Europol: 10,000 migrant children missing
| Publisher | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| Publication Date | 31 January 2016 |
| Cite as | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Europol: 10,000 migrant children missing, 31 January 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56c4298315.html [accessed 5 June 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
January 31, 2016
By RFE/RL
Migrants and refugees wait for security check after crossing the Macedonian border into Serbia, near the village of Miratovac, January 29.
The EU's agency for law-enforcement cooperation says at least 10,000 unaccompanied migrant children have vanished after registering with state authorities in Europe over the past two years.
"Not all of them will be criminally exploited; some might have been passed on to family members," British newspaper The Observer quoted Europol's chief of staff Brian Donald on January 31 as saying. "We just don't know where they are, what they're doing or whom they are with."
Donald warned that a sophisticated pan-European "criminal infrastructure" was now targeting refugees.
The international children's charity Save the Children says about 26,000 child migrants arrived in Europe in 2015 without any family.
There are fears unaccompanied children and young people may be dragged into sex work and other illegal activity.
Based on reporting by AFP, the BBC, and theguardian.com
Link to original story on RFE/RL website
