(Yemen Observer)- - A delegation from the Saudi Ministry of Social Affairs will arrive in Sana�a next month to discuss a draft agreement to prevent Yemeni children from sneaking across the border to work in the Saudi territories. The delegation will meet Yemeni officials from the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor, the National Council of Motherhood and Childhood, and representatives from UNICEF in Sana�a to discuss the issue of child trafficking.

The planned meeting was prompted by increasing concern among the authorities of both countries. An agreement between Yemen and Saudi Arabia will focus on increasing direct communication between the countries, improving the mechanisms for apprehending Yemeni children in Saudi Arabia, and expelling and extraditing them to the concerned authorities. The governmental Technical Committee for Fighting Child Trafficking in Yemen has developed a draft of the agreement to fight the trafficking of children, in cooperation with the concerned ministries and the UNICEF organization�s office in Sana�a.

In 2004, it is estimated that some 9,815 children who had been trafficked into the kingdom were handed over to Yemeni authorities. There were also reports that many youngsters faced hunger and physical violence while abroad. The phenomenon of child trafficking, mainly into the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, has spread over the last few years due to the deteriorating economic situations in Yemen and children dropping out of school at early ages.