[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 154 (Tuesday, December 4, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7403-S7404]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
INTERNATIONAL PARENTAL CHILD ABDUCTION
Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the
Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 528, S.
Res. 543.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the resolution by title.
The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:
A resolution (S. Res. 543) to express the sense of the
Senate on international parental child abduction.
There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the
resolution, which had been reported from the Committee on Foreign
Relations, with amendments in the nature of a substitute to the
preamble and the resolutions as follows:
[Strike the parts shown in boldface brackets and insert in lieu
thereof the parts shown in italic.]
S. Res. 543
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;
[[Page S7404]]
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 yet become a party to
the Hague Abduction Convention: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved,
That--
(1) the Senate--
(A) condemns the 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 become a party to 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 become a party to
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
become a party to 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) vigorously pursue the return of each child abducted by
a parent from the United States to another country through
all appropriate means, facilitate access by the left-behind
parent if the child is not returned, and, where appropriate,
seek the extradition of the parent that abducted the child;
(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 become a party to 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
become a party to 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 become a party to 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.
Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Madam President, I further ask unanimous consent that
the committee-reported amendment be agreed to and the Senate proceed to
a voice vote on adoption of the resolution, as amended.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The committee amendment in the nature of a substitute was agreed to.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there further debate?
If not, the question is on agreeing to the resolution, as amended.
The resolution (S. Res. 543), as amended, was agreed to.
Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Madam President, I further ask unanimous consent that
the committee-reported amendment to the preamble be agreed to, the
preamble, as amended, be agreed to, the motions to reconsider be
considered made and laid upon the table, with no intervening action or
debate, and that any statements relating to the measure be printed in
the Record.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The committee amendment in the nature of a substitute was agreed to.
The preamble, as amended, was agreed to.
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