40,000 children, mostly from Pakistan, India and
Bangladesh, are being used in the United Arab Emirates and other Middle East and
Arabian Countries, as camel jockeys, according to Pakistan's human rights lawyer and
member International Bar Association (UK) and American Bar Association (USA) Ansar
Burney.

Last month, a four-year old boy from Pakistan was trampled to death while another
lost his legs after falling off a camel in the UAE. This sort of occurrence is not
rare.

A documentary film shot with a hidden camera by the Ansar Burney Welfare Trust
International revealed the miserable circumstances these children live under.
"[These children] are living in iron tents, without electricity, and in temperatures
above 50 degrees centigrade. Sexual abuse in this environment is all too common.
They are purposely underfed so that their weight is kept down. During training and
in races they often fall off the camels and are badly injured or crushed to death.
Because it's illegal to keep underage jockeys they never receive medical treatment"
said Ansar Burney.
 
According to research, there are an estimated 30,000 active racing camels and about
17 racetracks throughout the UAE alone. Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah, which are the
centres of this activity, have five of the main stadiums near the Rulers Palaces.

The trafficking of children for use as camel jockeys is strictly prohibited by the
United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and by ILO Conventions 29, 138
and 182. All of these laws have been ratified by the UAE. Furthermore, a ban against
using children as camel jockeys under the age of 15 came into force in the Emirates
in September 2002, but the problem is still growing at an alarming rate.  [Source: CRIN]
 
For more information, contact:

The Ansar Burney Welfare Trust International
18 Peterborough Road, Harrow, Middlesex, London, HA1 2BQ - United Kingdom.
Tel: +44 20 84222277; Fax: +44 20 84234555
Email: ansarburney@hotmail.com