A high-level UAE delegation on Tuesday reviewed progress on rehabilitation of camel jockey boys, the UAE embassy said here Monday. A six-member delegation, comprising senior officials of the UAE Government, led by Brigadier Nasser Aloadi Al-Menhali, which arrived in Lahore on Monday and it will pursue the progress made in the rehabilitation plan of camel jockey boys returned from the UAE to Pakistan with their families, told commissioner Multan Syed Muhammad Ali Gardezi.
The delegation will also visit rehabilitation centres set up in Lahore, Multan and Rahim Yar Khan to provide support and education to affected boys. In May 2005, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the Government of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have signed an agreement to help return and re-integrate under-age camel racers in their home communities. Since the large majority are from Punjab so the Govt of Pakistan has given the important mandate to Child Protection and Welfare Bureau Punjab.
Camel racing is a popular sport in the Persian Gulf States, including the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Trafficking of children, for camel racing (between four to ten years) of age from Pakistan and other countries of South Asia has been going on for more than 30 years. Most of the studies generally looked into issues such as reasons for trafficking, target communities from where children were trafficked, routes of trafficking etc rather than the situation of children whilst in UAE as camel jockeys and the conditions in which they spent their time and the traumatic experience they underwent there.
Trafficking of children is a growing concern for governments and civil society globally. Over a million people are reportedly trafficked each year, women and children being the main victims. The trafficked people end up in prostitution, bonded labour and other forms of hazardous and exploitative working environments.
Children, taken from Pakistan as camel jockeys, are a part of this trafficking. There are international instruments to combat this crime. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) explicitly prohibits exploitation of children and recognises their inherent need for special care, protection and upbringing within the family.
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