III 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 23 

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. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 17, 2019 

Mr. TILLIS (for himself, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. MCCONNELL, Mrs. MURRAY, 

Mr. CORNYN, Mr. BOOKER, Mr. CRAPO, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. MENENDEZ, Ms. HARRIS, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, and Mr. RUBIO) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

RESOLUTION 

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. 

Whereas thousands of children in the United States 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 retain a child (who has been 


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•SRES 23 IS 

in the United States) outside of the United States with 

the intent to obstruct the lawful exercise of parental 

rights; 

Whereas more than 9,127 children experienced international 

parental child abduction between 2008 and 2015; 

Whereas, during 2017, one or more cases of international parental child abduction involving children who are citizens 

of the United States were identified in 105 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, during 2017, Argentina, the Bahamas, Brazil, 

China, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, India, Japan, 

Jordan, Morocco, Peru, and the United Arab Emirates 

were identified under 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; 

Whereas the Supreme Court of the United States has recognized that family abduction— 


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•SRES 23 IS 

(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) can 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, research shows that 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) in the Department of Health and Human Services, the Children’s Bureau of the Administration for 

Children and Families; and 

(2) in the Department of State, the Office of Children’s Issues of the Bureau of Consular Affairs; 

Whereas Congress has signaled a commitment to ending 

international parental child abduction by enacting the 

International Child Abduction Remedies Act (22 U.S.C. 

9001 et seq.), the International Parental Kidnapping 

Crime Act of 1993 (Public Law 103–173), which enacted 

section 1204 of title 18, United States Code, and the 

Sean and David Goldman International Child Abduction 


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•SRES 23 IS 

Prevention and Return Act of 2014 (22 U.S.C. 9101 et 

seq.); 

Whereas the Senate adopted Senate Resolution 543, 112th 

Congress, on December 4, 2012, which— 

(1) condemns international parental child abduction; 

(2) urges countries identified by the Department of 

State as noncompliant with the Hague Convention on Abduction to fulfill the commitment those countries made to 

implement such treaty; and 

(3) expresses the sense of the Senate that the 

United States should— 

(A) pursue the return, by all appropriate 

means, of each child abducted by a parent to another country; 

(B) if a child is abducted by a parent and not 

returned to the United States, facilitate access to 

the abducted child for the parent remaining in the 

United States; and 

(C) ‘‘where appropriate, seek the extradition of 

the parent that abducted the child’’; 

Whereas the Senate adopted Senate Resolution 431, 115th 

Congress, on April 19, 2018, which— 

(1) raises awareness and promotes education about 

international parental child abduction; 

(2) recognizes the impacts on children who are victims of international parental abductions; and 

(3) expresses the sense of the Senate that the 

United States should— 

(A) continue to raise awareness and opposition 

on international parental child abduction; 

(B) facilitate access to the abducted child for 

the parent remaining in the United States; and 


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•SRES 23 IS 

(C) urge countries to comply with the request 

to bring children home to the United States; 

Whereas all 50 States and the District of Columbia have enacted laws criminalizing parental kidnapping; 

Whereas, in 2017, the Prevention Branch of the Office of 

Children’s Issues of the Department of State— 

(1) fielded more than 3,500 inquiries from the general public relating to preventing a child from being removed from the United States; and 

(2) enrolled more than 4,404 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 abductions; and 

(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; 

Whereas, the Department of State cannot track the ultimate 

destination of a child through the use of the passport of 

the child 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 in determining the whereabouts of the child; and 

(2) makes efforts to prevent abductions more critical; and 


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Whereas, in 2017, the Department of Homeland Security, in 

coordination with the Prevention Branch of the Office of 

Children’s Issues of the Department of State, enrolled 

210 children in a program aimed at preventing international parental child abduction: 

Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) recognizes and observes ‘‘Countering Inter3 national Parental Child Abduction Month’’ during 

4 the period beginning on April 1, 2019, and ending 

5 on April 30, 2019, to raise awareness of, and opposi6 tion to, international parental child abduction; and 

7 (2) urges the United States to continue playing 

8 a leadership role in raising awareness about the dev9 astating impacts of international parental child ab10 duction by educating the public about the negative 

11 emotional, psychological, and physical consequences 

12 to children and parents victimized by international 

13 parental child abduction. 

Æ 


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