereby make it
easier to protect children from trafficking.
(c) Fight bribery and corruption in the police force and amongst
immigration officials to prevent traffickers' paying off those officials.
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