Mention the unmentioned: Invisible, 10,000 child refugees have already disappeared in Europe

PRESS RELEASE

Athens/Brussels, 18 January 2016

Mention the unmentioned: Invisible, 10,000 child refugees have already disappeared in Europe

“The Smile of the Child”, member of Missing Children Europe, actively participates to a viral campaign launched by the Brussels-based European Federation for Missing and Sexually Exploited Children calling for action from ministers across Europe

The influx of migrants has been at the centre of political discussions for many months. Among the numerous victims forced to flee their country to seek refuge in Europe area large number ofchildren and young people.Did you know that children constitute up to 40% of people in refugee camps in Greece in 2016? Or that more than 89,000 unaccompanied child migrants came to Europe in 2015? And worse, that at least 10,000 of these unaccompanied children have disappeared? To raise awareness about this problem together with the largest number of people possible and to urge politicians to take action, Missing Children Europe is launching "Mention the unmentioned". The campaign invites the public to take action themselves, using Facebook to ask ministers in charge to respect the rights of children in migration. The public will be made aware of how a simple notification can have a real impact on saving the lives of these children.

Left to their own devices, children missing in migration usually end up on the streets, experience homelessness, hunger and other risks that no child should ever experience. These and past experiences often have a negative impact on their mental and physical health. In some cases, they end up in the hands of traffickers or other criminal networks, and become victims of labour and sexual exploitation. In other cases, they rely on ruthless smugglersin an attempt to reach a place where they feel safe or to be closer to their family. They are forced to pay smugglers a lot of money only to be locked in the back of a lorry, or for a spot on a crumbling boat. Despite this reality,authorities in Europehave not taken sufficient measuresto guarantee the respect of the rights of these children and toprovide them much-needed protection.

10,000 children have gone missing in Europe.
Following crises around the world, a large number of refugees and asylum seekers have been forced to leave their homes and come to Europe, including an increasing amount of children.In 2015, at least 89,000 unaccompanied children came to Europe. Fleeing their countries, as orphans or sent by their parents, many of them have no choice but to seek refuge in Europe, sometimes with a family member already living here.

Delphine Moralis, Secretary General of Missing Children Europe: "The authorities in the receiving countries are put in charge of the childmigrants that come to Europe, but these children often do not receive the protection they are entitled to by law: many live like prisoners, in atrocious conditions, become victims of violence, are not informed about their rights… While theyhave the right to be reunited with their families, the procedures are extremely slow and complex. As a result, many children see no other option than to "disappear" and to continue their journey by themselves. It is at this moment that they are the easiest prey."

According to Europol, 10,000 unaccompanied childrenhave already gone missing in Europe. Unfortunately, this figure is probably much higher in reality. Delphine Moralis adds: "Thesechildrengo missing because we do not offer them a safe alternative. And once they go missing, they arevery difficult to find. Administrative barriers make an already very complex problem more complex."

"Mention the unmentioned"
To raise awareness about the situation of children in migration and to invite politicians to take measures to help them, Missing Children Europe is launching "Mention the unmentioned". This is a large-scale awareness-raising campaign directly targeting the ministers in charge of migration of all EU Member States. The principle is simple. Every individual, media organisation, association or business is invited to share an image on Facebook and to "mention" their minister in charge of asylum and migration.

Delphine Moralis: "With this campaign, we want to draw the attention of the largest number of people possible to the plight of child migrants in Europe. We have chosen to use Facebook because it is a good way to reach out to the maximum number of people in the least amount of time and to allow everyone to directly petition their minister using their own page. The idea is that everyone who cares about the fate of children can get involved. It is more than a petition, as mentioning the competent national minister will have a direct impact on his/her cabinet. He/She will not be able to ignore public pressure and will hopefully be compelled to work on recommendations to improve the situation of children in migration."

The campaign has been launched in 8 European countries, together with partners of Missing Children Europe, and with the help of several popular Facebook pages.

Citizens of the country are invited to visit www.mentiontheunmentioned.eu and to share the picture and story of choice on Facebook and to mention their national minister below it. The full list of European ministers can be found at the website of the campaign.

Informal Justice and Home Affairs meeting

On 26 and 27 January 2017, an Informal Justice and Home Affairs meeting will take place in Malta. Justice and Home Affairs Ministers from across the EU will discuss reforms to European asylum and migration law. This is an ideal opportunity for Missing Children Europe, in cooperation with the Maltese President’s Foundation for the Wellbeing of Society to host the upcoming conference entitled "Lost in migration: working together to protect children from disappearance".

Her Excellency Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca, President of Malta and member of Missing Children Europe’s Patron Council, along with a good number of other organizations concerned with this issue, among them “The Smile of the Child” from Greece will be present to propose joint recommendation to help children in migration. The campaign "Mention the Unmentioned", which has been launched eight days prior to the ministers’ meeting, aims to put pressure on the relevant politicians and provide leverage to find specific solutions with the authorities concerned.

Follow the Lost in Migration conference via www.lostinmigration.eu

For further information, please contact our press team at +30 210 3306 140 or at press@hamogelo.gr or Delphine Moralis (Secretary General MCE) at +32 477 44 44 93 and via email at Delphine.Moralis@missingchildreneurope.eu

About The Smile of the Child

The Smile of the Child is an internationally recognized non-profit, Non-Governmental Organization in Greece in the critical field of child protection, support of children and families with children in need, as well as free public health service for children, both in prevention and treatment. The Smile of the Child operates the European Hotline for Missing Children 116000 and is member of Missing Children Europe and its Board of Directors.

Website: www.hamogelo.gr

About Missing Children Europe

Missing Children Europe (MCE) is the European federation for missing and sexually exploited children. The MCE network unites 30 organisations in 26 European countries. MCE ensures that there is a link between researchers, the police and organisations on the ground to protectchildren from all acts of violence, abuse or neglect caused by or linked to them going.

Website: http://missingchildreneurope.eu/