The International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children (ICMEC) hosted an international conference in Brasilia, Brazil, to address the 8 million children who go missing each year. Participants from 14 countries attended the Global Missing Children's Network (GMCN) conference on February 9 to share best practices in dealing with the global problem of missing children.
“The problem of missing children touches every nation. Yet, most countries lack basic systems to respond,” said Ernie Allen, former President and CEO of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. “The meeting in Brazil is historic and represents the beginning of a global effort to build effective systems in every country.”
ICMEC created GMCN in 1998 to share best practices, information, and strategies on missing children. Nineteen countries are members: Albania, Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Greece, Italy, Ireland, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Romania, Spain, South Africa, South Korea, the United Kingdom, and the United States.