[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 29, Number 48 (Monday, December 6, 1993)]
[Pages 2493-2494]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Statement on Signing the International Parental Kidnapping Crime Act of 
1993

 December 2, 1993

    Today I have signed into law H.R. 3378, the ``International Parental 
Kidnapping Crime Act of 1993.'' This legislation underscores the 
seriousness with which the United States regards international child 
abduction. It makes this crime, for the first time, a Federal felony 
offense.
    H.R. 3378 recognizes that the international community has created a 
mechanism to promote the resolution of international parental kidnapping 
by civil means. This mechanism is the Hague Convention on the Civil 
Aspects of International Child Abduction. H.R. 3378 reflects the 
Congress' awareness that the Hague Convention has resulted in the return 
of many children and the Congress' desire to ensure that the creation of 
a Federal child abduction felony offense does not and should not 
interfere with the Convention's continued successful operation.
    This Act expresses the sense of the Congress that proceedings under 
the Hague Convention, where available, should be the ``option of first 
choice'' for the left-behind parent. H.R. 3378 should be read and used 
in a manner consistent with the Congress' strong expressed preference 
for resolving these difficult cases, if at all possible, through civil 
remedies.
                                            William J. Clinton
The White House,
December 2, 1993.

Note: H.R. 3378, approved December 2, was assigned Public Law No. 103-
173. This statement was released by the Office of the Press Secretary on 
December 3.

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