The University of North of Texas (USA) (through its Healt Science Centre located in Fort Worth) and the University of Granada (Spain) are collaborating in the DNA-Prokids project of fight against the traffic of minors through the use of the most advanced techniques of genetic identification of human beings.
The initiative started from a proposal of the Genetic Identification Laboratory of the University of Granada. The initiative was world-wide presented last May, formalized with the support of financial entities such as the BBVA, Santander or Caja Granada, as well as the Department of Justice of the Andalusian Council. In June 2009, the Program received an important support by the US Company Life Technologies, who donated 500,000 USD in cash, besides more than 200,000 USD in reactive and fungible goods.
The data
The Genetic Identification Laboratory of the University of Granada informs that at the end of June they have exceeded the number of 200 genetic identifications of children victim of the traffic of human beings. Specifically, there are 203 cases analyzed between 2006 and 2009 in Mexico, Guatemala, Filipinas, India, Brazil, Indonesia, Honduras, Ecuador, Malaysia and Thailand.
In all the cases reported there were suspicions that the children had been removed from their families or sold by them. The combined action between security forces and judges, together with the collaboration of the Genetic Identification Laboratory of Granada, led them to find the scientific evidence that permitted them to save the children from the terrible trafficking of humans. They managed to return the children to their families and fight effectively against illegal adoptions, in order to avoid that minors obtained by kidnappings, thefts or people traffic may be given in adoption.
From October 2009 DNA-Prokids is expected, after the celebration of a meeting of world experts, to permit the intensification of the fight against the traffic of minors, multiplying the number of identifications, improving the knowledge of the routes of traffic of human beings, generating a world system of coordination of databases of disappeared children, training experts in genetic identification, etc.
Reference: prokids@ugr.es – http://www.dna-prokids.org
