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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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Contact Information:
International Centre for
Missing & Exploited Children
Information
Katia Dantas
kdantas@icmec.org
+55 61 8140-6886
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MAJOR INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE IN BRASILIA TO ADDRESS
GLOBAL PROBLEM OF MISSING CHILDREN
At Least 8 Million Children Go Missing Worldwide
Each Year
Including 40,000 from Brazil
BRASILIA, BRAZIL – 9 February,
2012. A major international conference to address the global problem
of missing children is being held this week in Brasilia, Brazil. The
US-based International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children (ICMEC)
today announced that it is holding a meeting of the Global Missing Children’s
Network (GMCN) in Brasilia through a collaboration with the Secretariat
for Human Rights (SDH) and made possible through generous support from the
Motorola Solutions Foundation and the Secretariat of Social Development
and Income Transfer of the Federal District (SEDEST).
The problem of missing children is a global issue that needs the attention
of law enforcement and government officials around the world. It
is estimated that at least 8 million children worldwide go missing each
year. The U.S. Department of Justice estimates that nearly 800,000
children will be reported missing each year in the US. Other credible
sources cite 230,000 children go missing in the United Kingdom each year;
50,500 in Canada; 100,000 in Germany; 45,000 in Mexico; and 39,000 in France. An
estimated 40,000 children go missing each year in Brazil.
The objective of the Global Missing Children’s Network conference
is to enable members to share best practices in dealing with the global problem
of missing children as well as discuss other issues including street children
in Albania, an update on research currently being done; the creation of a missing
children’s hotline 116000 in Europe; a child alert program and other
items related to missing children. The meeting is expected to be attended
by representatives from fourteen countries of the GMCN.
The GMCN conference will begin with a special session conducted by the
Secretariat for Human Rights to discuss national and international best
practices in reporting and handling missing children cases.
“The problem of missing children touches every nation. Yet,
most countries lack basic systems to respond. The Global Missing Children’s
Network currently has members from 19 countries. It needs to have
many times that number,” said Ernie Allen, President of ICMEC. “The
meeting this week in Brazil is historic and represents the beginning of
a global effort to build effective systems in every country. We are
deeply grateful to the Brazilian government, to the SDH and the SEDEST for
their commitment and support. Brazil is a leader on behalf of the
world’s children. We are also grateful to the Motorola Solutions
Foundation, our corporate partner which is helping build and grow the GMCN.”
The Global Missing Children’s Network (GMCN) was created in 1998
by ICMEC to establish a global network to share best practices, information
and strategies on missing children. Membership in the GMCN includes
19 countries: Albania, Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada,
Germany, Greece, Italy, Ireland, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Romania,
Spain, South Africa, South Korea, the United Kingdom and the United States. Members
receive annual training and are provided access to an international, multilingual
database of information and photographs about missing children from around
the world. Access to the database also enables members to customize
their countries’ websites to meet individual needs; quickly create
missing child posters and display information and photographs of missing
children in their countries. Previous meetings of the GMCN were held
in Travemunde, Germany; Sydney, Australia and Washington, DC in the U.S.
The Motorola Solutions Foundation is the charitable and philanthropic arm
of Motorola Solutions. With employees located around the globe, Motorola
Solutions seeks to benefit the communities where it operates. They
have been a partner of ICMEC since 2010 and share our vision of a global
network of many nations to save and protect the world’s children. In
addition to underwriting a portion of the cost of the conference being held
this week in Brazil they have also provided a grant to host a training for
law enforcement, government ministries and nongovernmental organizations
in Brazil. A previous grant from the foundation resulted in Albania
and three additional states in Brazil joining the GMCN.
About the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children
The International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children is a private,
nonprofit 501(c)(3) nongovernmental organization. It is the leading
agency working on a global basis to combat child abduction and exploitation. It
is the sister organization of the National Center for Missing & Exploited
Children located in the United States. For more information visit www.icmec.org.
NOTE TO THE NEWS MEDIA: The conference is a working
meeting and will be closed to the news media. However, for more information
or to schedule an interview please contact:
International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children
Katia Dantas, Policy Director for Latin America & the Caribbean
kdantas@icmec.org or call +55 61 8140.6886 |
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