Report of the first european anti-kidnapping conference
In November 2001, Pax Christi Netherlands started an international anti-kidnapping campaign for Colombia, which is to run one year. After many years of involvement in peace and human rights work, and in the kidnapping issue in particular, they considered it high time to ask for international attention for this issue, which is on the increase worldwide. The first public conference on kidnapping in Europe was held on 12 November 2001 at the Clingendael Institute in The Hague. An important objective of the congress was to move the kidnapping issue to a prominent place on the agendas of the EU and international business. But, above all, this first European conference was intended to break the silence that traditionally surrounds the kidnap industry