14 Member States still lack to activate the missing children hotline 116 000 which offers help, support and a potential lifeline for missing children and their parents. This fact has been highlighted by the European Commission in the occasion of the celebration of the Expert Conference “Vulnerable Children on the Run, A European Challenge” hosted by Belgian Presidency.

The Expert Conference “Vulnerable Children on the Run, A European Challenge” has been organised by the Belgian Federal Department of Justice in collaboration with the Belgian foundation Child Focus, and the EU umbrella organisation Missing Children Europe which represents 24 NGOs active in this field across Europe.

In this occasion, the European Commission has made a final call to 14 EU Member States to make the Europe-wide 116 000 hotline for missing children operational as soon as possible. After several occasions in which the Commission has urged Member States to make 116 000 number operational as soon as possible, it has adopted a report on 17 November, making a last call to these Member States to implement the missing children hotline as a matter of priority. The Commission also identifies obstacles in implementing the hotline and provides practical solutions to governments that have not yet made the number operational.

The two main obstacles to full  implementation identified by the Commission are the lack of information provided to the public and operators about the existence of the hotline, and cost – both in running and calling the 116 000 number. To tackle these problems, the Commission identifies examples of good practices from the experience of those countries where the hotline is operational.

Some best practices for 116 000 missing children hotline

• Multilingual service provision: in Romania, the service is also available in French, English and Spanish. In Greece the service is also available in English.
• Targeted training is organised for operators in Hungary, Spain and Romania where staff are usually social workers and psychologists. Hotline operators receive training on procedural rules and how to respond to calls, coping with the caller's emotions such as anger and panic.
• Cooperation agreements between service providers and national enforcement and/or judiciary authorities can make the case handling more efficient. Such agreements exist in Belgium, Spain, France, Portugal and Romania.