UPTICK IN UNDERAGE CAMEL JOCKEY REPATRIATION

UNCLAS ABU DHABI 001551

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

DEPT FOR G, G/TIP, INL, DRL, PRM, NEA/RA, AND NEA/ARPI
STATE ALSO PASS TO USTR

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM KDEM ELAB ETRD TC
SUBJECT: UPTICK IN UNDERAGE CAMEL JOCKEY REPATRIATION

REF: ABU DHABI 1523


1. (U) Summary: In the three weeks since the UAEG announced
that a new law banning underage camel jockeys would take
effect March 31, a small but growing number of children from
TIP source countries (especially Pakistan, Bangladesh, and
Sudan) have been "rescued" from their captors and are now
either being processed by their embassies and consulates,
temporarily housed in Abu Dhabi's new rehabilitation center
for ex-camel jockeys, or repatriated to their countries of
origin. Source country embassies report generally good
cooperation with the UAEG in processing and repatriating the
children ) even though the numbers being rescued are small
compared to the estimated 2,700 to 9,000 underage camel
jockeys in the UAE. End Summary.


2. (SBU) Since it opened its doors in December, the UAEG's
rehabilitation center in Abu Dhabi emirate has sheltered a
total of 68 children to date, 43 of whom have been
repatriated, mostly to Pakistan, according to a Ministry of
Interior contact. Separately, the Embassy of Pakistan said
that its consulates in Abu Dhabi and Dubai have handled
approximately 40 cases involving underage camel jockeys in
the past three weeks. Half of these have been repatriated to
Pakistan while the other half are still in the UAE waiting
for their travel documents to be processed. Some of the
children are coming in with their parents, others with their
sponsors. Most are issued one-time travel documents. The
Government of Pakistan has been using the media and NGO's in
Pakistan to attempt to reunite the children with their
families. Children whose family ties cannot be established
are cared for by a chain of "SOS Villages" in Pakistan.
While most of the source country embassies and consulates Pol
Chief contacted reported generally good cooperation with UAE
officials, a Pakistani diplomat said that the Abu Dhabi
Police colonel who had been given overall responsibility for
the repatriation campaign had not received formal
instructions from the Ministry of Interior to work on any
cases. (Note: As noted reftel, federal Cabinet approval of
the new law is expected at its next meeting on Monday, April
11.)


3. (SBU) With heightened interest in Pakistan about the
plight of underage Pakistani children working as camel
jockeys in the UAE, the Minister for Overseas Pakistanis is
planning to visit the UAE later this month to coordinate with
the UAEG on repatriation, according to the Embassy of
Pakistan. The Pakistani minister is also keen on setting up
a center in Pakistan for children who have no recollection of
their families.


4. (SBU) The Ambassador from Bangladesh told Pol Chief that
the Bangladeshi consulate in Dubai had received a half-dozen
inquiries from sponsors of trafficked children in the past
week. He estimated the number of Bangladeshi children
currently in the UAE working as camel jockeys in the
hundreds. One of the problems he is anticipating includes
verification of the children's nationalities. "We have to
use our intuition in some cases. We pay close attention to
their accent to tell if they are from Bangladesh," he said.
A Sudanese diplomat told Pol Chief that the number of
ex-camel jockeys coming to the Embassy with their parents has
been increasing daily this week, although he did not have
precise figures. The Sudanese Embassy has been issuing
travel documents to permit them to go home to Sudan. The
Somali Ambassador told Pol Chief that the UAEG has not
provided him with any proof that Somali children were in the
UAE working as camel jockeys, making it difficult for him to
help. Once he has the information, he said he will do
everything to help the children just as he did two years ago
when he learned that 10-year-old and 6-year-old brothers from
Somaliland had been smuggled to the UAE to be used as camel
jockeys.
ALBRIGHT