Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2001, published 90th ILC session (2002)

Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) - United Arab Emirates (Ratification: 1998)

1. The Committee notes the information supplied in the Government’s report in reply to its previous observation, the discussion held in the Conference Committee on the Application of Standards at the 89th Session of the International Labour Conference in June 2001, and the latest comments by the Government in reply to the communications of the ICFTU dated 21 August 2000 and 29 August 2001 concerning work by children as camel jockeys. Copies of these communications were forwarded to the Government on 15 September 2000 and on 18 October 2001, respectively, for comments it wished to make on the matters raised therein.

2. In its previous observation the Committee recalled that, by virtue of Article 3, paragraph 1, of the Convention, the minimum age for admission to any type of employment or work which by its nature or the circumstances in which it is carried out is likely to jeopardize the health, safety or morals of young persons must not be less than 18 years. The Committee considered that the employment of children as camel jockeys constitutes dangerous work within the meaning of this Article. It therefore requested the Government to take all the necessary measures to ensure that no child under 18 years of age is employed as a camel jockey.

3. The Committee notes the report of the discussion of the Conference Committee on the Application of Standards in June 2001. In its conclusions the Conference Committee expressed its profound concern at the information submitted to it concerning a serious violation of the Convention, and it requested the Government to prevent the use of children under 18 years as camel jockeys. In addition, the Conference Committee hoped that the Government would adopt legal and practical steps to reinforce the prohibition of children as camel jockeys, including the establishment of criminal sanctions to combat such activities. It also requested the Government to submit a report for examination by the present Committee at its meeting in November-December 2001, containing detailed information on the measures it had adopted in that respect, including strengthened criminal sanctions and the appropriate measures to enforce them. The Conference Committee further asked the Government to report on measures it had adopted, under its national policy to be formulated to combat child labour, in accordance with Article 1 of the Convention, in order to combat trafficking in children for use as camel jockeys, and to provide information on any relevant necessary inspections and judicial decisions.

4. The Committee notes that the Government’s report refers to rules promulgated by the Federation on Camel Racing, and that article 13(a) of the rules prohibits children from being used as jockeys in camel racing. The Committee observes that article 13(a) does not prescribe any minimum age and, moreover, that the rules do not appear to be legally binding.

5. While noting that the Government states that more time is needed to verify the information and to identify responsibilities, the Committee also notes that the Government communicated a list of camel jockeys repatriated because applicable conditions had not been respected. The Committee observes that this list contains a number of children. The Committee also observes that a Government representative stated before the Conference Committee that the Government was investigating two cases of exploitation of foreign children who had been repatriated to their country of origin. The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed information on these investigations and on their outcome, as well as on any proceedings initiated against persons responsible for their presence in the country and on the sanctions applied.

6. The Committee notes the communication of the ICFTU dated 29 August 2001, in which a report of Anti-Slavery International indicates that a seven year old boy died on 11 April 2001 as a result of kidney damage sustained during his two and a half years spent as a camel jockey in Dubai, and that a six year-old boy died in May 2001, after being seriously injured when he fell from a camel in Al Ain. The report supplied by the ICFTU also refers to information which allegedly shows that hundreds of boys are being trafficked for use as camel jockeys in the United Arab Emirates every year.

7. The Committee recalls that, under Article 3, paragraph 1, of the Convention, the minimum age for admission to any type of employment or work which by its nature or the circumstances in which it is carried out is likely to jeopardize the health, safety or morals of young persons shall not be less than 18 years, and that Paragraph 9 of Recommendation No. 146 states that when the minimum age is still below 18 years, immediate steps should be taken to raise it to that level.

8. The Committee therefore requests that the Government take immediate measures to protect children from employment as camel jockeys by, inter alia, adopting a provision of law which clearly establishes the age of 18 as the minimum age for employment in this occupation, and that it provide information on any measures taken or contemplated to that effect.