UN official says urgent action needed to address reports of 10,000 missing migrant children in Europe



A senior UN official says international action is "urgently needed" to look into the possibility that 10,000 unaccompanied child migrants in Europe are missing.


Yuri Fedetov, head of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), was reacting to warnings from Europol, the European Union's law enforcement agency.

Speaking in New York on Tuesday, he described the situation as "clearly unacceptable."

Mr Fedetov said the solution involves promoting greater cooperation among all countries affected by human trafficking.

However, he pointed out that many countries are not using the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, the main global treaty that addresses the issue.

For example, he cited research from his office which showed that four out of 10 countries have reported less than 10 annual convictions, with nearly 15 per cent having no convictions at all.


SOURCE: UN Radio