UAE INTERIOR MINISTER COMMITTED TO CAMEL JOCKEY

C O N F I D E N T I A L ABU DHABI 000507 SIPDIS STATE FOR G/TIP, INL, DRL, NEA/RA, NEA/ARPI, PASS TO USTR E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/02/2015 TAGS: PHUM TC SUBJECT: UAE INTERIOR MINISTER COMMITTED TO CAMEL JOCKEY SOLUTION Classified By: (U) Classified by Ambassador Michele J. Sison for reaso ns 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Interior Minister Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al-Nahyan told the Ambassador on February 1 that he is committed to solving the problem of underage foreign boys being trafficked to the UAE as camel jockeys. He said that the October HBO report on child camel jockeys in the UAE had affected him greatly, and he appreciated former Secretary Powell,s acknowledgement that the UAEG is working to eliminate the problem. ¶2. (C) Sheikh Saif said that there are two problems that need to be addressed ) halting the flow of trafficked children into the UAE, and repatriating those children already here. Sheikh Saif noted that most of the children enter the country on fake documents, and that many are abandoned by family members who leave in search of work elsewhere. He regards the trafficking of children into the country in large part as a problem of the source countries (where forged documents are easily obtained, and where the socioeconomic situation in the home countries is so poor that mothers are willing to abandon their children). He believed that the countries involved are moving in a positive direction. Regarding the second problem ) repatriation * Sheikh Saif said he hopes the UAE,s financing of resettlement sites in Pakistan, Bangladesh, and India will facilitate the children,s return to their home countries. (Note: The Ministry of Interior has sent representatives to Pakistan and Bangladesh on a regular basis to develop relationships with local NGOs that could provide shelter services for repatriated former camel jockeys.) ¶3. (C) Sheikh Saif acknowledged that track owners have a stake in maintaining the status quo, and that as businessmen, they do not want the UAEG to force them to employ only jockeys who are eighteen or older. However, the UAEG is committed to halting the use of children as jockeys, and Sheikh Saif said that the UAEG will implement &big changes8 this year. (Note: He did not specify what these changes would be or how they would be implemented.) Sison SISON