Belgium No child's play

January 1, 2005

Translation :

Original article in English, please consult: http://www.thebulletin.be/

Comment: “The capital of Europe is now also the unofficial capital of child trafficking” affirms 'The Bulletin', the Brussels magazine. This straight statement is based on the recent tightening of the French borders which makes Belgium becoming the new country of destination for trafficked victims (to complement this information, listen to the podcast “The newest country of migration is Belgium”).

The journalist documents his paper with the findings of the report from the Slovak MEP Edit Bauer, corroboted by several other interviews from NGOs active in Belgium and at the international level. We learn here that an average of 2000 unaccompanied minors arrive each year in the country, from which “many disappear within a few hours of their arrival”.

The weekly magazine relays also the recommendations issued by Terre des hommes and several other NGOs, demanding that the EU creates a legally binding instrument on the protection and rehabilitation of child victims of trafficking which would take into account their special needs.

At the end, the articles refers to a conference which took place in Brussels on October 2006. Co-organized by Unicef and Terre des hommes, the event gathered EU officials with the representatives of countries of origin (Albania, UN administrated Province of Kosovo, Moldova and Romania). The aim of the meeting was to contribute to the improvement of the European policy related to prevention of trafficking in children, by enhancing a common understanding of the appropriate response to shape and implement at national and European level.

The meeting took place after the publication ""Action to prevent child trafficking in South Eastern Europe. A preliminary assessment":http://www.tdh-childprotection.org/index.php?option=com_doclib&task=showdoc&Itemid=55&docid=373 " (Mike Dottridge, Terre des hommes and UNICEF 2006).