Skopje, 18 December 2023 (MIA) – Closing conference of pilot project ‘Early warning system for missing children’ organised by CSO Journalists for Human Rights (JHR) in cooperation with partner organisation ECPAT Austria is to be held Monday whereat website for the early warning system for missing children – www.najdime.org.mk will be launched.

The website will be available in three languages - Macedonian, Albanian, and Romani, and it will operate with the support of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

“The early warning system will share information about missing persons after the prior confirmation of the report by the Ministry of Interior. Subsequently, the information will be distributed through communication channels of collaborating partners, including businesses such as bank ATMs, digital displays in public transportation, communication channels of taxi transport groups, hotel services, etc.,” the Journalists for Human Rights said.

During the event, addresses will be delivered by Jeton Shaqiri, Minister of Education and Science, Tony Angelovski, Assistant for Public Relations at the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Jasna Stojkoska, Assistant Police Attaché at the Austrian Embassy in Skopje, and Harald Fugger, the Attaché of the Austrian Federal Ministry of Social Affairs, Health, Care and Consumer Protection to North Macedonia.

Moreover, the other achievements from the project activities over the past two and a half years will be showcased, accompanied by recommendations to institutions. Discussions involving all relevant stakeholders, including representatives from institutions, businesses, and experts, will focus on the benefits of exchanging experiences, facilitating inter-institutional information exchange, and supporting the alarm system to minimize the risk of child disappearance and expedite the process of locating them.

At the conference, discussions will also focus on ways to intensify the existing cooperation among various stakeholders (public and private sectors, civil organizations, and media) within the framework of the pilot project ‘Early warning system for missing children.’ The objective is to ensure the seamless long-term functioning and institutionalization of the alarm system.

Following the experiences of other countries that have alert systems for missing children, Journalists for Human Rights in collaboration and under project management of ECPAT Austria, implement the “Pilot Project for Early Warning System for Missing Children” in North Macedonia backed by expertise from both the country and the EU, and engaging and connecting multiple actors: public and private sectors, civil organizations, and the media.

The main goal is to improve the existing approaches and to find new methods for the prevention, investigation and mitigation of trafficking of human beings and children, as well as to protect or strengthen the rights of those affected by exchanging experiences and acquiring new knowledge.

The project is being implemented from 1 July 2021 to 31 December 2023, with financial support from the Austrian Federal Ministry for Social Affairs, Health, Care and Consumer Protection.

Photo: Journalists for Human Rights