EU Must Help 'abused' Migrant Children: Commissioner
Sumaira FH Published January 27, 2017 | 09:05 PM
VALLETTA, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 27th Jan, 2017 ) : EU countries must do more to stop the trafficking of unaccompanied migrant children, some of whom are suffering sexual abuse, the bloc's migration commissioner warned Friday.
EU Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos urged politicians in the 28 member states to go against a rising tide of populism on the continent and speak out on the subject of young migrants. "Many children are in the hands of smugglers, traffickers," Avramopoulos told a conference in Malta after EU interior ministers met to discuss the migration crisis.
"Many are sexually abused." "If we don't bring public opinion on board, we will not succeed because these children are on the streets of our cities," he added. Avramopoulos, whose native Greece has been hardest hit by the wave of refugees and migrants fleeing war in Syria and elsewhere, said that EU countries "must take up their responsibilities.
" "Some politicians are good in rhetoric but not in doing things," he told the conference, organised by the Brussels-based NGO Missing Children Europe.
EU data shows that around 90,000 unaccompanied children entered Europe in 2015 among a record number of asylum seekers. The European police agency Europol caused a stir a year ago when it announced that some 10,000 migrant children had gone missing, raising alarm that many of them could have fallen into the hands of traffickers for labour, sexual or criminal exploitation.
Heidi de Pauw of Missing Children Europe told the conference that politicians had to "lead" efforts to change views about migrants at a time when right-wing anti-immigration parties are on the rise. "We have to admit public opinion is not in favour of migration," de Pauw said.
Related Topics
Recent Stories
Bugti assures transporters for addressing their problems
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Mohammad Ishaq Dar meets foreign min ..
3 drug peddlers arrested, hashish recovered
1496,990 children given polio drops in five days: DC
Six terrorists killed, hideout busted in N Waziristan IBO: ISPR
Pakistan, Qatar agree to further expand trade, investment ties
Sindh cabinet approves Rs177.5m to strengthen, mobilize various wings of police
Faisal Karim Kundi takes oath as new KP Governor
Azad Jammu and Kashmir Prime Minister Anwaar ul Haq Chaudhry seeks more vibrant ..
Tahaffuz Manzil Foster Home providing care & support to homeless children
PCB proposes April 7 -May 20 window; tweaks in rules for HBL PSL 2025
Field hospitals now operational across Punjab: Azma Bukhari
More Stories From World
-
Football: French Ligue 1 results - collated
38 minutes ago -
Football: Italian Serie A results - collated
48 minutes ago -
European Champions Cup semi-final result
58 minutes ago -
Football: Italian Serie A table
58 minutes ago -
Tennis: WTA Madrid Open results
58 minutes ago -
Formula One: Miami Grand Prix sprint race results
1 hour ago
-
Barca have 'huge amount' to change next season: coach Xavi
1 hour ago -
Haaland 'back to business' with four-goal haul in Man City rout of Wolves
1 hour ago -
Newcomer Bellingham Madrid's driving force in La Liga conquest
1 hour ago -
Girona players have made history, says coach after reaching Champions League
1 hour ago -
Reus begins farewell tour while Bayern stumble in Stuttgart
2 hours ago -
Real Madrid La Liga title win in numbers
2 hours ago