Trinity Mount Ministries

Showing posts with label abducted children. Show all posts
Showing posts with label abducted children. Show all posts

Thursday, December 20, 2018

A hub for child trafficking? Only 50% of total children missing in Delhi return home safely

New Delhi: Reports of missing children are not so uncommon these days. And Delhi being the ‘crime capital’ tops here as well. As per government records, thousands of children were reported missing in the national capital every year. Among them barely 50% are recovered or returned safely to their homes.

Moreover, the national data on the child disappearances by “TrackChild” – a portal by Ministry of Women and Child Development – revealed that, in the past 12 months, 6,295 cases of missing children were reported while only 3,245 (may include missing children from past years) were recovered. More than three thousand children still remain untraced.

If we look at the data of Delhi itself, a concerning tally of 17 children went missing from the national capital every day in the past 12 months.

As on December 19, TrackChild shows that 401 children went missing in last one month while 27 in the last 24 hours. A detailed analysis of the yearly figures reveals that in every 3 hours, 2 children go missing in Delhi.
In Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra, 1169, 2074 and 1578 children went missing respectively in the past 12 months. However, these numbers are way below the figures from the national capital.

Organised crime

Some of the reasons behind the cases of missing children could be kidnapping, abduction, trafficking, illegal adoption, and run away due to miscommunication with their parents.

Reena Banerjee – a social activist and founder of NGO, Nav Srishti Organisation – told DB Post that there are organised gangs behind the abduction of children from the capital. These gangs are employing the kidnapped children into various money- making modes, which depend on the age and sex of the child.

Infants below the age of two are most likely to be illegally adopted by desperate infertile married couples – to whom these kids are sold by traffickers.

While girls are dragged into sex trade after being injected with hormonal injections to induce early puberty.

Abducted children are also murdered for organ trafficking, tissues, or other body products, usually for transplantation. There is a global need or demand for healthy body parts for transplantation.

“Children abducted from Delhi were sent out of the city according to the demands while the children kidnapped from other states were taken to the capital”, Banerjee said.

According to her, the children residing in undeveloped areas and slums on the outskirts of the city are the easy targets of the kidnappers.

(Story by: Shaihzad Abid)


Monday, July 16, 2018

AMBER Alert: 22 Years of Progress in Recovering Abducted Children






AMBER Alert: 22 Years of Progress in Recovering Abducted Children:

Today, the AMBER Alert system is being used in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Indian country, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and 22 other countries. As of March 2018, a total of 924 children had been successfully recovered through the AMBER Alert system.

AMBER Alerts will link to photos of missing children under FCC upgrades.
On September 29, 2016, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved improvements to Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA), a system that delivers critical warnings and information to wireless phone users. The FCC updates are intended to enhance the information state and local authorities are able to send into communities. The changes include requiring wireless providers to support inclusion of embedded phone numbers and URLs in all WEA alerts, including allowing users to link to pictures and phone numbers in AMBER Alert urgent child-abduction bulletins. The new FCC rules are planned to be implemented within the next 30 months.

Did you receive an AMBER Alert on your phone? Learn more about the Wireless Emergency Alert program.

As of January 1, 2013, AMBER Alerts™ are being automatically sent through the https://www.missingkids.org/AMBER/WEA.

Any questions or concerns on the AMBER Alert message received on your phone should be directed to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), who manages the secondary distribution of AMBER Alerts.
Contact: NCMEC, 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678).

For more information on the AMBER Alert Program, view the Frequently Asked Questions.

Find AMBER Alerts on missingkids.org/AMBERSignUp for additional ways to receive AMBER Alerts.

The AMBER Alert™ Program is a voluntary partnership between law-enforcement agencies, broadcasters, transportation agencies, and the wireless industry, to activate an urgent bulletin in the most serious child-abduction cases. The goal of an AMBER Alert is to instantly galvanize the entire community to assist in the search for and the safe recovery of the child.


The information and statements contained on this official Department of Justice AMBER Alert website shall not be used for the purposes of advertising, nor to imply the endorsement or recommendation of the United States Government. Use of the AMBER Alert™ logo is subject to the Department of Justice legal policies and disclaimers regarding the use of DOJ seals and logos.

Reference herein (including any document posted hereon or linked hereto) to any specific AMBER or AMBER-related commercial products, processes, or services by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise, does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government.



Friday, June 26, 2015

Debate erupts on social media over death for traffickers:

A great number of posts on the popular social networking site, Wechat, blame the current law for being too lenient on child traffickers.


By 
The viral call for the death sentence for all child traffickers on Chinese social media has led to legal professors' widespread defense of the existing punishments, although they also admit that greater punishment for buyers may be part of the solution.
Certain public pages on Wechat, a popular social networking site, showing pictures and miserable stories of trafficked children and their families were forwarded widely on Thursday.
In the end, such posts usually blamed the current law for being too lenient on child traffickers, and called to raise the current minimum imprisonment of five years.
"Prescribing death for every trafficker may lead to more extreme cases of child trafficking."
As of Thursday night, more than 540,000 people have expressed agreement with a proposal that demands death for all child traffickers, by forwarding it on Wechat.
There were no official statistics about human trafficking in China. The frequent media reports on police raids on child trafficking gangs, and the universal notices for missing children on lamp posts and on the Internet imply that it is prevalent. The rapid spread of the post on social media reflects the fact that it echoes people's long-held concerns.
Facing public pressure, Chinese law professors are voicing their opinions on all online platforms and media they can access, with some suggesting web users not to be taken in by some public pages that are just attracting hits.
Zhang Hui, a lawyer from Guangzhou, said among fundamental principles of law, one is, a violator's punishment should be suited to the crime he or she committed, and another is the presumption of innocence. The uniform punishment certainly violates these rules. They would also deprive the criminal of his right to defend himself.
Hopeful: a father holds a placard looking for his missing son in Shantou

Qi Xiaoling, a law professor, said prescribing death for every trafficker may lead to more extreme cases. If the trafficker would face a death sentence no matter whether he abducted one child or 100 children, he might go for the latter, which is more lucrative. Besides, the capital punishment will increase the possibility that the trafficker turns to extreme approaches once exposed – such as killing the kidnapped child, to prevent police from finding the evidence of his crime.
Li Xuesong, judge of Qujing Intermediate People's Court, admitted that the current law imposes light punishment on buyers of abducted children. According to the Criminal Law of China: "Whoever buys a child but does not maltreat the child nor obstruct his or her rescue may be exempted from being investigated for criminal responsibility." Li suggested a change to this article that imposes a heavier penalty on buyers of an abducted child.
According to China's criminal law, whoever abducts and traffics a child shall be sentenced to at least five years in prison. Under eight aggravating circumstances, including trafficking more than three persons, sexual abuse, and use of violent means, the trafficker shall be sentenced to more than 10 years, up to life imprisonment. If the circumstances are especially serious, he/she shall be sentenced to death and also to confiscation of property.
"Whoever abducts and traffics a child shall be sentenced to at least five years in prison."
In fact, China has kept a heavy punishment for children trafficking. Official figures show that courts across the country handled over 7,700 such cases between 2010 and 2014. Some 13,000 people were punished and over 7,000 of them were given sentences greater than five years in prison.
And the death sentence, which netizens have called for, has never been ruled out.
Lan Shushan, who abducted 34 children aged from 3 to 10 and sold them for over 500,000 yuan (about $81,334) from 1998 to 2008, was sentenced to death earlier this year.
In another case, Ma Shouqing and his accomplices abducted and sold 37 children from 2006 to 2008, with one female infant dying during transportation. He got the same punishment as Lan and was executed.
How do other countries fight against child abduction?
US
In the US, an 'Amber Alert' rapid response system has been established to tackle such crimes with profiles of a missing child publicized through various channels: TV, radio, text messages, Facebook, Twitter, website pop ups and banners and large screens in public places. Besides, America has established a National Center of Missing and Exploited Children, for parents of those children to report their missing children and issue a standard notice. Parents can also request the center to send a specialized search party to look for the child.
Japan
Japan has less than 100 cases of child kidnapping each year. This can be attributed to the equivalent punishment between kidnapping and illegal adoption. Under Japan's criminal law, both of them would receive similar terms of imprisonment- less than ten years for kidnapping and seven years for illegal adoption.
EU
On Dec 29, 2010, the European Council and European Parliament agreed to make a new law on combating kidnapping to fight against such behavior more strictly. The new law gives a broader definition to kidnapping, including
forced begging and kidnapping with the aim of illegal adoption. The new law imposes imprisonment from five years to ten years on criminals in kidnap cases, focusing on enslaving children, organized crime, threatening victims' lives and severe violence. Suspected individuals and corporations may face criminal punishment and temporary or permanent closure.
Thailand
Kidnapping is prevalent in Thailand. Most of the children kidnapped are forced to beg or sold to factories as cheap labor. To fight against it, the Thai government combines legislation and prevention. It established a strict labor policy, stating that foreigners need work permits in order to work in Thailand, or both the employer and employee will receive criminal punishment. Besides, numerous civil organizations participate in the cause, promoting education for women and children and protecting their rights.
Infographic: abducted child rescued after 42 hours of fear
Why is child trafficking rampant in China?
It is believed the tradition of preferring boys over girls and legal loopholes has led to a strong demand from "buyers".
China has advocated a one-child policy since the 1970s, aiming to deter people persistently having children in an attempt to get a male offspring to continue the family line.
In some regions, especially the rural southwest, people are willing to go far to get a boy so that their family lines will "survive".
Another contributing factor has been the mild legal consequences of purchasing abducted children. According to Chinese law, "buyers" shall be exempt from criminal liability if they have not ill-treated or impeded the rescue of trafficked children.
Chen Shiqu, director of the anti-trafficking office, Ministry of Public Security, believes it "is hard to stop buyers".
"We are stepping up efforts to get punishment of buyers into law. We also want to change the way rescued children are treated. When they are taken from a buyer they will be sent to social welfare institutes," the People's Daily quoted Chen as saying.
Accused: 24 defendants suspected of trafficking babies hear trials at a court
Adoption also has a role to play.
According to Xu Jianzhong, a senior official at the Ministry of Civil Affairs, about 30,000 children are currently living with foster families across the country and latest figures from the ministry show the number of registered orphans to be about 600,000.
Qin Xiyan, a lawyer from Central China's Hunan province, submitted a proposal to amend the adoption law a few years ago.
The proposal pointed out some parts of the law, implemented in 1992, were outdated, with high qualifications set for foster family applicants, deficient adoption procedures and lack of supervision. Legal loopholes encourage underground adoption and child-trafficking.
In an encouraging sign, a new regulation on foster families was issued on Sept 26. It is expected to help state-certified families adopt orphans and homeless children, Xinhua News Agency quoted Xu as saying.
Internet and DNA technology help bring abducted children home
China introduced a DNA information system solely for child-trafficking cases in 2009. It has been used to identify parent-child relationships by comparing samples collected from families of missing children. "(As of October), it has helped find more than 3,500 kidnapped children," Chen Shiqu said.
More efforts have been introduced to save abducted children. On Nov 3, an online platform was launched in Beijing to construct a database for parents, children, the police and the public at large to share related information.
Wu Yan, Liu Jing, Ma Chi and He Shuang contributed to this report.

 http://www.TrinityMount.Info

Thursday, June 25, 2015

Chinese who buy children to be prosecuted:


BEIJING: Buyers of abducted children in China will face criminal punishment under proposed laws that would remove an exemption from prosecution, reports said Thursday, as authorities clamp down on the flourishing child trafficking industry.
More than 13,000 children were rescued by police in China last year, the China Daily said, with demand for stolen youngsters fuelled by a traditional preference for sons and a one-child limit for some couples.
Current law imposes harsh sentences for child trafficking, including the death penalty in certain cases.
Buyers of kidnapped children can be sentenced to up to three years in jail, but are exempt from criminal proceedings if they have not abused the children or obstructed efforts to rescue them.
The revised criminal law will eliminate the exception and "increase penalties for those who buy children", the state-run newspaper said, without specifying potential sentences.
"Buyers would receive a less severe penalty if they did not abuse the child or attempt to hinder rescue efforts," it added.
The revised law was welcomed by Feng Jianlin, a father from Shanxiprovince in northern China whose daughter was kidnapped in 2008 when she was nine.
"I think those who buy children should be punished, and the proposed law will promote China's anti-baby trafficking campaign," said Feng, who has set up an information-sharing website which has seen 14 children reunited with their biological parents.
"Currently people do not break the law if they buy children, so the trafficking business is rampant in China," he told AFP.
Parents of missing children commonly use the Internet to search for their offspring, and thousands have posted photos of babies and toddlers on website Baby Come Home, as well as sharing information on Feng's website.
Child trafficking has grown into a huge problem in China, where this year alone police have broken up criminal gangs found keeping babies in disused mortuaries and confining pregnant women to factories before selling their newborns.
Earlier this year, a Chinese mother in the central province of Henan was charged with human trafficking for allegedly conspiring with a doctor to sell her baby boy for almost $7,000.
In 2013 several families in Shaanxi province accused a doctor of persuading them to give up their children shortly after birth, allegations that led to a number of local officials being sacked.
Almost 13,000 people involved in human trafficking were punished between 2010 and last year, the China Daily said, citing the Supreme People's Court.
More than half of those convicted received sentences ranging from five years in prison to death.
The new criminal law was submitted Wednesday to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, China's rubber-stamp parliament.
Other revisions include harsher punishments for those involved in "cults or superstitious activities", and widening the list of activities which can be defined as "terrorism", state news agency Xinhuasaid.
China has previously cracked down harshly on groups it labels "cults", most notably the Falungong spiritual movement, which was banned in the late 1990s.
More recently the outlawed "Quannengshen" - which can be translated as the Church of Almighty God - has been targeted.
A father and daughter who belonged to Quannengshen were executed in February, having been convicted of beating a woman to death at a McDonald's restaurant, reportedly after she rebuffed their attempts to recruit her.
China has also rolled out tough measures to confront what it labels "terrorism" in the largely Muslim region of Xinjiang, sentencing to death scores of people while hundreds have been jailed or detained.

 http://www.TrinityMount.Info