US embassy cable - 04ABUDHABI3937

C O N F I D E N T I A L ABU DHABI 003937 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR G/TIP, INL, DRL, NEA/RA, AND NEA/ARPI 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/01/14 
TAGS: PHUM, PREL, TC, PK 
SUBJECT: TOP ABU DHABI LEADERSHIP DECREES USE OF CHILD 
CAMEL JOCKEYS WILL STOP 
 
REF:  (A) DUBAI 5056 (B) ISLAMABAD 10839 
 
(U) Classified by Charges d'Affaires, Richard A. Albright, 
for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
1. (C) The UAE Ambassador to the U.S., Al Asri Saeed Ahmed 
Al Dhahri, told Charge on October 31 that Abu Dhabi Deputy 
Crown Prince and UAE Armed Forces Chief of Staff General 
Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan (MbZ) reviewed the HBO 
camel jockey documentary with Deputy Prime Minister and 
Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Sheikh Hamdan bin 
Zayed Al Nahyan (HbZ).  MbZ and HbZ together took the 
report to Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Khalifa bin Zayed Al 
Nahyan (KbZ).  After reviewing the documentary, KbZ called 
in the owners of camel farms located in Al Ain and ordered 
them to stop using underage foreign boys as camel jockeys. 
The reaction from Dubai's leadership to the HBO documentary 
was equally strong (Ref. A). 
 
2. (C) Noting that preventing underage boys from racing 
camels would effectively end the practice of racing baby 
camels, which cannot support the weight of heavier jockeys, 
Al Asri said that the UAE would explore the use of small 
robots for this purpose, which had been publicized during 
the last racing season in Qatar.  Charge encouraged Al Asri 
to have the UAEG document and publicize its actions. 
 
3. (C) Noting that the September 28 death of a five-year- 
old jockey in Al Ain had stirred up indignation in 
Pakistan, Charge recommended that the UAEG work with the 
government of Pakistan to block the trafficking of underage 
boys to the UAE.  Al Asri agreed that cooperation with 
Pakistan would be critical in making the ban effective, as 
forged Pakistani documents and passports were a critical 
component in the trafficking (Ref. B). 
 
4. (C) Al Asri said the UAEG was still considering its 
public posture and would discuss this internally first.  Al 
Asri also stated that he was arranging a meeting between 
Ansar Burney, the head of the anti-trafficking NGO that 
escorted the HBO videographers while in the UAE, and MbZ 
and KbZ, scheduled to take place later this week. (Note: 
Burney agreed to consult with Poloff after the meeting. End 
note.) Al Asri said that the UAE leadership would offer to 
work with Burney to eliminate this form of human 
trafficking. 
 
ALBRIGHT 
 
 
 
 
2