But a February report by Missing Children Europe -- an umbrella group of some 30 child protection groups -- highlighted a “clear lack of ownership” in cases involving missing, unaccompanied children who often slip through the cracks. Although the hotline has been effective over a decade in finding missing European children, it has not been so successful working with missing refugee children - in 2015 the Greek hotline handled 13 cases and is yet to claim one success. As many such children move from country to country, coordination is needed at European level, says head of Missing Children Europe. His two missing children smile cheekily in a photo posted on the Facebook page “Search and find your family for refugees.”The page posts photographs and information about missing refugees, and has dealt with 172 cases of missing children since September, said its Austria-based founder Jimmy Nagy. The Greek children’s charity, Smile of the Child, also runs a tracing service in collaboration with Missing Children Europe.

Source: The Hindu June 12, 2016 06:33 UTC