The International Day of Missing Children is observed every year on May 25, and its purpose is to draw attention to the issue of missing children and to promote their search.
Every year, countless tragedies occur around the world, including the disappearance of children. The reasons for children's disappearances can vary. Some, disillusioned with their circumstances, leave home on their own, while others are abducted by criminals.
To express solidarity with missing children and their families, and to support them in this tragic situation, the European community established the International Day of Missing Children. It has been observed annually on May 25 since 2002 with the support of the European Federation for Missing and Sexually Exploited Children.
The initiative to hold this Day originated in the United States: on May 25, 1979, a six-year-old boy named Evian Pates did not return home after school. The search for the child was taken up not only by the police and the local community. The news of the tragedy left the entire American society indifferent, but the boy was never found. Four years after this tragedy, U.S. President Ronald Reagan declared May 25 as National Missing Children's Day.
In 1984, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children was established in the U.S. In 1997, also at the initiative of the U.S., the International Center for Missing and Exploited Children (ICMEC) was created.
With the onset of the Russian-Ukrainian war, the problem of missing children has become even more painful for Ukraine: illegal deportations, abductions of children by Russians, chaos occurring in temporarily occupied territories...
According to the Office of the Prosecutor General, from February 24, 2022, to December 31, 2024, 596 children have died, and 1,740 have suffered serious injuries as a result of military actions; 16 cases of sexual violence against children have been recorded during the armed conflict. According to the National Police of Ukraine, 2,012 children are considered missing. According to the National Information Bureau, 19,546 children have been forcibly displaced within the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine or deported to the Russian Federation.
The scale of the war crimes committed by the occupiers may be significantly greater, as we are currently unable to assess the situation in the temporarily occupied territories.
We are documenting every crime of the invaders and striving for just punishment. We are working to find every missing child.
Every child deserves to feel safe both in their family and in their country.