The U.S. Department of State reported yesterday that more than
600 children were abducted by parents from the United States to
another country in 2015.
A substantial number of those children may never be returned to
their parents in the United States. The Department of State's
2016 Annual Report on International Parental Child Abduction
released yesterday reported that only 299 children whose habitual
residence was in the United States were returned in 2015.
The staggering numbers contained in the Report make it clear that
parents must proceed with caution if they believe the other parent
has any intention of abducting their child from the United States.
Any parent who has concerns about the other parent abducting their
child should immediately consult with an attorney who has knowledge
and experience handling proceedings brought pursuant to the
Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction,
done at the Hague on October 25, 1980.
An experienced attorney may be able to advise the parent on
preventive measures such as enrolling the child in the
Children's Passport Issuance Alert Program and seeking a court
order enjoining the other parent from traveling abroad. If the
child has already been abducted, an experienced attorney can assist
with submitting the necessary papers to request the return of the
child, liaise with counsel in the country to which the child has
been abducted, and provide assistance to that foreign counsel as
necessary to seek the return of the child to the United
States.
In addition to identifying the number of children abducted by a
parent from the United States to another country in 2015, the 2016
Annual Report assesses the extent to which certain Hague Convention
partners have complied with the Convention. The Department of State
reported that the following countries have not complied with the
Convention: Argentina, the Bahamas, Brazil, Columbia, Costa Rica,
Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Peru, and
Romania. In determining whether the Hague Convention partner
countries were in compliance, the criteria examined by the
Department of State included the following: the number of
unresolved cases; the extent to which the judicial authority
implemented and complied with the Hague Convention provisions; the
failure of law enforcement to locate abducted children; failure to
enforce return orders; and the amount of time devoted to the
appeals process.
The 2016 Annual Report also details the extreme difficulties in
attempting to seek the return of abducted children from countries
that are not Hague Convention partners. According to the Report,
countries that demonstrated a pattern of noncompliance in 2015
were: Egypt, India, Jordan, Lebanon, Nicaragua, Oman, Pakistan, and
Tunisia. For each of those countries, the Department of State
examined the extent to which the country did or did not adhere to
any protocols with respect to international child abduction.
The 2016 Annual Report is available here.
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