More than 250,000 children go missing in Europe each year alone. AMBER Alert Europe calls on the European Commission and the European Parliament to adopt its 5 point plan to save more lives of endangered missing children, which may include abducted, trafficked or migrant children.
AMBER Alert Europe is the European Child Rescue Alert & Police Network on Missing Children.
When an endangered missing child crosses a national border the search often comes to a halt. The abduction cases of Madeleine McCann (UK, missing in Portugal), Mirco Schlitter (Germany) and Livia and Alessia Schepp (Switzerland) clearly demonstrate the need for better cross-border law enforcement cooperation and an AMBER Alert system in every EU member state.
“It should not matter where children come from or where they go missing. It should not even matter whether children go missing near a border or not – because to child abductors there are no borders either” says Frank Hoen, President of AMBER Alert Europe.
5 point plan to save more missing children
AMBER Alert Europe’s 5 point plan was written in consultation with law enforcement experts, national ministries and organisations such as Eurojust and Frontex. The plan contains key recommendations to save more lives of endangered missing children.
To save more lives of endangered missing children in Europe, AMBER Alert Europe suggests the following 5 key points to the European Commission and the European Parliament:
- Bigger, stronger AMBER Alert network
- More flexibility in issuing AMBER Alerts
- Better cross-border information sharing
- Better cross-border law enforcement cooperation
- Improving the identification and protection of children at borders
Cooperation with Frontex and UNHCR
In close cooperation with Frontex and UNHCR, AMBER Alert Europe is currently involved in projects to save children at risk at EU external air borders. Effective cooperation between national police and border guards protecting the outer borders of the EU is a critical to protect children at serious risk of harm.
AMBER Alert Europe
AMBER Alert Europe is the European Child Rescue Alert & Police Network on Missing Children. It has 18 members (law enforcement, ministries & NGOs) in 14 countries. Its Police Network consists of over 35 experts representing law enforcement from 12 EU countries. The goals of AMBER Alert Europe are backed by 150+ Members of the European Parliament.
