III 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 431 

Supporting the goals and ideals of ‘‘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 

MARCH 12, 2018 

Mr. GRASSLEY (for himself, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. CRUZ, and Mr. MENENDEZ) 

submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 

on Foreign Relations 

RESOLUTION 

Supporting the goals and ideals of ‘‘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 

in the United States) outside of the United States with 


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•SRES 431 IS 

the intent to obstruct the lawful exercise of parental 

rights; 

Whereas more than 600 children experienced international 

parental child abduction during 2015; 

Whereas, during 2016, one or more cases of international parental child abduction involving children who are citizens 

of the United States were identified in 106 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 a significant number of children who were abducted 

from the United States have yet to be reunited with their 

custodial parents; 

Whereas, during 2016, 13 countries 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, during the 20-year period ending on the date of enactment of this resolution, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has provided assistance for 

more than 6,000 international family abduction cases involving children wrongfully removed from or retained outside of the United States; 


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•SRES 431 IS 

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’’, that 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 not only for the child 

but also 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— 

(A) the Administration for Children and Families; and 

(B) the Children’s Bureau; and 

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

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 


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•SRES 431 IS 

Crime Act of 1993 (Public Law 103–173; 107 Stat. 

1998), and the Sean and David Goldman International 

Child Abduction Prevention and Return Act of 2014 (22 

U.S.C. 9101 et seq.); 

Whereas, in 2012, the Senate adopted Senate Resolution 

543, 112th Congress, agreed to December 4, 2012, 

which— 

(1) condemned international parental child abduction; 

(2) urged countries identified by the Department of 

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

implement the Hague Convention on Abduction; and 

(3) expressed 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 all 50 States and the District of Columbia have enacted laws criminalizing parental kidnapping; 

Whereas, in 2016, the Prevention Branch of the Office of 

Children’s Issues of the Department of State— 

(1) fielded 2,537 inquiries from the general public 

relating to preventing a child from being removed from 

the United States; and 


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•SRES 431 IS 

(2) enrolled 4,087 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; 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 all the more 

critical; 

Whereas, in 2016, the Department of Homeland Security, in 

coordination with the Prevention Branch of the Office of 

Children’s Issues of the Department of State, enrolled 

131 children in a program aimed at preventing international parental child abduction; 

Whereas, the Department of State, through the International 

Visitor Leadership Program and related initiatives with 

global partners of the United States, has reduced the 

number of children who have been reported abducted 


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•SRES 431 IS 

from the United States by 25 percent during the past 2 

years; and 

Whereas the United States should continue to play 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: 

Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate recognizes and observes 

2 ‘‘International Parental Child Abduction Month’’ during 

3 the period beginning on April 1, 2018, and ending on May 

4 1, 2018, to raise awareness of, and opposition to, inter5 national parental child abduction. 

Æ 


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