Global effort launched to help bring missing children home

Nine countries from across four continents are joining to raise awareness of missing children and strengthen global efforts to find them. On May 25, International Missing Children’s Day, bringing missing children home will be our goal.

International Missing Children’s Day, 25 May, is a day to commemorate missing children who have been found, remember those who have been victims of crime and continue efforts to find those who are still missing. This year the focus is on parental / family abduction.

Activities are being organized around the world to commemorate the day.

“Everyday, all around the world, children go missing, and unfortunately, some are taken by those they trust the most: parents and family members. A child who is abducted by a parent or family member may suffer physical, emotional, and psychological harm, and the abduction can have a lasting effect on the child and the family left behind,” says Nancy Dube, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children (ICMEC).

Of growing concern is the impact family / parental child abduction has on the child who is removed from his or her familiar surroundings and environment by someone he or she trusts. Abducted children can suffer the alienation of losing contact with their family and friends, miss their educational stability and, in extreme circumstances, may be lied to by the abducting parent. At times children are told that their left-behind families do not love them anymore or that certain family members have died, when in fact they are still living.

Australia, Canada, Brazil, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Romania, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom are part of the Global Missing Children’s Network (GMCN), an ICMEC program that recognizes the need to collaborate on this complex issue on a global level. The program is supported by Motorola Foundation.

To commemorate International Missing Children’s Day on 25 May, participating countries will release balloons displaying photos of missing children from around the world in the hope that someone, somewhere, will recognise them. Other activities are also being planned. Brazil is hosting a one day seminar followed by the release of balloons in Brasilia; the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) will be releasing their annual report on missing children, present an AirCanada award to a law enforcement officer for extraordinary efforts to recover a missing child, and release the balloons at the RCMP Visitor Centre in Ottawa; and the Dutch National Police will visit local schools to talk to children about International Missing Children’s Day and release 500 balloons.

Balloons can also be released virtually at www.helpbringthemhome.org.au, an interactive portal developed by the Australian Federal Police (AFP) for the campaign. The AFP also created a powerful 30 second public service announcement, which has been distributed throughout participating countries to drive people to the website for further information.

“We urge you to join us in spreading a message of hope and help bring these missing children home. View profiles of missing children and release a balloon online at www.helpbringthemhome.org.au,” Ms. Dube said.