THE NUMBER of children kidnapped and taken abroad from Slovakia, and the number kidnapped abroad and brought here has risen tenfold since 2002, according to the Slovak National Centre for Human Rights. It released the information in its report on children’s rights in Slovakia for 2007, the SITA newswire wrote.
The Centre for International Protection of Children and Youth deals with the cases. In 2002, it handled seven international kidnappings of children from Slovakia and three kidnappings from abroad to Slovakia.
Last year, the total had risen to 70 kidnappings of children from Slovakia and 30 cases of children kidnapped and brought to Slovakia.
According to the report, parental break-ups are the cause of most of the cases. “It is mostly mothers,” the report concludes, “who solve marital and partner conflicts in this manner.”
The report also points out that most Labour Ministry offices lack workers specialised in dealing with such cases.
The report concludes that “this trend is expected to continue.”
