US embassy cable - 05ABUDHABI1274

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 ABU DHABI 001274 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR G/TIP, INL, DRL, NEA/RA AND NEA/ARPI 
STATE FOR USTR 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/21/2015 
TAGS: PREL, ETRD, ELAB, PHUM, PGOV, SOCI, TC 
SUBJECT: UAEG OFFICIALS:  "WE WILL SOLVE THE CAMEL JOCKEY 
PROBLEM QUICKLY." 
 
REF: STATE 49809 
 
Classified By: Richard A. Albright, Charge d,Affaires, a.i., 
reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
 
1.  (C)  Summary:  Senior UAEG officials have publicly and 
privately committed to ending the problem of underage camel 
jockeys.  In response to reftel demarche, they have told 
Charge that their priority is to identify, rescue and 
repatriate the children, and not drive the problem 
underground.  To this end, Arabic and English public 
announcements have publicized the enforcement of a new law 
effective March 31 and announced an amnesty period of two 
months for any camel owner who surrenders underage children 
to the government.  UAE Immigration has begun enforcing 
requirements that each individual enter the UAE on a separate 
passport, instead of the family passports, including multiple 
children, that have often been used in trafficking these 
children. 
 
2.  (C)  Summary continued:  Senior UAEG officials told 
Charge that they expect the problem to be eliminated within 
the next eight to ten weeks.  The MFA U/S expressed 
confidence that there will be substantial progress before the 
TIP report is submitted to Congress June 1.  The Minister of 
Information acknowledged that this problem is "embarrassing" 
to the government, and the Minister of Labor noted that all 
understood that a lack of action on the part of the UAEG 
would mean they could "kiss an FTA goodbye."   End summary. 
 
3.  (C)  Charge and visiting Deputy Undersecretary of Labor 
for International Labor Affairs Arnold Levine delivered 
reftel points seeking immediate action by the UAEG to end the 
practice of using children as camel jockeys to Minister of 
Labor Ali Al-Ka'abi on March 19 and on March 20, to Minister 
of Interior Sheikh Saif bin Zayed, MFA U/S Abdullah Rashid 
Al-Noaimi and MinFin A/US for Revenue and Budget Khalid 
Al-Bustani.  Charge raised reftel points separately with 
Minster of Information Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed on March 19. 
 
Minister of Labor -  If Tier 3 "Kiss FTA Goodbye" 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
4.  (C)  Minister of Labor Ali Al-Kaabi told Charge and 
Deputy Undersecretary Levine that the UAEG was morally 
obliged to end the use of underaged camel jockeys, because it 
was the right thing to do.  That said, he also understood the 
negative impact that this problem was having on key bilateral 
issues, noting that a fall to Tier 3 would mean the UAEG 
could "kiss an FTA goodbye."  Al-Kaabi emphasized that 
putting children at risk violated both UAE traditions and 
Islam.  Unfortunately, he noted, camel racing with underaged 
jockeys was a long-standing practice in the UAE and, for that 
reason, the UAEG needed to pursue a process of education and 
consensus building to end it.  Al-Kaabi explained that some 
in the camel racing community had attempted to resist the ban 
with the argument that they were employing children who might 
otherwise not have any economic opportunities.  He said that 
his response was to tell people to "use their own kids," 
which he said no Emirati wanted to do.  According to 
Al-Kaabi, his eventual goal was to raise the minimum age for 
camel jockeys to 18.  He viewed the 16 year age limit in the 
new law as an interim step.  The Minister said that he had 
seen a number of estimates of the number of underage camel 
jockeys in the UAE, but had no firm numbers.  He questioned 
the data underlying Pakistani human rights activist Ansar 
Burney's estimate of 5,000 camel jockeys.  When Ministry of 
Interior Col. Fadel Al-Harmoodi (present for meetings between 
the UAE labor team and Levine's delegation) estimated that 
there were between 2,000 and 2,700 camel jockeys in the UAE, 
most from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Sudan,  Al-Kaabi pressed 
him on the source of his estimates.  According to Al-Kaabi 
and MoI Col. Fadel, the UAE has taken steps to curb the 
influx of child camel jockeys by requiring that all visitors 
to the UAE have their own passports and not/not be included 
on a parent's passport. 
 
5.  (C)  In response to reftel demarche, Al-Kaabi stressed 
that the UAEG was taking action against the use of underaged 
camel jockeys and would take even more actions in the near 
future.  As examples, he noted that the UAEG would set up 
police stations at every camel race track to enforce the law. 
 Traffickers (including parents (many of them are brought in 
by their biological parents) who brought their children into 
the UAE for use as camel jockeys) would be banned from 
reentering the country.  He stressed that the Minister of 
Interior would be rescuing the children after the racing 
season ended at the end of March and acknowledged that the 
UAEG had an obligation to rehabilitate the children.  (Note: 
MinFin A/US Al-Bustani told Deputy Undersecretary Levine that 
the UAE would fund rehabilitation efforts.)  In response to 
Charge's suggestion that the UAEG work with the IOM, Al-Kaabi 
said that the UAE did not have an agreement with the IOM.  He 
stated, however, that the UAEG did have an agreement with the 
ILO and might be able to have the human rights office of the 
ILO inspect camel race facilities.  Al-Kaabi said that the 
UAEG had arrested traffickers of underage jockeys.  However, 
he stressed that the UAEG did not/not want to publicize the 
arrests until after the end of the racing season.  He 
explained that the UAEG's priority was to identify and 
protect the children and did not want to scare the camel 
owners into hiding the children, or worse, to try and evade 
prosecution.  "If they bury the kids, we'll never find them." 
 Al-Kaabi also said that he planned to visit the camel jockey 
rehabilitation shelter (for a second time) later that day 
with Minster of Interior Sheikh Saif to publicize the UAEG's 
commitment. 
 
Minister of Information - The Problem is "frankly 
embarrassing" 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
6.  (C)  Charge met with Minister of Information and Culture 
Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed (AbZ) the evening of March 19 to 
discuss reftel points, which he left as a non-paper.  (Note: 
AbZ, a key bilateral interlocutor who chairs the strategic 
dialogue, is a regular visitor to Washington and a full 
brother to Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed.) 
Saying he had been expecting this demarche, Sheikh Abdullah 
commented that the camel jockey issue had become "frankly 
embarrassing for the country" and could no longer be 
tolerated.  He stated that overcoming the opposition of Dubai 
Deputy Ruler Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid had been a big 
challenge, but said that Dubai,s Al-Maktoum family had now 
turned the corner and both Dubai Ruler Sheikh Maktoum bin 
Rashid and Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid supported 
a country-wide effort to eliminate trafficking in underage 
jockeys.  The UAEG, he said was fully committed to addressing 
the camel jockey problem with the new law that would take 
effect March 31 and was developing a plan for rescues, 
repatriations and tighter immigration controls.  Echoing the 
Minister of Labor, he said that the UAEG wanted to avoid 
driving the problem underground with immediate harsh 
penalties.  He argued that a more effective approach was to 
offer the camel farm owners and managers a grace period under 
which they could relinquish the underage boys without 
penalty.  After this time, there would be penalties for those 
continuing to hold the underage jockeys. 
 
7.  (C)  Abdullah noted carefully the points on the TIP 
report timeline, commenting that this did not give them much 
time to work with.  Charge urged the UAEG to rescue as many 
of these children as possible as rapidly as possible.  As 
positive as the UAEG commitment and recent statements have 
been, in the end, only substantial, concrete action to rescue 
and repatriate these boys would avoid a tier three rating. 
Noting that clear and frank communication was one of the 
strengths of our bilateral relationship, Charge stated that 
the UAE had lost credibility because it had not implemented 
its earlier commitments to eliminate this problem.  Sheikh 
Mohammed bin Rashid had added fuel to the fire by proceeding 
from a meeting with AUSTR Novelli, at which he had committed 
to stop this abuse, directly to a major camel race at which 
all the jockeys were underage.  Charge said that the Abu 
Dhabi end of season race with underage jockeys on the eve of 
the new law would create more bad publicity.  Abdullah 
responded that the government could not prevent a race taking 
place before the law was enacted.  Charge suggested that the 
UAE take some dramatic action like rescuing all the jockeys 
at the end of that race and to engage with the IOM, which 
could enhance UAEG credibility with independent assessment of 
the problem and rescue/repatriation.  AbZ took this 
suggestion on board.  He said he appreciated the frank 
exchange and would bring reftel points to the attention of 
Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed and deputy 
Prime Minster/Minster of State for Foreign Affairs Sheikh 
Hamdan bin Zayed.  Sheikh Abdullah closed by reiterating the 
UAE,s commitment to end the problem. 
 
Minister of Interior - "Message clear to all in UAE" 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
8.  (C)  On March 20, Minister of Interior Sheikh Saif bin 
Zayed told Charge and Deputy Under Secretary Levine that the 
issue of camel jockeys was a "very bad point" for the UAE. 
He emphasized that this was the only area where there is a 
record of child abuse in the UAE and that the issue required 
government action.  In reference to Charge,s points about 
the need for immediate action to avoid a Tier 3 ranking, Saif 
stated that the UAEG would resolve the problem "within 8 to 
10 weeks" and said that "from now, there will be big action" 
on the part of the UAEG to eliminate the practice.  Saif told 
Charge that everyone would now accept the laws banning 
underage jockeys, even those who race camels. 
 
9.  (C)  Sheikh Saif said that in the past, the government 
lacked a legal enforcement mechanism to stop the practice of 
using underage camel jockeys.  He stated that the UAE needed 
a law so that all parties could fully understand the 
complexity of the problem, and that the law that will go into 
effect on March 31 was based on the experiences and mistakes 
of the past.  Saif said this law would enable the Ministry of 
Interior to act quickly now that the "message is clear to all 
in the UAE" that employing underage camel jockeys is 
unacceptable. 
 
Undersecretary of Ministry of Foreign Affairs - "We are 
serious" 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
 
10.  (C)  In response to Charge,s points about the need for 
immediate significant steps to combat the problem of underage 
camel jockeys, MFA U/S Abdullah Rashid Al-Noaimi said that he 
has seen the new law, which will go into effect on March 31. 
He noted that Minister of Interior Sheikh Saif was very 
serious about cleaning up the problem, and that Dubai Crown 
Prince Mohammed bin Rashid and the Dubai government were now 
also committed to redressing the problem (noting that there 
had been a problem with Dubai in the past).  He said that the 
senior leadership of Abu Dhabi and Dubai viewed the problem 
as a major embarrassment to the UAE and had no further 
tolerance for delay.  Abdullah Rashid noted that the 
government was "serious" about ending the problem, not just 
because the UAE wants an FTA with the US, but because such 
practices were unacceptable to a mature society.   Abdullah 
Rashid listened carefully to the TIP report timeline, and 
expressed confidence that UAEG actions over the next eight 
weeks would obviate the need for a Tier 3 ranking.  He said 
that we would see lots of surveillance, apprehension, and 
penalties for those who do not abide by the new laws in 
April. 
 
11.  (C) In response to the Charge,s question about the UAEG 
plans to assist these children, Abdullah Rashid said they 
planned to "let them go home."  He noted that local charities 
such as the Sheikh Zayed Foundation and the Red Crescent 
could serve as the arms of the government in assisting the 
children with physical and psychological care, schooling, and 
other programs to assist their reentry into their home 
countries.  In response to the Charge,s suggestion of the 
IOM as a possible international entity that could serve as an 
independent observer, Abdullah Rashid noted that the UAEG 
problem with the IOM was the name.  He stated that the UAEG 
was very sensitive to the word "migration" since the lopsided 
demographics of the UAE cause concern with phrases such as 
migration or immigration.  Abdullah Rashid said, however, 
that the UAEG welcomed observation by independent entities 
such as the Red Crescent.  Abdullah Rashid reiterated UAEG 
seriousness and commitment at the highest levels to eliminate 
the problem once the season is over. 
 
UAE Public Actions and Statements 
--------------------------------- 
 
12.  (U)  Following Deputy Prime Minister and de facto 
Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed,s March 14 
statement announcing that a law banning jockeys under age 16 
from participating in camel races would be on the books by 
March 31, 2005, the UAEG took several steps to underscore the 
importance of the new law.  On March 19, the Interior and 
Labor Ministers visited the UAE,s first rehabilitation 
center for underage camel jockeys in Sheikh Zayed Military 
City (in Abu Dhabi emirate), an event that received wide 
media coverage.  Minister of Interior Sheikh Saif bin Zayed 
said the UAE would consult with Australia, Qatar and Kuwait 
about how to race camels using older and heavier jockeys.  In 
addition, the Ministry of Interior has: 
 
-- instructed ports of entry to ensure that no child under 
age 16 enters the UAE for the purpose of being used as a 
camel jockey; 
 
-- publicized the requirement for all travelers to the UAE to 
have individual passports (and stopped issuing entry visas to 
children traveling on their parents passports).  The English 
language "Gulf News" has already carried an article about 
travelers being caught by the new regulation; 
-- created a special committee to study camel racing 
conditions and to oversee the law,s implementation; 
-- placed announcements in the Arabic and English press 
announcing that the law would be enforced after the 
season-ending camel race in Al Wathba (in the Emirate of Abu 
Dhabi); 
 
-- granted camel farm owners who employ children under the 
age of 16 a period of two months to finalize repatriation 
procedures for the children, and urged camel farm owners to 
call the Ministry of Interior's Anti-Infiltration Unit,s 
24-hour hotline for assistance; and 
 
-- warned that legal action would be taken against those 
found violating the law. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
13.  (C)  Senior UAEG officials have gotten our message and 
stressed to us that they understand the need to fix this 
problem quickly and that we should expect to see concrete 
actions starting in April.  The public announcements in both 
the Arabic and English press, and the enforcement of new 
requirements for individual passports, are encouraging first 
steps, but proof will be in the implementation.  The 
reluctance of the MFA to work with IOM is unfortunate and we 
will keep working on this.  Despite our strong urging, senior 
officials noted that they cannot prevent underage boys from 
working as camel jockeys at the major end of season race at 
the Al Wathba racetrack in Abu Dhabi Emirate, which occurs 
before the law takes effect March 31.  We will actively 
monitor implementation and continue to press the UAEG to 
enforce its new law and to rescue and rehabilitate the 
children affected.  End Comment. 
ALBRIGHT