Agenzija Appogg is once again collaborating with Child Focus to mark the International Missing Children’s Day, which falls today. For the sixth consecutive year, Child Focus is joining together with more than 10 countries within the European Union to mark this day, aiming to generate more awareness on missing children as well as on the well-being and protection of children, towards which Agenzija Appogg is committed.

Over the past years, the International Missing Children’s Day has grown to become a unique opportunity to remind policy makers, key actors as well as the general public of the problems of runaways, missing unaccompanied migrant children, children victim of trafficking, cases of parental abductions and abductions by third persons.

In 2006, the Department for Social Welfare Standards, as the Malta central authority, dealt with five cases of alleged abduction, out of which three were from Malta to another country, while the other two were from another country to Malta. So far in 2007, the same Department dealt with one case of alleged abduction from another country to Malta (Data source: Department for Social Welfare Standards).

While on the international front all issues are tackled together, locally the focus is more specifically on promoting the rights of children and the prevention from any harm and abuse.

Agenzija Appogg is continuously developing children’s services and enhancing its networks with other entities working in the same field, thus ensuring that the child gets the best services possible, especially when they are victims of abuse. Children’s issues should be on top of everyone’s agenda so as to guarantee their rights, care and protection.

Child Focus is a Belgian Foundation considered as the European Centre for Missing and Sexually Exploited Children, with which Agenzija Appogg works closely on the same issue and even held a round-table forum last year on the same topic.