Around the world, children go missing every day for a variety of reasons. On an international level, there is no harmonized, global strategy aimed at addressing the problem of missing children. There is an obvious need for systems that detail how law enforcement, governmental agencies, and the public can work together not only to prevent children from going missing, but to locate them safely. To ensure that the issue of missing children is addressed globally, it would greatly benefit from United Nations support through a dedicated international Convention or an Optional Protocol under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Several general international child protection instruments, which address some – but not all – aspects of missing/abducted children issues are listed below. For additional information about the relevant articles of each of these international legal instruments, see our review here.

International Legal Instruments

Convention on the Rights of the Child
Click here to learn about the status of ratification in each country.

Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography
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Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict
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Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons Especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime
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International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance
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The Hague Convention of 25 October 1980 on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction
Click here to learn about the status of ratification in each country.