106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. CON. RES. 293

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

Urging compliance with the Hague Convention on

the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. CON. RES. 293

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

Whereas the Department of State reports that at any given

time there are 1,000 open cases of American children either abducted from the United States or wrongfully retained in a foreign country;

Whereas many more cases of international child abductions

are not reported to the Department of State;
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Whereas the situation has worsened since 1993, when Congress estimated the number of American children abducted from the United States and wrongfully retained in

foreign countries to be more than 10,000;

Whereas Congress has recognized the gravity of international

child abduction in enacting the International Parental

Kidnapping Crime Act of 1993 (18 U.S.C. 1204), the

Parental Kidnapping Prevention Act (28 U.S.C. 1738a),

and substantial reform and reporting requirements for

the Department of State in the fiscal years 1998–1999

and 2000–2001 Foreign Relations Authorization Acts;

Whereas the United States became a contracting party in

1988 to the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of

International Child Abduction (in this concurrent resolution referred to as the ‘‘Hague Convention’’) and adopted

effective implementing legislation in the International

Child Abduction Remedies Act (42 U.S.C. 11601 et seq.);

Whereas the Hague Convention establishes mutual rights and

duties between and among its contracting states to expedite the return of children to the state of their habitual

residence, as well as to ensure that rights of custody and

of access under the laws of one contracting state are effectively respected in other contracting states, without

consideration of the merits of any underlying child custody dispute;

Whereas article 13 of the Hague Convention provides a narrow exception to the requirement for prompt return of

children, which exception releases the requested state

from its obligation to return a child to the country of the

child’s habitual residence if it is established that there is

a ‘‘grave risk’’ that the return would expose the child to

‘‘physical or psychological harm or otherwise place the
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child in an intolerable situation’’ or ‘‘if the child objects

to being returned and has attained an age and degree of

maturity at which it is appropriate to take account of the

child’s views’’;

Whereas some contracting states, for example Germany, routinely invoke article 13 as a justification for nonreturn,

rather than resorting to it in a small number of wholly

exceptional cases;

Whereas the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), the only institution of its kind, was established in the United States for the purpose of assisting parents in recovering their missing children;

Whereas article 21 of the Hague Convention provides that

the central authorities of all parties to the Convention are

obligated to cooperate with each other in order to promote the peaceful enjoyment of parental access rights

and the fulfillment of any conditions to which the exercise of such rights may be subject, and to remove, as far

as possible, all obstacles to the exercise of such rights;

Whereas some contracting states fail to order or enforce normal visitation rights for parents of abducted or wrongfully retained children who have not been returned under

the terms of the Hague Convention; and

Whereas the routine invocation of the article 13 exception,

denial of parental visitation of children, and the failure

by several contracting parties, most notably Austria, Germany, Honduras, Mexico, and Sweden, to fully implement

the Convention deprives the Hague Convention of the

spirit of mutual confidence upon which its success depends: Now, therefore, be it
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1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate

2 concurring), That Congress urges—

3 (1) all contracting parties to the Hague Con4 vention, particularly European civil law countries

5 that consistently violate the Hague Convention such

6 as Austria, Germany and Sweden, to comply fully

7 with both the letter and spirit of their international

8 legal obligations under the Convention;

9 (2) all contracting parties to the Hague Con10 vention to ensure their compliance with the Hague

11 Convention by enacting effective implementing legis12 lation and educating their judicial and law enforce13 ment authorities;

14 (3) all contracting parties to the Hague Con15 vention to honor their commitments and return ab16 ducted or wrongfully retained children to their place

17 of habitual residence without reaching the merits of

18 any underlying custody dispute and ensure parental

19 access rights by removing obstacles to the exercise of

20 such rights;

21 (4) the Secretary of State to disseminate to all

22 Federal and State courts the Department of State’s

23 annual report to Congress on Hague Convention

24 compliance and related matters; and
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1 (5) each contracting party to the Hague Con2 vention to further educate its central authority and

3 local law enforcement authorities regarding the

4 Hague Convention, the severity of the problem of

5 international child abduction, and the need for im6 mediate action when a parent of an abducted child

7 seeks their assistance.

Passed the House of Representatives May 23, 2000.

Attest:

Clerk.