H. Con. Res. 69 Agreed to March 23, 2001

One Hundred Seventh Congress

of the

United States of America

AT THE FIRST SESSION

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Wednesday,

the third day of January, two thousand and one

Concurrent Resolution

Whereas 20 years ago, the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects

of International Child Abduction was a bold step forward to

provide a uniform process for resolving international child abduction cases;

Whereas over the past 2 decades, the Convention has had increasingly important and positive effects and has grown in terms

of the number of Contracting States and the level of interest

of other nations;

Whereas there has been an increase of multinational marriages

and a corresponding increase of international abductions of children by parents;

Whereas as travel becomes faster and easier, and as multinational

marriages become more common, the Convention is more significant than ever;

Whereas on 2 occasions, the International Centre for Missing and

Exploited Children and the National Center for Missing and

Exploited Children have convened professionals and experts in

international child abduction to examine their experiences with

the Convention;

Whereas on both occasions, the participants affirmed their overwhelming commitment to the Convention, but were also unified

in the conclusion that there are serious shortcomings in its

implementation;

Whereas the shortcomings include—

(1) a lack of awareness by policy makers and the general

public of the Convention and of the problem of international

child abduction, making the successful resolution of cases more

difficult;

(2) the fact that, in too many instances, the process for

resolving an international child abduction is too slow;

(3) a lack of uniformity in the interpretation of the Convention

from nation to nation;

(4) the fact that key exceptions provided in the Convention

to ensure reason and common sense have in some cases ceased

to be viewed as exceptions, have instead become the rule, and

are frequently used as justifications for not returning abducted

children;

(5) the increasing difficulty of enforcing access rights for

parents under Article 21 of the Convention;

(6) the need of parents for significant personal financial

resources to obtain legal representation and proceed under the
H. Con. Res. 69—2

Convention and, in many places, the lack of assistance for parents

who do not have such resources;

(7) a serious lack of training, knowledge, and experience

for judges in international child abduction cases, because there

are too many courts hearing these cases and in most instances

few such cases for each court; and

(8) in many instances, the lack of enforcement of court orders

for the return of children;

Whereas the Permanent Bureau of The Hague Conference on Private International Law has made significant contributions to

the implementation of the Convention but recognizes that more

needs to be done; and

Whereas the International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children has promised to support an effort to produce practice guides

to provide a framework for applying the Convention: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), That—

(1) it is the sense of the Congress that—

(A) the original intent of the Hague Convention on

the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction—to provide a uniform process for resolving international child

abduction cases—is more important than ever;

(B) practice guides should be developed for the Convention that build on recognized best practices under the

Convention and provide a framework for applying the

Convention;

(C) the Convention itself need not be modified;

(D) the practices identified and included in the practice

guides should not be legally binding on Contracting States

to the Convention and should be based on research and

the advice of experts to help ensure the most effective

process possible;

(E) the practice guides should be developed in 3 stages:

comparative research and consultations, meetings of expert

committees to develop drafts, and consideration of the

drafts by a future Special Commission; and

(F) the Permanent Bureau of The Hague Conference

on Private International Law should organize the process

of developing the practice guides; and

(2) the Congress urges all Contracting States to the

Convention to adopt a resolution recommending that—

(A) the Permanent Bureau of The Hague Conference

on Private International Law produce and promote practice

guides to assist in the implementation and operation of

the Convention; and
H. Con. Res. 69—3

(B) such a proposal to produce practice guides be

adopted by the Fourth Special Commission at The Hague

in March 2001.

Attest:

Clerk of the House of Representatives.

Attest:

Secretary of the Senate.