INTERNATIONAL MISSING CHILDREN’S DAY 2011
Celebrating 10 years of European action for missing children
Brussels, 25 and 26 May 2011
What is the conference about?
The aim of the conference is to raise awareness about the existence of the 116 000 hotlines,
exchange best practices, and identify practical tools to help remove the obstacles for the
implementation of the hotline in all Member States. It follows the Commission’s renewed call to the
Member States to implement the 116 000 hotlines for missing children as a matter of priority.1 In
addition to the implementation of 116 000, the conference will also look at the implementation of
child alert systems across the EU and child friendly justice.
Who is organising this conference?
The conference is organised by the European Commission, DG Justice and the Hungarian Presidency
of the Council of the EU, in cooperation with Missing Children Europe, the European Federation for
Missing and Sexually Exploited Children.
What is International Missing Children’s Day?
International Missing Children’s Day is commemorated annually and increasingly in Europe and
beyond on 25 May to remember all the children who have gone missing and express solidarity with
their families. Missing Children Day is particularly significant this year as 25 May 2011 coincides with
the deadline for implementation of the revised Universal Service Directive, which imposes new
obligations on the Member States regarding the 116 0002.
What is a missing child?
Every day, in every EU Member State, children go missing. Missing children may have run away from
their home or institution, they may have been abducted by their parents or by a third person, or
they may be lost. More and more people travel across the EU without border controls. For this
reason it is increasingly important to address the problem of missing children at European level.
1
COM(2010) 674 final: "Dial 116 000: The European hotline for missing children". Available at:
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:52010DC0674:EN:NOT
2
See Article 27a (4) of the Universal Service Directive (Directive 2009/136/EC amending Directive
2002/22/EC). Available at:
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:32009L0136:EN:NOT
Members of Missing Children Europe (MCE) identify the following categories of missing children:
•
•
•
•
•
Runaways
Parental abductions
Missing unaccompanied migrant minors
Criminal abductions
Lost, injured or otherwise missing children.
How many children go missing every year?
• Worldwide data
Because of the lack of coherent data collection efforts among the different stakeholders involved, it
is not possible to provide a clear indication of the number of children that go missing each year.
Estimations on the number of missing children worldwide are however alarming: this year alone 8
million children are expected to go missing whose families seek their return.3
• Cases dealt with by 116 000 hotlines for missing children
In 2009 – 2010, data on the caseload of 116 000 hotlines were collected in the framework of the
operational research project conducted for Missing Children Europe by Bain & Company. The nine
hotlines interviewed reported having dealt with 3619 cases of missing children in 2009. Of particular
relevance is the proportion of the different kinds of cases dealt with, which appears to be
consistent with other data collection efforts coordinated by Missing Children Europe. Overall, it is
clear that for most organisations, runaways constitute the biggest group, followed by parental
abductions and unaccompanied migrant minors.
The research also confirmed that over 70% of the cases of parental abductions – which constitutes
little under 25% of the total amount of cases dealt with – were international in nature.
3
Source: International Center for Missing and Sexually Exploited Children, 2011.
More effort is needed to obtain a full picture of the work of hotlines for missing children.
What is 116 000?
• Introduction and legal background
On 15 February 2007, the European Commission adopted a Decision reserving 116 000 as the
hotline for missing children in the EU4. In doing so, the Commission obliged Member States to
make sure the number would be used for nothing else but hotlines for missing children. The Decision
covers all 116 XYZ numbers, reserved for harmonised services of social value.
In 2009, the 116 000 was included in the revised Universal Service Directive5, which imposes on
Member States to «promote» all 116 numbers, «encourage» the provision of their services, and
adequately inform the citizens of the existence and the use of the 116 services. For the hotline for
missing children, the Commission added a specific obligation to «make every effort to ensure that
citizens have access to the 116 000 hotline service». The deadline for implementing these
obligations is 25 May 2011.
The Commission further underlined the importance of 116 000 in its Communication of 17 November
2010 "Dial 116 000: the European hotline number for missing children"6. The Communication
highlighted the main obstacles for implementation of the service, and referred to examples of good
practice reported by Missing Children Europe Members operating the hotline. The Commission
further stressed the importance of the quality standard applicable for 116 000 hotlines. To be
meaningful, the hotline support to parents and children reaching out for help must be at the highest
possible level in all EU Member States.
Today, the number is operational in 15 EU Member States. Out of these 15 hotlines, 12 are
operated by members of Missing Children Europe.
The 116 000 hotline for missing children is known to be operational in 15 EU Member States:
Belgium:
Denmark:
Estonia:
France:
Greece:
4
Child Focus, Member of MCE
Thora Center, Member of MCE
Medical Consultation Center LLC
Fondation pour l’Enfance Member of MCE
The Smile of the Child, Member of MCE
Commission Decision 2007/116/EC of 15 February 2007 on reserving the national numbering range
beginning with 116 for harmonised numbers for harmonised services of social value. Available at:
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2007:049:0030:0030:EN:PDF.
5
Directive 2009/136/EC amending Directive 2002/22/EC. Available at:
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:32009L0136:EN:NOT
6
COM(2010) 674 final. Available at:
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:52010DC0674:EN:NOT
Hungary:
Kék Vonal, Member of MCE
Italy:
Telefono Azzurro, Member of MCE
Malta:
Malta Police Force7
The Netherlands:
Centrum Internationale Kinderontvoering
Poland:
ITAKA, Member of MCE
Portugal:
Instituto de Apoio à Criança, Member of MCE
Romania:
Focus, Member of MCE
Slovakia:
Linka detskej istosy, Member of MCE
Spain:
Fundación ANAR, Member of MCE
United Kingdom:
Missing People, Member of MCE
Further launches of the national 116 000 hotlines are expected in the near future for Bulgaria,
Germany and Luxembourg. Developments are also ongoing in Luxembourg and Slovenia.
• Service offered through 116 000 hotlines
With the 116 000 hotline, parents faced with a missing child or children who for some reason are
missing in their home country or in another EU Member State will increasingly have access to the
support they need, as the number is connected to the national organisations specialising in dealing
with these cases. In particular, NGOs operating the service are specialised in helping runaways and
lost children to safety, and in supporting the parents both emotionally and in practical ways to find
their child. They also work for the prevention of further disappearances, and assist in liaising with
the police and other competent authorities.
As research shows, the first hours after the disappearance of a child are of vital importance.
Therefore having such an “easy to remember" telephone number at the disposal of parents across
Europe is a vital link in the immediate involvement of the responsible local authorities.
• Missing Children Europe projects on 116 000
Missing Children Europe has conducted a number of projects with the support of the European
Commission, Daphne Programme, the aims of which are:
-
To facilitate the operational implementation of the number in all EU Member States
-
To communicate about the number to the wider public through European awareness campaigns,
giving the 116 000 a uniform and recognisable identity
-
To achieve a common minimum quality standard for the service provided through national 116
000 hotlines
-
To agree on procedures for cooperation in cross-border procedures.
7 Number assigned according to information available in
http://circa.europa.eu/Public/irc/infso/cocom1/library?l=/public_documents_2011/cocom1101_2011pdf/_EN_1.0_&a=d. No further details on operation of the service available.
More information on these projects is available at www.missingchildreneurope.eu or at
www.hotline116000.eu.
What are Child Alert systems?
Child Alert systems aim to immediately involve the public at large in the search for abducted
children whose life may be at risk, by using a wide range of information channels (radio, TV, road
traffic signs, etc.). They are based on a voluntary partnership between different actors, who work
together in a coordinated manner in very specific cases of life threatening disappearances. While
Child Alert systems have proved their effectiveness, they currently exist only in a limited number of
Member States and are, where deployed nationally, often limited in their action by being confined
within national borders.
In November 2008 the Commission adopted "Best practice for launching a cross-border child
abduction alert"8. The Council invited Member States to establish and develop – on the basis of the
best practice developed by the Commission – national mechanisms to alert the public in cases of
criminal abduction of children, and to define national implementing arrangements ensuring that
cross-border alerts are triggered if needed.
In 2009, the European Commission was asked by the European Parliament to launch a call for pilot
projects to introduce child alert mechanisms across Europe. This call for projects allowed for 6 new
child alert applications to be developed in 2010.
Today, child alert systems are known to exist to varying degrees in 10 EU Member States: Belgium,
the Czech Republic, France, Germany,9 Greece, Italy, The Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, and
the United Kingdom. All have the same aim, being to inform the public at large as soon as possible
in rare cases of extremely worrying disappearances.
In view of the conference, the Hungarian Presidency and Missing Children Europe circulated a
questionnaire to the Member States, in order to assess the progress on the development of child
alert systems across the EU.
8
SEC(2008)2912 final. Available at
http://ec.europa.eu/justice/funding/rights/call_10014/ramc_ag_annex_5_2008_en.pdf
9
Private system operated by an NGO Initiative Vermisste Kinder