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Children continue to be trafficked from countries such as Bangladesh,
Pakistan, Sudan and Yemen to be used as camel jockeys in the UAE.
Furthermore, Anti-Slavery International also has evidence that children
are also being trafficked to be used as camel jockeys in other Gulf
states including Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, and also internally in Sudan.
The use of children as jockeys in camel racing is itself extremely
dangerous and can result in serious injury and even death. Some
children are also abused by the traffickers and employers, for example
by depriving them of food and beating them. The children's separation
from their families and their transportation to a country where
the people, culture and usually the language are completely unknown
leaves them dependent on their employers and de facto forced
labourers.
The trafficking of children for use as camel jockeys is prohibited
by International Labour Organization Conventions 29 and 182 and
by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, all
of which have been ratified by the UAE, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and
Sudan. It is also prohibited under ILO Convention 138, which has
been ratified by the UAE, Kuwait and Sudan.
The United Arab Emirates
Anti-Slavery International understands that the Government of the
United Arab Emirates has introduced three new decrees to combat
the use of children as camel jockeys, which relate to the requirement
for camel owners to bring underage camel jockeys to the authorities
for repatriation; the obligation on children from certain countries,
where there is known to be a problem of trafficking for use as camel
jockeys, to enter the UAE on their own individual passport; and
the prohibition of the use of camel jockeys under 16 years old or
weighing less that 45 kilograms.
It is of concern that a new law against the use of child camel
jockeys, which was announced at the end of March, has not yet been
passed. We would ask the Government to provide details of this legislation
and when it will come into effect, and also details of the above
decrees, indicating how they will be effective in ending the use
of child jockeys, when previous measures have failed to do so.
It must be noted that these new measures are the latest in a series
that have been announced by the UAE over many years:
- The Government itself reported to the Committee on the Application
of Standards in 2003, and in previous years, that the employment
of any child under the age of 15 has been prohibited since 1980
under the Federal Labour Code.
- The UAE's independent Camel Jockey Association has had a rule
since the early 1990s that using children younger than 14 or lighter
than 45 kilograms as camel jockeys is prohibited.
- In 1993 UAE President Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan al-Nahyan banned
the use of children as camel jockeys.
- In July 2002, Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chairman of
the Emirates Camel Racing Federation and Minister for Foreign
Affairs, promulgated Order No.1/6/266, prohibiting children under
15 or weighing less than 45kg from being employed in camel racing.
It also specified that all camel jockeys must have proof of their
age through their passports and be issued with a medical certificate
by the Camel Racing Federation. A fine of 20,000 dirhams (US$5,500)
will be imposed for a first offence and a second offence will
lead to a ban from camel racing for one year. A prison sentence
of three months along with a fine of 20,000 dirhams will be imposed
for subsequent offences. The ban came into effect on 1 September
2002.
It is of serious concern that despite all of these initiatives
the evidence below clearly shows that children are still being trafficked
to work in the UAE as camel jockeys.
- On 20 February 2005, the Pakistan Embassy in Abu Dhabi repatriated
a nine-year-old camel jockey to Pakistan, as reported in the media
1. The boy was placed in an Edhi Foundation
shelter in Karachi. According to information from the Edhi Foundation
and the Centre for Research and Social Development, he was taken
to the UAE with his father from their home in southern Punjab
via Karachi. He worked as a camel jockey for six years. Initially
he worked in Abu Dhabi, and then worked in six or seven different
places mostly in UAE states. The last race he participated in
was in January 2005. Normally he would get up at around 4am, or
5am in winter, and work seven days a week. His employers beat
him and he broke his arm on at least two occasions during camel
races. He also told of two Sudanese boys who worked with him as
camel jockeys, and six other Pakistani boys in the last camp he
worked at. There is no indication that the Sheikhs concerned nor
the handlers were prosecuted or that the other boys mentioned
have subsequently been rescued and rehabilitated.
- Also in February 2005, Anti-Slavery International received photographic
evidence from credible sources of child camel jockeys training
at the Nad al Sheba racetrack outside Dubai (copies available).
- According to media reports in November 2004 2,
Pakistan's Minister for Overseas Pakistanis, Tariq Azim, stated
that some 2,000 children from countries such as Pakistan, India,
Bangladesh and Mauritania are working in camel race clubs in the
UAE. Many others have either died or been crippled, according
to the Minister. He referred to several recent cases of Pakistani
children returned from the UAE after working for several years
as camel jockeys.
- In October 2004 a documentary shown by the US television broadcaster,
HBO, featured footage of children training on camels and living
in squalid conditions with poor food and a lack of amenities.
The programme also includes substantial evidence that children
were beaten and abused, including showing children with bruises
and scars.3
- The Ansar Burney Welfare Trust International (ABWTI) reports
that it has rescued several other child camel jockeys, including
six boys aged between 12 and 15 who were returned to Pakistan
in August 2004 having worked as camel jockeys for at least two
years. The ABWTI also announced that a five-year-old Pakistani
boy died after a fall from a camel in Al-Ain, UAE on 28 September
2004. The boy fell off the camel during training on 15 September,
and the camel trampled him leaving serious head injuries from
which he did not recover.
- In September and October 2004 the Bangladesh National Women
Lawyers' Association provided Anti-Slavery International with
details of several cases involving Bangladeshi children who had
been trafficked to the UAE to work as camel jockeys. These included
eight boys who were still thought to be working as camel jockeys
in the UAE. All of the eight boys were between three and twelve
years of age when trafficked.
- Also in 2004, Anti-Slavery International obtained photographs
of dozens of camel jockeys who appear to be between the ages of
six and 14. The photographs were taken in January 2004, mostly
at the Nad Al Sheba racecourse in Dubai and include children exercising
camels, training, preparing for races and racing. In training,
young children are seen alongside adults, but only children take
part in the race itself. Many of the children in the photos are
clearly under the age of 12; the majority of the jockeys participating
in races appear to be well below the age of 15.
- Anti-Slavery International was provided with information documenting
the cases of two Sudanese camel jockeys who had been repatriated
to Sudan in 2004 (February and May respectively). The Sudanese
boys were approximately five and six years old respectively when
they were taken abroad. Both had worked as camel jockeys for around
six years before being returned to Sudan. While one had worked
exclusively in the UAE the other had worked in Qatar as well as
the UAE.
Evidence of child camel jockeys beyond the UAE
As has already been indicated, there is evidence that children are
being trafficked and used as camel jockeys in Kuwait, Oman and Qatar,
and also within Sudan. Some of this evidence is outlined below:
- A picture of a camel race in Oman, printed in the 26 November
2004 issue of The Guardian, clearly shows the use of underage
camel jockeys (copy available).
- Anti-Slavery International has been provided with information
regarding a camel races that took place in Abutalha, near Kassala,
eastern Sudan, 5-7 October 2004, organised by the Sudanese Camel
Race Association (SCRA). This evidence includes film footage of
the races. Officials from the SCRA, the Arab Union for Camel Races
and the Kuwait Camel Racing Club attended the races. The camel
jockeys appear to be children aged between seven and 13 years
old, some from the local area and some from other regions of Sudan.
- In September 2004 there were media reports that Qatar was drafting
a bill to ban the use of under 18 year olds as camel jockeys in
an attempt to curb the trafficking of children for use in the
sport, indicating that this was a problem in the country.4
- The 2005 report of the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children,
child prostitution and child pornography, notes a large amount
of cases received concerning the issue of trafficking of children
to be used as camel jockeys. These include the case of A.I.A.,
a child trafficked from Sudan to Abu Dhabi when he was five years
old in 1998. He was used as a camel jockey in Kuwait as well as
the UAE and ended up in Doha, from where he returned home in February
2004.5
- On 2 March 2003, The Denver Post carried a feature following
a journalist and photographer who spent seven days at the Kuwait
Camel Racing Club in Sulaibiya, outside Kuwait City. They reported
that around 15-30 children, mostly African, regularly trained
and raced at the club and lived in tents nearby. The photographs
accompanying the piece clearly show young children riding camels,
training, and in the camps.6
- In 2003 and again in 2005 the ILO Committee of Experts report
expressed concern at the situation of children under 18 years
of age involved in camel racing in Oman and asks for information
regarding the recent promulgation of by-laws prohibiting forced
labour and the worst forms of child labour.
- In its 2003 and 2005 reports the ILO Committee of Experts also
raises concern about child camel jockeys in Qatar. In its 2005
report it "invites the Government to redouble its efforts
to improve the situation and to take, without delay, the necessary
measures to ensure that no children under 18 are trafficked to
Qatar for sexual or labour exploitation, including camel racing."
Anti-Slavery International is very concerned that this evidence
points to the fact that the trafficking of children to work as camel
jockeys is a problem in several Gulf states. Anti-Slavery International
therefore urges the governments of all the states in the region
to take measures to ensure this practice is eliminated.
Implementing measures to combat the trafficking of children
as camel jockeys
Reports of very young children (between four and 12 years old) being
used as camel jockeys in the UAE have been brought before this Working
Group every year for the last eight years. The information above
clearly shows that boys below the age of 15 continue to be used
as camel jockeys in contravention of the law. It also indicates
that children are being used as camel jockeys in Kuwait, Oman, Qatar
and Sudan. It is noteworthy that the Special Rapporteur on the sale
of children, child prostitution and child pornography, states in
his 2005 report that, "the number of individual cases of boys
trafficked to be used as camel jockeys received by the Special Rapporteur
highlights a pattern indicating that this problem persists and that
measures need to be taken to address it."
However, prosecutions of those exploiting camel jockeys remain
extremely rare. For example, information provided by the Government
of the UAE to the ILO direct contacts mission in October 2003 revealed
only three successful prosecutions, all of foreign nationals, since
the 2002 law came into effect. Given the very public use of underage
camel jockeys as evidenced above and the fact that the UAE Government
states that the police are carrying out inspections during races,
this is an extremely disappointing figure.
It is also vital that measures taken to combat the use of children
as camel jockeys in any of these countries, ensure that the children
receive full rehabilitative care and that repatriation is carried
out appropriately and sensitively. Rehabilitation must include psychiatric
care and counselling to deal with the traumatic experiences they
have been through and to help adjust to their freedom; bridging
education to bring them up to speed with their peer group; and medical
care for injuries suffered. Steps must be taken to try to trace
parents before the child leaves the destination country, and full
child protection and rehabilitation services must also be made available
in the home country. The Gulf states could help to support poorer
countries of origin to provide such services. In the past there
have been cases where children have been handed over to traffickers
posing as parents and in some cases parents themselves have been
involved in the trafficking. Solutions must be found for those children
whose parents cannot be traced or for whom family reunion would
be inappropriate.
Outstanding recommendations
The ILO Committee of Experts (2005) expressed concern about the
trafficking of children to be used as camel jockeys in the UAE,
in Oman and in Qatar. It invited the Government of the UAE to "redouble
its efforts to improve the situation and to take, without delay,
the necessary measure to ensure that no children under 18 years
are trafficked to the United Arab Emirates for labour exploitation,
including camel racing". The Committee reminded the Government
of Oman that it "shall take the necessary measures to ensure
that no children under 18 perform work which, by its nature or the
circumstances in which it is carried out, is likely to harm their
health, safety or morals". The Committee invited the Government
of Qatar to "take, without delay, the necessary measures to
ensure that no children under 18 are trafficked to Qatar for sexual
or labour exploitation, including camel racing".
In addition to these recommendations, Anti-Slavery International
would also urge the Governments of the UAE, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar
and Sudan to:
- Take urgent steps to implement legislation, including carrying
out regular unannounced inspections to identify, release and rehabilitate
any child who is being used as a camel jockey and ensuring that
all those responsible for trafficking and employing underage jockeys
are prosecuted. In particular measures taken to rehabilitate and
repatriate child camel jockeys must ensure that children are provided
with all the psychiatric and medical care, counselling and education
they require, that family tracing is carried out before repatriation,
and that services are put in place to care for the child if family
reunion is not possible.
- Provide full statistics, broken down by year, of all the prosecutions
brought, successful convictions obtained and the sentences passed
against those trafficking and employing camel jockeys since 1
September 2002.
- Introduce, as a matter of priority, legislation that prohibits
and punishes the employment of children under the age of 18 in
hazardous work or work that could jeopardise their health or safety,
including as camel jockeys.
- Ratify and implement the United Nations Protocol to Prevent,
Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and
Children (2000), supplementing the Convention on Transnational
Organized Crime.
1 Nine-year Boy Used to Work as Camel Jockey
in Abu Dhabi Arrives Karachi, Pakistan Press International Information
Services, 21 February 2005.
2 Children Continue to be Smuggled for Camel Races, Daily
Times, Pakistan, 14 November 2004, and Pak Kids Continue to be
Smuggled for Camel Races, Hindustan Times, 16 November 2004.
3 Perskie, Joe, Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel, HBO, 19 October
2004. Footage was shot between May and August 2004.
4 Qatar Set to Ban Underage Camel Jockeys, Agence France
Presse, 8 September 2004.
5 Report of the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child
prostitution and child pornography, Juan Miguel Petit, E/CN.4/2005/78/Add.3,
8 March 2005
6 Saddled with a Risky Ride -- Child camel jockeys key to sport
of camel racing in the Kuwaiti desert, Denver Post, 2 March
2003. The photographs, with detailed captions, are available online
at http://www.nppa.org/competitions/
best_of_still_photojournalism/2004/winners/still/index.cfm?category=SPS&place=1st
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