LAHORE, Pakistan, June 22 (UPI) -- The United Arab Emirates have repatriated the first group of underage camel jockeys to Pakistan, under an agreement with UNICEF.
The 22 boys arrived at Lahore airport and will stay at state welfare facilities until their parents are located. Blood tests will be used to identify the parents of the younger boys, the BBC reported Tuesday.
The parents must sign an agreement not to allow their children to become jockeys again.
The Emirates agreed to repatriate child jockeys in an agreement they signed last month with UNICEF and the governments of Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sudan and Mauritius.
Two months ago the Emirates banned jockeys under 16 and weighing less than 100 pounds. Following successful tests, robot jockeys will now be used in place of boys.
UNICEF says most of the child jockeys come from poor areas, and some are as young as 3 years.
Of the nearly 3,000 child jockeys stranded in the United Arab Emirates, 70 to 80 percent are of Pakistani origin, said Tariq Azim, minister of state for overseas Pakistanis.
Human rights groups say the child jockeys are deliberately underfed to keep them light and are accommodated in prisonlike conditions.
