Bolivia: Between 2008 and 2010 At Least 1,299 Minors Disappear

According to BolPress.com the defender for the Ombudsman Rolando Villena says at least 1,299 Bolivian minors were reported missing between 2008 and 2010, detailed in the report by the Special Force to Fight Crime (FELCC). The Network of Attention to Human Trade and Trafficking (RATT) of Person of MERCOSUR and other government and private institutions associated with the same issue, were able to rescue 622 missing people, 204 of which were minors. Of the rescued adolescents, many of them were under 5 years old. Villena says children are sold to people who are interested in “adopting” them, ending up in sweatshops or farms in Argentina or sexually exploited on the Bolivian border with Peru. RATT officials say Argentina is dealing with a huge problem of forced labor and sexual exploitation. On Tuesday, July 19th Villena announced the start of RATT-Bolivia, which will help combat the human trafficking of minors in Bolivia, along with RATT-MERCOSUR.Read Article