Missing Children Europe

Summer sees a rise in international parental abduction cases.

Through the #FindingHome project, we're raising awareness and fighting to bring children back home.

💛 Please consider donating today to help bring children back home: missingchildreneurope.eu/donate/

As part of the Young, Queer & Away from Home project, we're running two surveys to better protect and support young LGBTIQ+🏳️‍🌈 people across Europe under 18 (at risk of) experiencing homelessness.

🔗It only takes 5 minutes: iglyo.org/projects/yqa...

Today, on #InternationalYouthDay🌍, we celebrate the unique role that young people play in shaping our world.

Every young person deserves to be who they are without fear of discrimination, especially during adolescence, a crucial time for growth and expression ↓↓

To do something concrete against child trafficking, we must strengthen child protection systems and foster cross-border cooperation among EU Member States.

That’s why we participate in initiatives like #SafeBorders. Learn more in the video below.

𝐕𝐮𝐥𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 → 𝐌𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 → 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠

On #WorldDayAgainstTrafficking, we’re raising awareness about an often overlooked link - when children in vulnerable situations go missing, they face a higher risk of being targeted by traffickers🧵

Support #LGBTIQ+ youth under 18 facing (or at risk of) homelessness! 🏳️‍🌈
📋 2 anonymous, multilingual surveys:
1️⃣ For LGBTIQ+ youth (18–29) who left home before 18
2️⃣ For EU practitioners/service providers
🕐 Take 5 mins: www.iglyo.org/projects/yqa...

❗ It sounds like a no-brainer, but young people should have a voice in solving the problems that affect them.

With YoU Decide, we’re working with—not for—displaced youth from Ukraine to co-create solutions as they navigate life in a new country.

🔗https://missingchildreneurope.eu/youdecide/

🔗For a full look through our Annual Review - which details our achievements, challenges, and the road ahead - you can find it here: missingchildreneurope.eu/download/ann...
#SpotifyWrapped #AnnualReview #MissingChildren #childrights

🎉 We're happy to announce that our 2024 Annual Review is now live! But also, different?

Last year was hugely impactful for @missingchildreneu.bsky.social. From launching our first-ever Youth Board, to impactful advocacy across European Institutions - 2024 was a year of action ↓↓↓

Yesterday, the team at @missingchildreneu.bsky.social came together for a team-building day to explore how inclusive communication shapes our work in child rights. And, as we are in Belgium, we closed the day with a chocolate tasting! 🍫🧩

⚠️Over 50,000 unaccompanied minors went missing in Europe between 2021 and 2023.

Our new #PolicyBrief warns of rising risks for unaccompanied minors as the EU Pact on #Migration and #Asylum moves forward. Read the brief: shorturl.at/NWjfd

At @missingchildreneu.bsky.social we will continue to advocate and collaborate to ensure that every child — regardless of migration status — is seen, supported, and safe 🧩

🔍 While the need to expand legal pathways was acknowledged, it hasn’t taken centre stage, leaving key protection gaps, especially for children, still in the margins.

Missing Children Europe at the @euasylumagency.bsky.social #StateOfAsylum Conference ↓

Our Sr Programmes Officer Alyona Samar attended the EUAA first-ever flagship conference, a key moment as the EU prepares to implement the Pact on Migration and Asylum🧵

A screenshot of today's Politico Morning Tech EU featuring the joint letter we sent to the the Executive Vice-president of the European Commission for Technological Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, Henna Virkkunen, calling on the European Commission to provide further guidance on the structure of the risk assessments that VLOPs (Very Large Online Platforms) have to submit according to the Digital Services Act.

Our joint letter urging the EU to adopt standardised DSA risk assessments to safeguard children online on Politico Morning Tech.

Together with 24 NGOs & 5 MEPs we call for transparency, clear benchmarks & meaningful consultation with children & civil society ✉️ 5rightsfoundation.com/resource/joi...

Protect children, protect Europe – fund the fight against child poverty ✊🏼✊🏿✊🏽✊

The EU Alliance for #InvestinginChildren is urging @vonderleyen.ec.europa.eu @president.europarl.europa.eu @eucopresident.consilium.europa.eu to make ending child poverty a core priority in the next #EUbudget.

Last week in Poland, they worked on a proposal for the #RiseUpPolicyForum at #ISPCAN Vilnius, ensuring missingness is part of the conversation on preventing childhood adversity. 🧩

Learn more 👉 ispcan.org/mp-files/ris...

✨ Updates from our #YouthBoard!

In Sept 2024, we @missingchildreneu.bsky.social launched a dedicated Youth Board of 5 young people from across Europe to shape our work.

But despite challenges, national good practices offer hope!

👏 Huge thanks to Chief Superintendent Ewa Szczepanek 🇵🇱, Lise Ørsted from @bornsvilkar.dk 🇩🇰 and Niels Van Paemel from Child Focus 🇧🇪 for sharing their inspiring work.

Her intervention shed light on:
→ The lack of a common EU definition of 'missing child'
→ The rising threat of grooming and exploitation
→ Missing response protocols in many countries
→ Early intervention and cross-sector cooperation are crucial to protect these children

Last week at our Annual Conference in Poland, our Secretary General Aagje Ieven spoke on teenagers who run away — a growing issue across Europe 🧵

Fight against child sexual abuse: updated rules to address new technologies | News | European Parliament On Tuesday, Parliament adopted its position on draft legislation to improve EU countries’ capacity to fight child sexual abuse effectively.

Big win! The @europarl.europa.eu has raised the bar in the fight against child sexual abuse by saying:

⮕AI-generated child sexual abuse should be criminalised
⮕Online abuse is as serious a crime as offline

Time for Member States to step up.
www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/pres...

24 hours to go!

Tomorrow, the European Parliament could make history by setting a new standard for EU law to tackle child sexual violence.

We call on MEPs to vote YES to the proposal on the Directive to #EndChildSexualAbuse.

Europe faces alarming gaps in data collection on missing children - Missing Children Europe Over 70 child rights advocates, EU policymakers, law enforcement officers and frontline workers gathered in the heart of the EU for one reason – to improve data collection on children who go missing a...

🔍 NEW REPORT: An estimated 250,000 children go missing in Europe each year — but there's no EU-wide system to track them.

The #DATAMISSING report reveals critical gaps in national data systems.

→ Read the full report: missingchildreneurope.eu/europe-faces...

Last week, we hosted a Belgian stakeholder meeting at
@missingchildreneu.bsky.social headquarters for the #EUfunded #SafeBorders project.

Excited to see how this project continues to grow and enhance child protection systems across Europe! Learn more: shorturl.at/NqB7e

International Missing Children's Day - Missing Children Europe International Missing Children’s Day is commemorated globally each year to raise awareness about the issue of missing children and share a message of hope to their families.

Learn more about the action: missingchildreneurope.eu/internationa...

YouTube video by Missing Children Europe International Missing Children’s Day 2025 - Missing Children Europe

“For Sale: Baby Shoes, Never Worn.”

Each pair of shoes tells a story – Last week, we @missingchildreneu.bsky.social laid out over 1,000 shoes in front of @europarl.europa.eu to raise awareness of #MissingChildren and the 116 000 hotline.

📹 www.youtube.com/watch?v=54ED...

🎥 Yesterday was a landmark moment for #MissingChildren — this is what we did.

EU policymakers, Commission officials, and civil society orgs came together to spell out "116 000" with hundreds of children's shoes — the hotline for missing children across Europe.

Full video on Monday!

On Thursday, May 22nd, we'll be observing International Missing Children’s Day in the heart of Europe with a powerful, emotional action – and we want you to be part of it! 🩵

🕗 Action starts at 12:45pm CET

LGBTIQ+ Missing Children - Missing Children Europe

Here's the project we mentioned! Through research, advocacy, training and campaigning, the LGBTIQ+ Missing Children project will address intersectional discrimination to support LGBTIQ+ children at risk. Learn more here: missingchildreneurope.eu/lgbtq-missing/