UAE Interior Ministry delegation visits Sudan

The visit comes close on the heels of the delegation's earlier trip to Pakistan and Mauritania, demonstrating the UAE's committed support to combating child abuse and ensuring the restoration and protection of children's human rights.

The UAE delegation met with Ameera Al-Fadel, Secretary General of the Sudanese National Council for Child Welfare in Khartoum, and Bo Victor Nylund, UNICEF's Head of Child Protection Section in Sudan.

During their visit to the Sudanese Ministry of Interior, the UAE officials met with Major General Basheer Ahmad Basheer, Assistant Director General of Passports and Civil Register.

Major General Basheer provided an update of the progress made by the Independent Claims Facility Committee in Sudan, and highlighted its success in establishing technical committees for ensuring the timely settlement of the former camel jockeys' compensation claims.

The delegation reiterated UAE's keenness to ensure all former child jockeys are offered opportunities for education to facilitate their rapid integration into the communities, as mandated for the rehabilitation programme by His Highness Sheikh Saif Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE Minister for Interior.

During the meeting, Ameera Al-Fadel briefed the officials on the achievements gained from the alliance of the Sudanese National Council for Child Welfare, UNICEF and the UAE in rehabilitating former camel jockeys through child-centric programmes.

Al-Fadel said:

"The UAE has shown exceptional support in our initiative to provide a basic standard of life and education for combating poverty. It has also ensured the implementation of community-development programmes that have benefited not only the former camel jockeys, but other children as well."
She said the UNICEF-led mission has set off the construction of three schools, and a series of clean water and sanitation schemes, while putting in place a data collection system to raise social awareness among the parents of former camel jockeys. Sudan has also benefited from the UAE's experience in using robot jockeys that will help enforce the ban on child jockeys. I am confident the training sessions organized by social workers and expert psychologists, especially for tribal leaders, will have a positive impact on the programme in its second phase."

At the Sudanese Interior Ministry, Major General Basheer expressed his gratitude to the UAE government and His Highness Sheikh Saif Bin Zayed Al Nahyan for ensuring the implementation of a user-friendly claims procedure for compensating the former camel jockeys.

Bo Victor highlighted the UNICEF's role in creating a favourable environment for the reintegration of former camel jockeys into their communities through rehabilitation programmes and community development projects.

Welcoming the UAE delegation to Sudan, he said the visit contributes to enhancing the partnership between the UAE, UNICEF and Sudan in all aspects child protection.

Over the next few days, the delegation is scheduled to visit key regions in Sudan, including Gadarif and Kassala states that are actively implementing the UNICEF programmes.

Gadarif is one of the largest states in Sudan, well-known for its rich agricultural resources, while Kassala in the northeastern region is reputed for its fruit gardens.

In partnership with UNICEF and the governments of Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sudan and Mauritania, the UAE has put in place a historic initiative that ended the use of children as camel jockeys, and spearheaded their resettlement in their home countries, while ensuring the provision of education as a conclusive approach to fighting poverty as the root cause of the problem. The UNICEF has described the initiative as a model programme for other countries.

Last year, the UAE government extended its support to community-based interventions in the source countries through UNICEF, by committing additional resources to help children previously employed as camel jockeys.

Since the UAE government banned the practice in 2005, robots are being used in camel races across the UAE.