[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 51 (Friday, March 22, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2601-S2602]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SENATE RESOLUTION 618--SUPPORTING THE GOALS AND IDEALS OF ``COUNTERING 
INTERNATIONAL PARENTAL CHILD ABDUCTION MONTH'' AND EXPRESSING THE SENSE 
 OF THE SENATE THAT CONGRESS SHOULD RAISE AWARENESS OF THE HARM CAUSED 
               BY INTERNATIONAL PARENTAL CHILD ABDUCTION

  Mr. TILLIS (for himself and Mr. Murphy) submitted the following 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations:

                              S. Res. 618

       Whereas thousands of children have been abducted from the 
     United States by parents, separating those children from 
     their parents who remain in the United States;
       Whereas it is illegal under section 1204 of title 18, 
     United States Code, to remove, or attempt to remove, a child 
     from the United States or to retain a child (who has been in 
     the United States) outside of the United States with the 
     intent to obstruct the lawful exercise of parental rights;
       Whereas 9,816 children were reported abducted from the 
     United States between 2010 and 2020;
       Whereas, during 2022, one or more cases of international 
     parental child abduction involving children who are citizens 
     of the United States were identified in 99 countries around 
     the world;
       Whereas the United States is a party to 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 Convention on Abduction''), which--
       (1) supports the prompt return of wrongly removed or 
     retained children; and
       (2) calls for all participating parties to respect parental 
     custody rights;
       Whereas the majority of children who were abducted from the 
     United States have yet to be reunited with their custodial 
     parents;
       Whereas, in 2022, Argentina, Belize, Brazil, Bulgaria, 
     Ecuador, Egypt, Honduras, India, Jordan, the Republic of 
     Korea, Peru, Romania, the Russian Federation, and the United 
     Arab Emirates were identified pursuant to the Sean and David 
     Goldman International Child Abduction Prevention and Return 
     Act of 2014 (22 U.S.C. 9101 et seq.) as engaging in a pattern 
     of noncompliance (as defined in section 3 of such Act (22 
     U.S.C. 9101));
       Whereas, between 2015 and 2022, a total of 19 countries 
     were previously identified as engaging in a pattern of 
     noncompliance, including Austria, the Bahamas, the People's 
     Republic of China, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican 
     Republic, Guatemala, Japan, Lebanon, Morocco, Nicaragua, 
     Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, 
     Trinidad and Tobago, and Tunisia, showing the importance of 
     continued enforcement of United States law by the executive 
     branch to ensure the return of abducted children;
       Whereas the Supreme Court of the United States has 
     recognized that family abduction--
       (1) is a form of child abuse with potentially ``devastating 
     consequences for a child'', which may include negative 
     impacts on the physical and mental well-being of the child; 
     and
       (2) may cause a child to ``experience a loss of community 
     and stability, leading to loneliness, anger, and fear of 
     abandonment'';
       Whereas, according to the 2010 Report on Compliance with 
     the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International 
     Child Abduction by the Department of State, an abducted child 
     is at risk of significant short- and long-term problems, 
     including ``anxiety, eating problems, nightmares, mood 
     swings, sleep disturbances, and aggressive behavior'';
       Whereas international parental child abduction has 
     devastating emotional consequences for the child and for the 
     parent from whom the child is separated;
       Whereas the United States has a history of promoting child 
     welfare through institutions, including--
       (1) the Children's Bureau of the Administration for 
     Children and Families of the Department of Health and Human 
     Services; and
       (2) the Office of Children's Issues of the Bureau of 
     Consular Affairs of the Department of State;
       Whereas the Coalition to End International Parental Child 
     Abduction, through dedicated advocacy and regular testimony, 
     has highlighted the importance of this issue to Congress and 
     called on successive administrations to take concerted action 
     to stop international parental child abduction and repatriate 
     kidnapped United States children;
       Whereas Bring Abducted Children Home, Bring Our Kids Home, 
     iStand Parent Network, and the Coalition to End International 
     Parental Child Abduction have been recognized by the 
     Department of Justice as nonprofit organizations specializing 
     in international parental child abduction;
       Whereas Congress has signaled a commitment to ending 
     international parental child abduction by enacting--
       (1) the International Child Abduction Remedies Act (22 
     U.S.C. 9001 et seq.);
       (2) the International Parental Kidnapping Crime Act of 1993 
     (Public Law 103-173), which enacted section 1204 of title 18, 
     United States Code; and
       (3) the Sean and David Goldman International Child 
     Abduction Prevention and Return Act of 2014 (22 U.S.C. 9101 
     et seq.);
       Whereas the Senate adopted Senate Resolution 543, 112th 
     Congress, agreed to on December 4, 2012, condemning the 
     international abduction of children;
       Whereas the Senate adopted Senate Resolution 431, 115th 
     Congress, agreed to on April 19, 2018, to raise awareness of, 
     and opposition to, international parental child abduction;
       Whereas the Senate adopted Senate Resolution 23, 116th 
     Congress, agreed to on April 11, 2019, to raise awareness of 
     the harm caused by international parental child abduction;
       Whereas the Senate adopted Senate Resolution 568, 117th 
     Congress, agreed to on July 21, 2022, to raise awareness of 
     the harm caused by international parental child abduction;
       Whereas the Senate adopted Senate Resolution 115, 118th 
     Congress, agreed to on May, 10 2023, to raise awareness of 
     the harm caused by international parental child abduction;
       Whereas Congress calls upon the Department of State to 
     fully utilize the tools available under the Sean and David 
     Goldman International Child Abduction Prevention and Return 
     Act of 2014 (22 U.S.C. 9101 et seq.) to negotiate, and make 
     publicly available, bilateral agreements or memorandums of 
     understanding--
       (1) with countries not parties to the Hague Convention on 
     Abduction to resolve abduction and access cases; and
       (2) regarding open abduction and access cases predating the 
     Hague Convention on Abduction with countries that have 
     thereafter become parties to the Hague Convention on 
     Abduction;
       Whereas all 50 States and the District of Columbia have 
     enacted laws criminalizing parental kidnapping;
       Whereas, in 2022, the Prevention Branch of the Office of 
     Children's Issues of the Department of State--
       (1) fielded more than 4,900 inquiries from the general 
     public relating to preventing a child from being removed from 
     the United States; and
       (2) enrolled more than 3,500 children in the Children's 
     Passport Issuance Alert Program, which--
          (A) is one of the most important tools of the Department 
     of State for preventing international parental child 
     abduction;
          (B) allows the Office of Children's Issues to contact 
     the enrolling parent or legal guardian to verify whether the 
     parental consent requirement has been met when a passport 
     application has been submitted for an enrolled child; and
          (C) has enrolled a total of over 62,400 children in the 
     program since its inception;
       Whereas the Department of State cannot track the ultimate 
     destination of a child through the use of the passport issued 
     by the Department of State if the child is transported to a 
     third country after departing from the United States;
       Whereas a child who is a citizen of the United States may 
     have another nationality and may travel using a passport 
     issued by another country, which--
       (1) increases the difficulty of determining the whereabouts 
     of the child; and
       (2) makes efforts to prevent abduction more critical;
       Whereas, during 2022, 165 children were returned to the 
     United States, and an additional 117 abduction cases, 
     involving 145 children, were resolved without the children 
     being returned to the United States; and
       Whereas, in 2022, the Department of Homeland Security, in 
     coordination with the Prevention Branch of the Office of 
     Children's Issues of the Department of State, enrolled 307 
     children in the Prevent Abduction Program, which is aimed at 
     preventing international parental child abduction through 
     coordination with U.S. Customs and Border Patrol officers at 
     the airport, seaport, or land border ports of entry by 
     intercepting the child before departure: Now, therefore, be 
     it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) recognizes and observes ``Countering International 
     Parental Child Abduction

[[Page S2602]]

     Month'' during the period beginning on April 1, 2024, and 
     ending on April 30, 2024, to raise awareness of, and 
     opposition to, international parental child abduction; and
       (2) urges the United States to continue playing a 
     leadership role in raising awareness about the devastating 
     impacts of international parental child abduction by 
     educating the public about the negative emotional, 
     psychological, and physical consequences to children and 
     parents victimized by international parental child abduction.

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