[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 69 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        H.Con.Res.69
                                        Agreed to March 23, 2001        

                      One Hundred Seventh Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America


                          AT THE FIRST SESSION

         Begun and held at the City of Washington on Wednesday,
             the third day of January, two thousand and one


                          Concurrent Resolution

Whereas 20 years ago, the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of 
  International Child Abduction was a bold step forward to provide a 
  uniform process for resolving international child abduction cases;

Whereas over the past 2 decades, the Convention has had increasingly 
  important and positive effects and has grown in terms of the number 
  of Contracting States and the level of interest of other nations;

Whereas there has been an increase of multinational marriages and a 
  corresponding increase of international abductions of children by 
  parents;

Whereas as travel becomes faster and easier, and as multinational 
  marriages become more common, the Convention is more significant than 
  ever;

Whereas on 2 occasions, the International Centre for Missing and 
  Exploited Children and the National Center for Missing and Exploited 
  Children have convened professionals and experts in international 
  child abduction to examine their experiences with the Convention;

Whereas on both occasions, the participants affirmed their overwhelming 
  commitment to the Convention, but were also unified in the conclusion 
  that there are serious shortcomings in its implementation;

Whereas the shortcomings include--
        (1) a lack of awareness by policy makers and the general public 
    of the Convention and of the problem of international child 
    abduction, making the successful resolution of cases more 
    difficult;
        (2) the fact that, in too many instances, the process for 
    resolving an international child abduction is too slow;
        (3) a lack of uniformity in the interpretation of the 
    Convention from nation to nation;
        (4) the fact that key exceptions provided in the Convention to 
    ensure reason and common sense have in some cases ceased to be 
    viewed as exceptions, have instead become the rule, and are 
    frequently used as justifications for not returning abducted 
    children;
        (5) the increasing difficulty of enforcing access rights for 
    parents under Article 21 of the Convention;
        (6) the need of parents for significant personal financial 
    resources to obtain legal representation and proceed under the 
    Convention and, in many places, the lack of assistance for parents 
    who do not have such resources;
        (7) a serious lack of training, knowledge, and experience for 
    judges in international child abduction cases, because there are 
    too many courts hearing these cases and in most instances few such 
    cases for each court; and
        (8) in many instances, the lack of enforcement of court orders 
    for the return of children;

Whereas the Permanent Bureau of The Hague Conference on Private 
  International Law has made significant contributions to the 
  implementation of the Convention but recognizes that more needs to be 
  done; and

Whereas the International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children has 
  promised to support an effort to produce practice guides to provide a 
  framework for applying the Convention: Now, therefore, be it

    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That--
        (1) it is the sense of the Congress that--
            (A) the original intent of the Hague Convention on the 
        Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction--to provide a 
        uniform process for resolving international child abduction 
        cases--is more important than ever;
            (B) practice guides should be developed for the Convention 
        that build on recognized best practices under the Convention 
        and provide a framework for applying the Convention;
            (C) the Convention itself need not be modified;
            (D) the practices identified and included in the practice 
        guides should not be legally binding on Contracting States to 
        the Convention and should be based on research and the advice 
        of experts to help ensure the most effective process possible;
            (E) the practice guides should be developed in 3 stages: 
        comparative research and consultations, meetings of expert 
        committees to develop drafts, and consideration of the drafts 
        by a future Special Commission; and
            (F) the Permanent Bureau of The Hague Conference on Private 
        International Law should organize the process of developing the 
        practice guides; and
        (2) the Congress urges all Contracting States to the Convention 
    to adopt a resolution recommending that--
            (A) the Permanent Bureau of The Hague Conference on Private 
        International Law produce and promote practice guides to assist 
        in the implementation and operation of the Convention; and
            (B) such a proposal to produce practice guides be adopted 
        by the Fourth Special Commission at The Hague in March 2001.
  Attest:

                                 Clerk of the House of Representatives.

  Attest:

                                               Secretary of the Senate.