While the Council of Europe does not take specific action
in relation to missing refugee and migrant children, some of its
bodies and instruments may be of added value in preventing the disappearance
of these children. Therefore, the Assembly recommends that the Committee
of Ministers:
2.1 invite the States
Parties to the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking
in Human Beings (CETS No. 197) and the States Parties to the Council
of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual
Exploitation and Sexual Abuse (CETS No. 201) to share national experience
in preventing the disappearance of child refugees and migrants in
the context of human trafficking or sexual exploitation;
2.2 invite the States Parties to the European Convention on
Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters (ETS No. 30) to consider co-ordinated
strategies for mutual assistance and the exchange of information concerning
missing refugee and migrant children as well as unidentified dead
children, for instance by making use of Interpol’s Yellow and Black
Notices and the Schengen Information System;
2.3 recognising the work of the Congress of Local and Regional
Authorities of the Council of Europe, especially its
Resolution
428 (2018) and
Recommendation
414 (2018) “Unaccompanied refugee children: the role
and responsibilities of local and regional authorities”, encourage
the Congress to continue addressing this issue as well as that of
migrant street children as set out in its
Resolution
271 (2008) on the social reintegration of children living
and/or working on the streets, especially in relation to measures
to prevent children going missing;
2.4 invite the Steering Committee for the Rights of the Child
(CDENF) to examine policies to prevent the disappearance of migrant
children in the context of its work on guardianship and its review
of Recommendation CM/Rec(2007)9 of the Committee of Ministers to
member States on life projects for unaccompanied migrant minors.
