Missing Children: Investigations into low-profile crime suffer from little funding. (Spotlight).

Since its launch in 1997, Mexico's National Foundation for the Investigation of Missing and Stolen Children has registered almost 135,000 cases. According to foundation President Guillermo Gutierrez, the abduction of children in Mexico for child slavery, illegal adoption and sexual exploitation is a problem that has been allowed to grow to endemic proportions.

More alarmingly, the foundation--the only organization of its kind in Mexico--desperately lacks the resources it needs in order to provide its services to the families that become victims of this crime.

"This problem won't be solved by just worrying about it. We need active and direct participation. Immediate action has to be taken, because these children urgently need to be rescued now. It's a race against time," says Gutierrez.

SAGGING SUPPORT

For example, says Gutierrez, the foundation's U.S. equivalent, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), which is widely considered to be the leading organization of its kind in the world, has access to the latest technology to assist crime-solving authorities in these cases.

Not surprisingly, the NCMEC enjoys strong support from the U.S. government, which provides 50% of its funding, as well as highly-qualified investigators from institutions including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

By comparison, Mexico's foundation has never enjoyed government support, nor has it found much help from the local private sector. At a time when so many well-funded local non-governmental organizations have flourished, Gutierrez explains why such a worthy cause might have been neglected.

"The foundation was not created, nor is it administered or sponsored, by famous and powerful people, but simply by those families who have been affected by this crime. That's weakened our political influence," he said.

Even so, he adds, funding problems are peanuts compared to those generated by the nation's useless penal code and its ineffective enforcement. Quite absurdly, Mexican law does not consider child abduction to be a serious, and therefore federal, crime. And so, the occasional arrest of a suspected child abductor will usually end with their immediate release on bail.

"There are states in Mexico that have far stricter penalties for stealing animals than stealing children," Gutierrez said.

Similarly, the sporadic attempts by state police to track down abductors are often ditched once the suspect sets foot in a neighboring state where other state authorities no longer have jurisdiction.

"If this happens on a national level, just imagine what happens when an abducted child is smuggled into another country! It's practically impossible to locate them," said Gutierrez.

LEGAL LAMENT

But years of lobbying congressmen for changes to the law have resulted in nothing.

"They (legislators) always say yes, but they never say when. Families affected by this can't wait just around for changes to occur," said Gutierrez.

Another major snag for anti-abduction efforts is the absence of a database of kidnapped children, to enable a better understanding of the problem. Put simply, the government does not have an on-going record of reported child abductions, or even a department that specializes on the matter.

"This leads to bogus statistics," said Gutierrez, "which generate greater confusion and uncertainty for families who've had their children stolen."

A first-step measure that is widely touted by local anti-abduction campaigners in Mexico is the creation of a specialized government prosecuting office, hypothetically headed by a specialized prosecutor, which would solely address cases of child abduction and exploitation. This alone, they argue, would help pave the way for some of the fundamental changes that are required in order to effectively tackle the crime.

BLOOD MONEY

Kidnapping of any kind is widely understood as a ploy through which the captors usually intend to receive ransom money from the victim's family or loved ones. However, with a baby or a young child the abductor has a wider range of moneymaking options.

Babies and very young children are often stolen and sold for adoption, usually by couples in developed countries who are unable to have children of their own. By law, any couple who adopts a stolen child, whether knowingly or not, is committing a punishable crime, although the penalties for this in Mexico are extremely lax.

A second, more recent global phenomenon is the abduction of children for sexual exploitation. According to Gutierrez, "Mexican, but especially Central American children, are being abducted and sexually exploited in other countries, particularly in parts of Asia, where child prostitution is openly practiced."

A third, and arguably the most sinister motive behind the abduction of a child, is organ trafficking. Although a global black market certainly exists for organs, some skeptics have argued that no child has ever been found in Mexico with a missing organ. However, local campaigners claim to have information that suggests otherwise, and are quick to dismiss this argument.

"An extracted heart for example has a lifespan of just two or three hours," says Gutierrez, "It's impossible to move it between cities or countries because of the delays caused by travel, customs, etc. What happens? Children are smuggled alive into the countries where the transplant is to take place. In fact, the abductors conduct studies on the compatibility of the child's organs (with other bodies), and then they offer these organs on the black market."

Lastly, children are abducted for labor, said Gutierrez. In these cases, Children are forced to work in exchange for subsistence wages. They become slaves, and are often purchased by narcotics producers in isolated rural areas, as well as otherwise legitimate factory owners, and forced to work shifts of between 12 to 14 hours.

RELATED ARTICLE: How can I help?

Because the National Foundation for the Investigation of Missing and Stolen Children provides services entirely free of charge to those who quest it, private-sector donations are extremely important. The foundation is also willing to n any company that pledges consistent help to cause an honorary partner, and thanks to a with the Finance Secretariat, the foundation's nations from the United States are now tax-f

BUSINESS MEXICO is willing to mention company or individual that significantly helps foundation in its future editions. What the foundation most desperately needs is:

* Resources for investigations (both in Mexico abroad), and to purchase software to predict aging of children's faces

* Personal computers and other office equipment

* Printing machinery or access to printing facilities

* A four-wheel drive truck or jeep to reach mote locations

* Help to develop the foundation's website

Contact: La Fundacion Nacional de Investigaciones de Ninos Robados y Desaparecidos

Tel. [phone], Cel. 04455.85 142452, fundacion97@hotmail,

www.ninosrobadosyexplotados.org.mx

Matthew Gower is editor of BUSINESS MEXICO.