[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 543 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

112th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 543

  To express the sense of the Senate on international parental child 
                               abduction.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             August 2, 2012

  Mrs. Boxer (for herself, Mr. Lautenberg, Mr. Kerry, Mr. Lugar, Mr. 
Inhofe, Mr. Cardin, Ms. Mikulski, Mrs. Feinstein, Mrs. Gillibrand, Ms. 
Landrieu, Mr. Merkley, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Rubio, Mr. Leahy, and Mr. Kirk) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
                          on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  To express the sense of the Senate on international parental child 
                               abduction.

Whereas international parental child abduction is a tragic and common 
        occurrence;
Whereas the abduction of a child by one parent is a heartbreaking loss for the 
        left-behind parent and deprives the child of a relationship with 2 
        loving parents;
Whereas, according to the Report on Compliance with the Hague Convention on the 
        Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction of the United States 
        Department of State from April 2010, research shows that abducted 
        children are at risk of significant short- and long-term problems, 
        including ``anxiety, eating problems, nightmares, mood swings, sleep 
        disturbances, [and] aggressive behavior'';
Whereas, according to that report, left-behind parents may also experience 
        substantial psychological and emotional issues, including feelings of 
        ``betrayal, sadness over the loss of their children or the end of their 
        marriage, anger toward the other parent, anxiety, sleeplessness, and 
        severe depression'', as well as financial strain while fighting for the 
        return of a child;
Whereas, since 1988, the United States, which has a treaty relationship under 
        the Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, 
        done at The Hague October 25, 1980 (TIAS 11670) (referred to in this 
        preamble as the ``Hague Abduction Convention'') with 69 other countries, 
        has agreed with its treaty partners to follow the terms of the Hague 
        Abduction Convention;
Whereas the Hague Abduction Convention provides a legal framework for securing 
        the prompt return of wrongfully removed or retained children to the 
        countries of their habitual residence where competent courts can make 
        decisions on issues of custody and the best interests of the children;
Whereas, according to the United States Department of State, the number of new 
        cases of international child abduction from the United States increased 
        from 579 in 2006 to 941 in 2011;
Whereas, in 2011, those 941 cases involved 1,367 children who were reported 
        abducted from the United States by a parent and taken to a foreign 
        country;
Whereas, in 2011, more than 660 children who were abducted from the United 
        States and taken to a foreign country were returned to the United 
        States;
Whereas 7 of the top 10 countries to which children from the United States were 
        most frequently abducted in 2011 are parties to the Hague Abduction 
        Convention, including Mexico, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, 
        Ecuador, Brazil, and Colombia;
Whereas Japan, India, and Egypt are not parties to the Hague Abduction 
        Convention and were also among the top 10 countries to which children in 
        the United States were most frequently abducted in 2011;
Whereas, in many countries, such as Japan and India, international parental 
        child abduction is not considered a crime, and custody rulings made by 
        courts in the United States are not typically recognized by courts in 
        those countries; and
Whereas Japan is the only member of the Group of 7 major industrialized 
        countries that has not ratified the Hague Abduction Convention: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved, That--
            (1) the Senate--
                    (A) condemns the unlawful international abduction 
                of all children;
                    (B) urges countries identified by the United States 
                Department of State as noncompliant or demonstrating 
                patterns of noncompliance with the Convention on the 
                Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, done at 
                The Hague October 25, 1980 (TIAS 11670) (referred to in 
                this resolution as the ``Hague Abduction Convention'') 
                to fulfill their commitment under international law to 
                expeditiously implement the provisions of the Hague 
                Abduction Convention;
                    (C) calls on all countries to accede to or ratify 
                the Hague Abduction Convention and to promptly 
                institute measures to equitably and transparently 
                address cases of international parental child 
                abduction; and
                    (D) calls on all countries that have not acceded to 
                or ratified the Hague Abduction Convention to develop a 
                mechanism for the resolution of current and future 
                cases of international parental child abduction that 
                occur before those countries accede to or ratify the 
                Hague Abduction Convention in order to facilitate the 
                prompt return of children abducted to those countries 
                to the children's countries of habitual residence; and
            (2) it is the sense of the Senate that the United States 
        should--
                    (A) aggressively pursue the return of each child 
                abducted by a parent from the United States to another 
                country through all appropriate means, consistent with 
                the Hague Abduction Convention, and through 
                extradition, when appropriate, and facilitate access by 
                the left-behind parent if the child is not returned;
                    (B) take all appropriate measures to ensure that a 
                child abducted to a country that is a party to the 
                Hague Abduction Convention is returned to the country 
                of habitual residence of the child in compliance with 
                the provisions of the Hague Abduction Convention;
                    (C) continue to use diplomacy to encourage other 
                countries to accede to or ratify the Hague Abduction 
                Convention and to take the necessary steps to 
                effectively fulfill their responsibilities under the 
                Hague Abduction Convention;
                    (D) use diplomacy to encourage countries that have 
                not acceded to or ratified the Hague Abduction 
                Convention to develop an institutionalized mechanism to 
                transparently and expeditiously resolve current and 
                future cases of international child abduction that 
                occur before those countries accede to or ratify the 
                Hague Abduction Convention; and
                    (E) review the advisory services made available to 
                United States citizens by the United States Department 
                of State, the United States Department of Justice, and 
                other United States Government agencies--
                            (i) to improve the prevention of 
                        international parental child abduction from the 
                        United States; and
                            (ii) to ensure that effective and timely 
                        assistance is provided to United States 
                        citizens who are parents of children abducted 
                        from the United States and taken to foreign 
                        countries.
                                 <all>