II 

Calendar No. 450 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 3212 

[Report No. 113–204] 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 12 (legislative day, DECEMBER 11), 2013 

Received 

DECEMBER 17, 2013 

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

JUNE 26, 2014 

Reported by Mr. MENENDEZ, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

AN ACT 

To ensure compliance with the 1980 Hague Convention on 

the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction by 

countries with which the United States enjoys reciprocal 

obligations, to establish procedures for the prompt return 

of children abducted to other countries, and for other 

purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE AND TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

2 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

3 ‘‘Sean and David Goldman International Child Abduction 

4 Prevention and Return Act of 2013’’. 

5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

6 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Findings; sense of Congress; purposes. 

Sec. 3. Definitions. 

TITLE I—DEPARTMENT OF STATE ACTIONS 

Sec. 101. Annual report. 

Sec. 102. Standards and assistance. 

Sec. 103. Memorandum of understanding. 

Sec. 104. Notification of congressional representatives. 

TITLE II—PRESIDENTIAL ACTIONS 

Sec. 201. Presidential actions in response to unresolved cases. 

Sec. 202. Presidential actions in response to patterns of noncooperation in 

cases of international child abductions. 

Sec. 203. Consultations with foreign governments. 

Sec. 204. Report to Congress. 

Sec. 205. Presidential actions. 

Sec. 206. Presidential waiver. 

Sec. 207. Publication in Federal Register. 

Sec. 208. Termination of Presidential actions. 

7 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS; PURPOSES. 

8 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

9 (1) Sean Goldman, a United States citizen and 

10 resident of New Jersey, was abducted from the 

11 United States in 2004 and separated from his fa12 ther, David Goldman, who spent nearly six years 

13 battling for the return of his son from Brazil before 

14 Sean was finally returned to Mr. Goldman’s custody 

15 on December 24, 2009. 


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1 (2) The Department of State’s Office of Chil2 dren’s Issues, which serves as the Central Authority 

3 of the United States for the purposes of the 1980 

4 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of Inter5 national Child Abduction, has received thousands of 

6 requests since 2007 for assistance in the return to 

7 the United States of children who have been ab8 ducted by a parent or other legal guardian to an9 other country. For a variety of reasons reflecting the 

10 significant obstacles to the recovery of abducted chil11 dren, as well as the legal and factual complexity in12 volving such cases, not all cases are reported to the 

13 Central Authority of the United States. 

14 (3) More than one thousand outgoing inter15 national child abductions are reported to the Central 

16 Authority of the United States every year. 

17 (4) Only about half of the children abducted 

18 from the United States to countries with which the 

19 United States enjoys reciprocal obligations under the 

20 Hague Abduction Convention are returned to the 

21 United States. 

22 (5) The United States and Convention coun23 tries have expressed their desire, through the Hague 

24 Abduction Convention, ‘‘to protect children inter25 nationally from the harmful effects of their wrongful 


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1 removal or retention and to establish procedures to 

2 ensure their prompt return to the State of their ha3 bitual residence, as well as to secure protection for 

4 rights of access.’’. 

5 (6) Compliance by the United States and Con6 vention countries depends on the actions of their 

7 designated central authorities, the performance of 

8 their judiciaries as reflected in the legal process and 

9 decisions rendered to enforce or effectuate the 

10 Hague Abduction Convention, and the ability and 

11 willingness of their law enforcement to insure the 

12 swift enforcement of orders rendered pursuant to the 

13 Hague Abduction Convention. 

14 (7) According to data compiled by the Central 

15 Authority of the United States, approximately 40 

16 percent of abduction cases and access cases involve 

17 children taken from the United States to countries 

18 with which the United States does not have Hague 

19 Abduction Convention obligations or other agree20 ments relating to the resolution of abduction cases 

21 and access cases. 

22 (8) According to the Department of State’s 

23 April 2010 Report on Compliance with the Hague 

24 Convention on the Civil Aspects of International 

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1 izes the child and has substantial long-term con2 sequences for both the child and the left-behind par3 ent.’’. 

4 (9) Abducted children are at risk of serious 

5 emotional and psychological problems and have been 

6 found to experience anxiety, eating problems, night7 mares, mood swings, sleep disturbances, aggressive 

8 behavior, resentment, guilt and fearfulness, and as 

9 adults may struggle with identity issues, personal re10 lationships, and parenting. 

11 (10) Left-behind parents may encounter sub12 stantial psychological and emotional problems, and 

13 few have the extraordinary financial resources nec14 essary to pursue individual civil or criminal remedies 

15 in both the United States and a foreign country, 

16 even where available, or to engage in repeated for17 eign travel to attempt to procure the return of their 

18 children by evoking diplomatic and humanitarian 

19 remedies. 

20 (11) Left-behind parents who are military par21 ents may be unable to leave their military duties to 

22 pursue multinational litigation or take leave to at23 tend multiple court proceedings, and foreign authori24 ties may not schedule proceedings to accommodate 

25 such duties. 


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1 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con2 gress that the United States should set a strong example 

3 for Convention countries in the timely location and return 

4 of abducted children in the United States whose habitual 

5 residence is not the United States. 

6 (c) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are to— 

7 (1) protect children whose habitual residence is 

8 the United States from the harmful effects of abduc9 tion and to assist left-behind parents to have access 

10 to their abducted child in a safe and predictable 

11 manner, wherever the child is located, while an ab12 duction case is pending; 

13 (2) provide left-behind parents, including mili14 tary parents, their advocates, and judges the infor15 mation they need to enhance the resolution of abduc16 tion cases and access cases through established legal 

17 procedures, risk assessment tools, and the practical 

18 means for overcoming obstacles to recovering an ab19 ducted child; 

20 (3) establish measured, effective, and predict21 able actions to be undertaken by the President on 

22 behalf of abducted children whose habitual residence 

23 is the United States at the time of the abduction; 

24 (4) promote an international consensus that it 

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1 lated to their care and custody determined in the 

2 country of their habitual residence; 

3 (5) provide the necessary training for officials 

4 of the United States Armed Forces and the Depart5 ment of Defense to establish policies and provide 

6 services to military parents that address the unique 

7 circumstances of abductions and violations of rights 

8 of access that may occur with regard to military de9 pendent children; and 

10 (6) encourage the effective implementation of 

11 international mechanisms, particularly those estab12 lished pursuant to the Hague Abduction Convention, 

13 to achieve reciprocity in the resolution of abductions 

14 and to protect children from the harmful effects of 

15 an abduction. 

16 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

17 In this Act: 

18 (1) ABDUCTED CHILD.—The term ‘‘abducted 

19 child’’ means a child who is the victim of an abduc20 tion. 

21 (2) ABDUCTION.—The term ‘‘abduction’’ 

22 means— 

23 (A) the alleged wrongful removal of a child 

24 from the child’s country of habitual residence; 


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1 (B) the alleged wrongful retention of a 

2 child outside the child’s country of habitual res3 idence; or 

4 (C) the alleged wrongful removal or reten5 tion of a military dependent child from the ex6 ercise of rights of custody of a military parent. 

7 (3) ABDUCTION CASE.—The term ‘‘abduction 

8 case’’ means a case involving an application filed 

9 with the Central Authority of the United States by 

10 a left-behind parent for the resolution of an abduc11 tion. 

12 (4) ACCESS CASE.—The term ‘‘access case’’ 

13 means a case involving an application filed with the 

14 Central Authority of the United States by a left-be15 hind parent for the establishment of rights of access. 

16 (5) ANNUAL REPORT.—The term ‘‘Annual Re17 port’’ means the Annual Report on International 

18 Child Abduction required under section 101. 

19 (6) APPLICATION.—The term ‘‘application’’ 

20 means— 

21 (A) in the case of a Convention country, 

22 the application required pursuant to article 8 of 

23 the Hague Abduction Convention; 

24 (B) in the case of an MOU country, the 

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1 visions of the applicable MOU to request the re2 turn of an abducted child or to request rights 

3 of access, as applicable; and 

4 (C) in the case of a nonparty country, the 

5 formal request by the Central Authority of the 

6 United States to the Central Authority of such 

7 country requesting the return of an abducted 

8 child or for rights of access to an abducted 

9 child. 

10 (7) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT11 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com12 mittees’’ means the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 

13 the House of Representatives and the Committee on 

14 Foreign Relations of the Senate. 

15 (8) CENTRAL AUTHORITY.—The term ‘‘Central 

16 Authority’’ means— 

17 (A) in the case of a Convention country, 

18 the meaning given such term in article 6 of the 

19 Hague Abduction Convention; 

20 (B) in the case of an MOU country, the of21 ficial entity designated by the government of 

22 the MOU country within the applicable MOU 

23 pursuant to section 103(b)(1) to discharge the 

24 duties imposed on the entity in such MOU; and 


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1 (C) in the case of a nonparty country, the 

2 foreign ministry of such country. 

3 (9) CHILD.—The term ‘‘child’’ means an indi4 vidual who has not attained the age of 16. 

5 (10) CONVENTION COUNTRY.—The term ‘‘Con6 vention country’’ means a country other than the 

7 United States that has ratified, acceded, or suc8 ceeded to the Hague Abduction Convention and with 

9 respect to which the United States has entered into 

10 a reciprocal agreement pursuant to the Hague Ab11 duction Convention. 

12 (11) HAGUE ABDUCTION CONVENTION.—The 

13 term ‘‘Hague Abduction Convention’’ means the 

14 Convention on the Civil Aspects of International 

15 Child Abduction, done at The Hague on October 25, 

16 1980. 

17 (12) LEFT-BEHIND PARENT.—The term ‘‘left18 behind parent’’ means an individual or entity, either 

19 individually or jointly, who alleges that an abduction 

20 has occurred that is in breach of rights of custody— 

21 (A) attributed to such individual or entity, 

22 as applicable; and 

23 (B) exercised at the time of the abduction 

24 or that would have been exercised but for the 

25 abduction. 


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1 (13) LEGAL RESIDENCE.—The term ‘‘legal resi2 dence’’ means the congressional district and State in 

3 which an individual either is residing, or if an indi4 vidual is residing temporarily outside the United 

5 States, the congressional district and State to which 

6 the individual intends to return. 

7 (14) MILITARY DEPENDENT CHILD.—The term 

8 ‘‘military dependent child’’ means a child whose ha9 bitual residence is the United States according to 

10 United States law even though the child is residing 

11 outside the United States with a military parent. 

12 (15) MILITARY PARENT.—The term ‘‘military 

13 parent’’ means an individual who has rights of cus14 tody over a child and who is serving outside the 

15 United States as a member of the United States 

16 Armed Forces. 

17 (16) MOU.—The term ‘‘MOU’’ means a memo18 randum of understanding between the United States 

19 and a country that is not a Convention country to 

20 resolve abduction cases and access cases. 

21 (17) MOU COUNTRY.—The term ‘‘MOU coun22 try’’ means a country with respect to which the 

23 United States has entered into an MOU. 


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1 (18) NONPARTY COUNTRY.—The term 

2 ‘‘nonparty country’’ means a country that is neither 

3 a Convention country nor an MOU country. 

4 (19) PATTERN OF NONCOOPERATION.— 

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘pattern of 

6 noncooperation’’ means the persistent failure— 

7 (i) of a Convention country to imple8 ment and abide by the provisions of the 

9 Hague Abduction Convention; and 

10 (ii) of an MOU country to implement 

11 and abide by the provisions of the applica12 ble MOU. 

13 (B) CRITERIA.—Such persistent failure 

14 may be evidenced by one or more of the fol15 lowing criteria: 

16 (i) The existence of 10 or more unre17 solved abduction cases. 

18 (ii) The failure of the Central Author19 ity of the country to fulfill its responsibil20 ities pursuant to the Hague Abduction 

21 Convention or the MOU, as applicable. 

22 (iii) The failure of the judicial or ad23 ministrative branch, as applicable, of the 

24 national government of the country to im25 plement and comply with the provisions of 


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1 the Hague Abduction Convention or the 

2 MOU, as applicable. 

3 (iv) The failure of law enforcement to 

4 locate abducted children or to enforce re5 turn orders or determinations of rights of 

6 access rendered by the judicial or adminis7 trative authorities of the national govern8 ment of the country in abduction cases or 

9 access cases. 

10 (20) RIGHTS OF ACCESS.—The term ‘‘rights of 

11 access’’ means the rights of contact between a child 

12 and a left-behind parent provided as a provisional 

13 measure while an abduction case is pending, by op14 eration of law or by reason of judicial or administra15 tive determination or by agreement having legal ef16 fect, under the law of the country in which the child 

17 is located. 

18 (21) RIGHTS OF CUSTODY.—The term ‘‘rights 

19 of custody’’ means rights of care and custody of an 

20 abducted child, including the right to determine the 

21 place of residence of an abducted child— 

22 (A) attributed to an individual or entity, 

23 either individually or jointly, and 


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1 (B) arising by operation of law or by rea2 son of a judicial or administrative decision, or 

3 by reason of an agreement having legal effect, 

4 under the law of the country in which the child was 

5 an habitual resident immediately before the abduc6 tion. 

7 (22) UNRESOLVED ABDUCTION CASE.— 

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara9 graph (B), the term ‘‘unresolved abduction 

10 case’’ means an abduction case that remains 

11 unresolved for a period that exceeds 180 days 

12 after the date on which the completed applica13 tion for return of the child is submitted for de14 termination to the judicial or administrative au15 thority, as applicable, in the country in which 

16 the child is located. 

17 (B) RESOLUTION OF CASE.—An abduction 

18 case shall be considered to be resolved if— 

19 (i) the child is returned to the country 

20 of habitual residence, pursuant to the 

21 Hague Abduction Convention or MOU, if 

22 applicable; 

23 (ii) the judicial or administrative 

24 branch, as applicable, of the national gov25 ernment of the country in which the child 


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1 is located has implemented and is com2 plying with the provisions of the Hague 

3 Abduction Convention or the MOU, as ap4 plicable, and a final determination is made 

5 by such judicial or administrative branch 

6 that the child will not be returned to the 

7 country of habitual residence; or 

8 (iii) the child attains the age of 16. 

9 TITLE I—DEPARTMENT OF 

10 STATE ACTIONS 

11 SEC. 101. ANNUAL REPORT. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than March 31 of each 

13 year, the Secretary of State shall submit to the appro14 priate congressional committees an Annual Report on 

15 International Child Abduction. 

16 (b) CONTENTS.—Each Annual Report shall include 

17 the following: 

18 (1) A list of all countries with respect to which 

19 there were one or more abduction cases during the 

20 preceding year that identifies whether each such 

21 country is a Convention country, an MOU country, 

22 or a nonparty country. 

23 (2) For each country with respect to which 

24 there were 5 or more abduction cases during the 

25 preceding year: 


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1 (A) The number of abduction cases and 

2 the number of access cases, respectively, re3 ported during the preceding year. 

4 (B) The number of abduction cases and 

5 the number of access cases, respectively, that 

6 are pending as of March 1 of the year in which 

7 such Annual Report is submitted. 

8 (C)(i) For Convention and MOU countries, 

9 the number of abduction cases and the number 

10 of access cases, respectively, that were pending 

11 at any point for more than 180 days after the 

12 date on which the Central Authority of the 

13 United States transmitted the complete applica14 tion for each such case to the Central Authority 

15 of such country, and were not submitted by the 

16 Central Authority to the judicial or administra17 tive authority, as applicable, of such country 

18 within the 180-day period. 

19 (ii) The reason for the delay in submission 

20 of each case identified in clause (i) by the Cen21 tral Authority of such country to the judicial or 

22 administrative authority. 

23 (D) The number of unresolved abduction 

24 cases, and the length of time each case has 

25 been pending. 


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1 (E) The number of unresolved abduction 

2 cases in which a completed application has been 

3 filed and law enforcement has failed to locate 

4 the abducted child or to enforce a return order 

5 rendered by the judicial or administrative au6 thorities of such country. 

7 (F) The median time required for resolu8 tion of abduction cases during the preceding 

9 year, to be measured from the date on which 

10 the application with respect to the abduction 

11 case is transmitted by the Central Authority of 

12 the United States to the Central Authority of 

13 such country to the date on which the abduc14 tion case is resolved. 

15 (G) The total number and the percentage 

16 of the total number of abduction cases and ac17 cess cases, respectively, resolved during the pre18 ceding year. 

19 (H) Detailed information about each unre20 solved abduction case described in subpara21 graph (E) and on actions taken by the Depart22 ment of State to resolve such case, including 

23 the specific actions taken by the United States 

24 chief of mission in such country. 


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1 (I) Recommendations to improve resolution 

2 of abduction cases and access cases. 

3 (3) The number of abducted children from the 

4 United States who were returned to the United 

5 States from Convention countries, MOU countries, 

6 and nonparty countries, respectively. 

7 (4) A list of Convention countries and MOU 

8 countries that have failed to comply with any of 

9 their obligations under the Hague Abduction Con10 vention or the MOU, as applicable, with respect to 

11 the resolution of abduction cases and access cases. 

12 (5) A list of countries demonstrating a pattern 

13 of noncooperation, and a summary of the criteria on 

14 which the determination of a pattern of noncoopera15 tion for each country is based. 

16 (6)(A) Information on efforts by the Secretary 

17 of State to encourage other countries to become sig18 natories to the Hague Abduction Convention or to 

19 enter into an MOU. 

20 (B) The efforts referred to in subparagraph (A) 

21 shall include efforts to address pending abduction 

22 cases and access cases in such countries. 

23 (7) A description of the efforts of the Secretary 

24 of State to encourage Convention countries and 

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1 mental organizations within their respective coun2 tries that assist left-behind parents. 

3 (8) The number of cases which were success4 fully resolved without abducted children being re5 turned to the United States from Convention coun6 tries, MOU countries, and nonparty countries, re7 spectively. 

8 (c) EXCEPTION.—The Annual Report shall not in9 clude— 

10 (1) the names of left-behind parents or children 

11 involved in abduction cases or access cases; or 

12 (2) information that may identify a party in13 volved in an abduction case or access case unless the 

14 party stipulates in writing to the Central Authority 

15 of the United States that such information may be 

16 included in the Annual Report. 

17 (d) ADDITIONAL THEMATIC SECTIONS.—Each An18 nual Report shall also include— 

19 (1) information on the number of unresolved 

20 abduction cases affecting left-behind parents who 

21 are military parents and a summary of assistance of22 fered to such left-behind parents; 

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1 tions, and recommendations for best airline practices 

2 to prevent abductions; 

3 (3) information on actions taken by the Central 

4 Authority of the United States to train domestic 

5 judges in application of the Hague Abduction Con6 vention; and 

7 (4) information on actions taken by the Central 

8 Authority of the United States to train United 

9 States Armed Forces legal assistance personnel, 

10 military chaplains, and military family support cen11 ter personnel about abductions, the risk of loss of 

12 access to children, and the legal frameworks avail13 able to resolve such cases. 

14 (e) REPEAL OF THE HAGUE CONVENTION COMPLI15 ANCE REPORT.—Section 2803 of the Foreign Affairs Re16 form and Restructuring Act of 1998 (42 U.S.C. 11611) 

17 is repealed. 

18 SEC. 102. STANDARDS AND ASSISTANCE. 

19 The Secretary of State shall ensure that United 

20 States diplomatic and consular missions abroad— 

21 (1) maintain a consistent reporting standard 

22 with respect to abduction cases and access cases in23 volving abducted children in the country in which 

24 such mission is located for purposes of the Annual 

25 Report; 


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1 (2) designate at least one official in each such 

2 mission to assist left-behind parents from the United 

3 States who are visiting such country to resolve cases 

4 involving an abduction or rights of access; and 

5 (3) monitor developments in cases involving ab6 ducted children in the country in which such mission 

7 is located. 

8 SEC. 103. MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State should 

10 seek to enter into an MOU with every country that is not 

11 a Convention country and is unlikely to become a Conven12 tion country in the forseeable future, that includes— 

13 (1) identification of the Central Authority; 

14 (2) a protocol to identify, locate, and effectuate 

15 the return of an abducted child identified in an ab16 duction case not later than 6 weeks after the appli17 cation with respect to the abduction case has been 

18 submitted to the judicial or administrative authority, 

19 as applicable, of the country in which the abducted 

20 child is located; 

21 (3) a protocol for the establishment and protec22 tion of the rights of access; 

23 (4) identification of the judicial or administra24 tive authority that will promptly adjudicate abduc25 tion cases and access cases; 


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1 (5) identification of a law enforcement agency 

2 and available law enforcement mechanisms and pro3 cedures to ensure the immediate enforcement of an 

4 order issued by the authority identified pursuant to 

5 paragraph (4) to return an abducted child to a left6 behind parent, including by— 

7 (A) conducting an investigation to ascer8 tain the location of the abducted child; 

9 (B) providing protection to the abducted 

10 child after such child is located; and 

11 (C) retrieving the abducted child and mak12 ing the appropriate arrangements for such child 

13 to be returned to the country of habitual resi14 dence; 

15 (6) a protocol to establish periodic visits be16 tween a United States embassy or consular official 

17 and an abducted child to allow the official to ascer18 tain the child’s location and welfare; and 

19 (7) such other provisions as determined to be 

20 appropriate by the Secretary of State. 

21 (b) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act shall be 

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1 ify the reciprocal obligations of the United States 

2 and the Convention country under the Hague Ab3 duction Convention. 

4 (2) TREATMENT OF OBLIGATIONS OF CONVEN5 TION COUNTRY.—In those instances in which there 

6 is a memorandum of understanding as described in 

7 paragraph (1), the obligations of the Convention 

8 country under such memorandum shall be consid9 ered to be obligations of such country under the 

10 Hague Abduction Convention for purposes of this 

11 Act. 

12 SEC. 104. NOTIFICATION OF CONGRESSIONAL REPRESENT13 ATIVES. 

14 (a) NOTIFICATION.—Except as provided in sub15 section (b), the Secretary of State shall notify in writing 

16 the Member of Congress and Senators representing the 

17 legal residence of a left-behind parent when such parent 

18 reports an abduction to the Central Authority of the 

19 United States. 

20 (b) EXCEPTION.—The notification requirement under 

21 subsection (a) shall not apply if the left-behind parent 

22 does not consent to the notification described in such sub23 section. 

24 (c) TIMING.—At the request of any person who is a 

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1 viously reported an abduction to the Central Authority of 

2 the United States before the date of the enactment of this 

3 Act, notification of a Member of Congress, in accordance 

4 with subsections (a) and (b), shall be provided as soon 

5 as is practicable. 

6 (d) MEMBER OF CONGRESS DEFINED.—In this sec7 tion, the term ‘‘Member of Congress’’ means a Represent8 ative in, or Delegate or Resident Commissioner to, the 

9 Congress. 

10 TITLE II—PRESIDENTIAL 

11 ACTIONS 

12 SEC. 201. PRESIDENTIAL ACTIONS IN RESPONSE TO UNRE13 SOLVED CASES. 

14 (a) RESPONSE TO INTERNATIONAL CHILD ABDUC15 TIONS.— 

16 (1) UNITED STATES POLICY.—It shall be the 

17 policy of the United States to— 

18 (A) promote the best interest of children 

19 abducted from the United States by estab20 lishing legal rights and procedures for their 

21 prompt return and by promoting such rights 

22 and procedures through actions that ensure the 

23 enforcement of reciprocal international obliga24 tions; and 


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1 (B) recognize the international character 

2 of the Hague Abduction Convention, and the 

3 need for reciprocity pursuant to and the uni4 form international interpretation of the Hague 

5 Abduction Convention, by promoting the timely 

6 resolution of abduction cases through one or 

7 more of the actions described in section 205. 

8 (2) REQUIREMENT OF PRESIDENTIAL AC9 TION.—Whenever the President determines that the 

10 government of a foreign country has failed to resolve 

11 an unresolved abduction case, the President shall op12 pose such failure through one or more of the actions 

13 described in subsection (b). 

14 (b) PRESIDENTIAL ACTIONS.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraphs (2) 

16 and (3), the President, in consultation with the Sec17 retary of State, shall, as expeditiously as practicable 

18 in response to the failure described in subsection (a) 

19 by the government of a foreign country, take one or 

20 more of the actions described in paragraphs (1) 

21 through (13) of section 205(a) (or commensurate ac22 tion as provided in section 205(b)) with respect to 

23 such country. 

24 (2) DEADLINE FOR ACTIONS.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

2 subparagraph (B), not later than March 31 of 

3 each year, the President shall take one or more 

4 of the actions described in paragraphs (1) 

5 through (13) of section 205(a) (or commensu6 rate action as provided in section 205(b)) with 

7 respect to each foreign country the government 

8 of which has failed to resolve an unresolved ab9 duction case that is pending as of such date. 

10 (B) EXCEPTION.—In the case of an action 

11 under any of paragraphs (10) through (13) of 

12 section 205(a) (or commensurate action as pro13 vided in section 205(b))— 

14 (i) the action may only be taken after 

15 the requirements of sections 203 and 204 

16 have been satisfied; and 

17 (ii) the March 31 deadline to take the 

18 action shall not apply. 

19 (3) AUTHORITY FOR DELAY OF PRESIDENTIAL

20 ACTIONS.—The President may delay action de21 scribed in any of the paragraphs (10) through (13) 

22 of section 205(a) (or commensurate action as pro23 vided in section 205(b)), as required under para24 graph (2), if the President determines and certifies 

25 to the appropriate congressional committees that an 


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1 additional, specified period of time is necessary for 

2 a continuation of negotiations that have been com3 menced with the country to resolve the unresolved 

4 case. 

5 (c) IMPLEMENTATION.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out subsection 

7 (b), the President shall— 

8 (A) take one or more actions that most ap9 propriately respond to the nature and severity 

10 of the failure to resolve the unresolved abduc11 tion cases; and 

12 (B) seek to the fullest extent possible to 

13 target action as narrowly as practicable with re14 spect to the agencies or instrumentalities of the 

15 foreign government that are responsible for 

16 such failures, in ways that respect the separa17 tion of powers and independence of the judici18 ary in foreign countries. 

19 (2) GUIDELINES FOR PRESIDENTIAL AC20 TIONS.—In addition to the guidelines under para21 graph (1), the President, in determining whether to 

22 take one or more actions under paragraphs (10) 

23 through (13) of section 205(a) (or commensurate ac24 tion as provided in section 205(b)), shall seek to 

25 minimize any adverse impact on— 


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1 (A) the population of the country whose 

2 government is targeted by the action or actions; 

3 and 

4 (B) the humanitarian activities of United 

5 States and foreign nongovernmental organiza6 tions in the country. 

7 SEC. 202. PRESIDENTIAL ACTIONS IN RESPONSE TO PAT8 TERNS OF NONCOOPERATION IN CASES OF 

9 INTERNATIONAL CHILD ABDUCTIONS. 

10 (a) RESPONSE TO A PATTERN OF NONCOOPERA11 TION.— 

12 (1) UNITED STATES POLICY.—It shall be the 

13 policy of the United States to— 

14 (A) oppose institutional or other systemic 

15 failures of foreign governments to fulfill their 

16 obligations pursuant to the Hague Abduction 

17 Convention or MOU, as applicable, to resolve 

18 abduction cases and access cases; and 

19 (B) promote reciprocity pursuant to and 

20 compliance with the Hague Abduction Conven21 tion by Convention countries and compliance 

22 with the applicable MOU by MOU countries. 

23 (2) REQUIREMENT OF PRESIDENTIAL AC24 TION.—Whenever the President determines that the 

25 government of a foreign country has engaged in a 


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1 pattern of noncooperation, the President shall pro2 mote the resolution of the unresolved abduction 

3 cases through one or more of the actions described 

4 in subsection (c). 

5 (b) DESIGNATIONS OF COUNTRIES WITH PATTERNS

6 OF NONCOOPERATION IN CASES OF INTERNATIONAL

7 CHILD ABDUCTION.— 

8 (1) ANNUAL REVIEW.— 

9 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than March 

10 31 of each year, the President shall review the 

11 status of abduction cases and access cases in 

12 each foreign country to determine whether the 

13 government of such country has engaged in a 

14 pattern of noncooperation during the preceding 

15 12 months or since the date of the last review 

16 of such country under this subparagraph, 

17 whichever period is longer. The President shall 

18 designate each country the government of which 

19 has engaged in a pattern of noncooperation as 

20 a Country With a Pattern of Noncooperation. 

21 (B) BASIS OF REVIEW.—Each review con22 ducted under subparagraph (A) shall be based 

23 upon information contained in the latest Annual 

24 Report and on any other evidence available. 


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1 (2) DETERMINATIONS OF RESPONSIBLE PAR2 TIES.—For the government of each country des3 ignated as a Country With a Pattern of Noncoopera4 tion under paragraph (1)(A), the President shall 

5 seek to determine the agencies or instrumentalities 

6 of such government that are responsible for the pat7 tern of noncooperation by such government in order 

8 to appropriately target actions under this section in 

9 response. 

10 (3) CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION.—Whenever 

11 the President designates a country as a Country 

12 With a Pattern of Noncooperation under paragraph 

13 (1)(A), the President shall, as soon as practicable 

14 after such designation is made, transmit to the ap15 propriate congressional committees— 

16 (A) the designation of the country, signed 

17 by the President; and 

18 (B) the identification, if any, of responsible 

19 agencies or instrumentalities determined under 

20 paragraph (2). 

21 (c) PRESIDENTIAL ACTIONS WITH RESPECT TO A

22 COUNTRY WITH A PATTERN OF NONCOOPERATION.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraphs (2) 

24 and (3) with respect to each Country With a Pattern 

25 of Noncooperation designated under subsection 


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1 (b)(1)(A), the President shall, after the require2 ments of sections 203 and 204 have been satisfied, 

3 but not later than 90 days (or 180 days in case of 

4 a delay under paragraph (2)) after the date of such 

5 designation of the country under such subsection, 

6 take one or more of the actions under paragraphs 

7 (10) through (13) of section 205(a) (or commensu8 rate action as provided in section 205(b)). 

9 (2) AUTHORITY FOR DELAY OF PRESIDENTIAL

10 ACTIONS.—If, on or before the date that the Presi11 dent is required to take action under paragraph (1), 

12 the President determines and certifies to the appro13 priate congressional committees that a single, addi14 tional period of time not to exceed 90 days is nec15 essary— 

16 (A) for a continuation of negotiations that 

17 have been commenced with the government of a 

18 country described in such paragraph to bring 

19 about a cessation of the pattern of noncoopera20 tion by such country, or 

21 (B) for a review of corrective action taken 

22 by such country after designation of such coun23 try as a Country With a Pattern of Non24 cooperation under subsection (b)(1)(A) or in 


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1 anticipation that corrective action will be taken 

2 by such country during such 90-day period, 

3 the President shall not be required to take such ac4 tion until the expiration of such period of time. 

5 (3) EXCEPTION FOR ONGOING PRESIDENTIAL

6 ACTION.— 

7 (A) IN GENERAL.—The President shall not 

8 be required to take action under paragraph (1) 

9 with respect to a Country With a Pattern of 

10 Noncooperation if— 

11 (i) the President has taken action 

12 pursuant to paragraph (1) with respect to 

13 such country in a preceding year, such ac14 tion is in effect at the time such country 

15 is designated as a Country with a Pattern 

16 of Noncooperation under subsection 

17 (b)(1)(A), and the President submits to 

18 the appropriate congressional committees 

19 the information described in section 204 

20 regarding the actions in effect with respect 

21 to such country; or 

22 (ii) subject to subparagraph (B), the 

23 President determines that such country is 

24 subject to multiple, broad-based sanctions 

25 imposed in significant part in response to 


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1 human rights abuses and that such sanc2 tions also satisfy the requirements of this 

3 subsection. 

4 (B) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.—If the 

5 President makes a determination under sub6 paragraph (A)(ii)— 

7 (i) the report under section 204 and, 

8 as applicable, the publication in the Fed9 eral Register under section 208, shall 

10 specify the specific sanction or sanctions 

11 that the President has determined satisfy 

12 the requirements of this subsection; and 

13 (ii) such sanctions shall remain in ef14 fect subject to section 209. 

15 (d) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—A determination 

16 under this section that a foreign country has engaged in 

17 a pattern of noncooperation shall not be construed to re18 quire the termination of assistance or other activities with 

19 respect to such country under any other provision of law, 

20 including section 116 or 502B of the Foreign Assistance 

21 Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151(n) or 2304). 

22 SEC. 203. CONSULTATIONS WITH FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS. 

23 As soon as practicable after the President makes a 

24 determination under section 201 in response to failures 

25 to resolve unresolved abduction cases and the President 


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1 decides to take action under paragraphs (10) through (13) 

2 of section 205(a) (or commensurate action as provided in 

3 section 205(b)) with respect to that country, or not later 

4 than 90 days after the President designates a country as 

5 a country with a pattern of noncooperation pursuant to 

6 section 202(b)(1)(a), the President shall— 

7 (1) request consultation with the government of 

8 such country regarding the failures giving rise to 

9 designation of that country as a Country With a 

10 Pattern of Noncooperation regarding the pattern of 

11 noncooperation or to action under section 201; and 

12 (2) if agreed to, enter into such consultations 

13 with such country, privately or publicly. 

14 SEC. 204. REPORT TO CONGRESS. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), not 

16 later than 90 days after the President makes a determina17 tion under section 201 in response to failures to resolve 

18 unresolved abduction cases and the President decides to 

19 take action under paragraphs (10) through (13) of section 

20 205(a) (or commensurate action as provided in section 

21 205(b)) with respect to that country, or not later than 

22 90 days after the President designates a country as a 

23 Country With a Pattern of Noncooperation pursuant to 

24 section 202(b)(1)(A), the President shall transmit to the 


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1 appropriate congressional committees a report on the fol2 lowing: 

3 (1) IDENTIFICATION OF PRESIDENTIAL AC4 TIONS.—An identification of the action or actions 

5 described in section 205(a) (or commensurate action 

6 as provided in section 205(b)) to be taken with re7 spect to such country. 

8 (2) DESCRIPTION OF VIOLATIONS.—A descrip9 tion of the failure to resolve an unresolved case or 

10 the pattern of noncooperation, as applicable, giving 

11 rise to the action or actions to be taken by the 

12 President. 

13 (3) PURPOSE OF PRESIDENTIAL ACTIONS.—A 

14 description of the purpose of the action or actions. 

15 (4) EVALUATION.— 

16 (A) DESCRIPTION.—An evaluation, in con17 sultation with the Secretary of State, the par18 ties described in section 203(b), and other par19 ties the President determines appropriate, of 

20 the anticipated impact of the Presidential ac21 tion upon— 

22 (i) pending abduction cases in such 

23 country; 

24 (ii) the government of such country; 

25 (iii) the population of such country; 


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1 (iv) the United States economy; 

2 (v) other interested parties; and 

3 (vi) if such country is a Convention 

4 country or an MOU country, the reciprocal 

5 fulfillment of obligations pursuant to such 

6 Convention or applicable MOU, as applica7 ble. 

8 (B) FORM.—The evaluation under sub9 paragraph (A) shall be transmitted in unclassi10 fied form, but may contain a classified annex if 

11 necessary. 

12 (5) STATEMENT OF POLICY OPTIONS.—A state13 ment that noneconomic policy options designed to 

14 resolve the unresolved case or bring about the ces15 sation of the pattern of noncooperation have reason16 ably been exhausted, including the consultations re17 quired in section 203. 

18 (b) DELAY IN TRANSMITTAL OF REPORT.—If, on or 

19 before the date that the President is required to submit 

20 a report under subsection (a) to the appropriate congres21 sional committees, the President determines and certifies 

22 to such committees that a single, additional period of time 

23 not to exceed 90 days is necessary pursuant to section 

24 202(c)(2), the President shall not be required to submit 


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1 the report to such committees until the expiration of such 

2 period of time. 

3 SEC. 205. PRESIDENTIAL ACTIONS. 

4 (a) DESCRIPTION OF PRESIDENTIAL ACTIONS.—Ex5 cept as provided in subsection (c), the Presidential actions 

6 referred to in this subsection are the following: 

7 (1) A private demarche. 

8 (2) An official public demarche. 

9 (3) A public condemnation. 

10 (4) A public condemnation within one or more 

11 multilateral fora. 

12 (5) The delay or cancellation of one or more 

13 scientific exchanges. 

14 (6) The delay or cancellation of one or more 

15 cultural exchanges. 

16 (7) The denial of one or more working, official, 

17 or state visits. 

18 (8) The delay or cancellation of one or more 

19 working, official, or state visits. 

20 (9) A formal request to the foreign country con21 cerned to extradite an individual who is engaged in 

22 abduction and who has been formally accused of, 

23 charged with, or convicted of an extraditable offense. 

24 (10) The withdrawal, limitation, or suspension 

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1 ance with section 116 of the Foreign Assistance Act 

2 of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151n). 

3 (11) The withdrawal, limitation, or suspension 

4 of United States security assistance in accordance 

5 with section 502B of the Foreign Assistance Act of 

6 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2304). 

7 (12) The withdrawal, limitation, or suspension 

8 of assistance to the central government of a country 

9 pursuant to chapter 4 of part II of the Foreign As10 sistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2346 et seq.; relat11 ing to the Economic Support Fund). 

12 (13) Ordering the heads of the appropriate 

13 United States agencies not to issue any (or a speci14 fied number of) specific licenses, and not to grant 

15 any other specific authority (or a specified number 

16 of authorities), to export any goods or technology to 

17 such government or to the agency or instrumentality 

18 of such government determined by the President to 

19 be responsible for such unresolved case or pattern of 

20 noncooperation, as applicable, under— 

21 (A) the Export Administration Act of 1979 

22 (as continued in effect under the International 

23 Emergency Economic Powers Act); 

24 (B) the Arms Export Control Act; 

25 (C) the Atomic Energy Act of 1954; or 


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1 (D) any other statute that requires the 

2 prior review and approval of the United States 

3 Government as a condition for the export or re4 export of goods or services. 

5 (b) COMMENSURATE ACTION.—Except as provided in 

6 subsection (c), the President may substitute any other ac7 tion authorized by law for any action described in sub8 section (a) if such action is commensurate in effect to the 

9 action substituted and if such action would further the 

10 purposes of this Act as specified in section 2(c). The Presi11 dent shall seek to take all appropriate and feasible actions 

12 authorized by law to resolve the unresolved case or to ob13 tain the cessation of such pattern of noncooperation, as 

14 applicable. If commensurate action is taken under this 

15 subsection, the President shall transmit to the appropriate 

16 congressional committees a report on such action, together 

17 with an explanation for taking such action. 

18 (c) EXCEPTIONS.— 

19 (1) HUMANITARIAN EXCEPTION.—Any action 

20 taken pursuant to subsection (a) or (b) may not pro21 hibit or restrict the provision of medicine, medical 

22 equipment or supplies, food, or other life-saving hu23 manitarian assistance. 


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1 (2) DEFENSE AND NATIONAL SECURITY EXCEP2 TION.—The President shall not be required to apply 

3 or maintain any action under section 205— 

4 (A) in the case of procurement of defense 

5 articles or defense services— 

6 (i) under existing contracts or sub7 contracts, including the exercise of options 

8 for production quantities, to satisfy re9 quirements essential to the national secu10 rity of the United States; 

11 (ii) if the President determines in 

12 writing and transmits to the appropriate 

13 congressional committees a report that the 

14 government or the agency or instrumen15 tality of such government to which such 

16 action would otherwise be applied is a sole 

17 source supplier of such defense articles or 

18 services, that such defense articles or serv19 ices are essential, and that alternative 

20 sources are not readily or reasonably avail21 able; or 

22 (iii) if the President determines in 

23 writing and transmits to the appropriate 

24 congressional committees a report that 

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1 tial to the national security of the United 

2 States under defense co-production agree3 ments; or 

4 (B) to products or services provided under 

5 contracts entered into before the date on which 

6 the President publishes in the Federal Register 

7 notice of such action in accordance with section 

8 208. 

9 SEC. 206. PRESIDENTIAL WAIVER. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), the 

11 President may waive the application of any of the actions 

12 described in paragraphs (10) through (13) of section 

13 205(a) (or commensurate action as provided in section 

14 205(b)) with respect to a country, if the President deter15 mines and so reports to the appropriate congressional 

16 committees that— 

17 (1) the government of such country has satis18 factorily resolved any abduction case giving rise to 

19 the application of any of such actions and— 

20 (A) if such country is a Convention coun21 try, such country has taken measures to ensure 

22 future compliance with the provisions of the 

23 Hague Abduction Convention; 

24 (B) if such country is an MOU country, 

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1 ture compliance with the provisions of the MOU 

2 at issue; or 

3 (C) if such country was a nonparty country 

4 at the time the abductions or denials of rights 

5 of access resulting in the abduction cases or ac6 cess cases occurred, such country has become a 

7 Convention country or an MOU country; 

8 (2) the exercise of such waiver authority would 

9 further the purposes of this Act; or 

10 (3) the important national interest of the 

11 United States requires the exercise of such waiver 

12 authority. 

13 (b) CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION.—Not later than 

14 the date of the exercise of a waiver under subsection (a), 

15 the President shall notify the appropriate congressional 

16 committees of such waiver or the intention to exercise such 

17 waiver, together with a detailed justification thereof. 

18 SEC. 207. PUBLICATION IN FEDERAL REGISTER. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), the 

20 President shall ensure publication in the Federal Register 

21 of the following: 

22 (1) DETERMINATIONS OF GOVERNMENTS, 

23 AGENCIES, INSTRUMENTALITIES OF COUNTRIES

24 WITH PATTERNS OF NONCOOPERATION.—Any des25 ignation of a country that the President has desVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:13 Jun 26, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00042 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\H3212.RS H3212

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1 ignated as a Country With a Pattern of Noncoopera2 tion under section 202(b)(1)(A), together with, when 

3 applicable and to the extent practicable, the identi4 ties of agencies or instrumentalities determined to be 

5 responsible for such pattern of noncooperation. 

6 (2) PRESIDENTIAL ACTIONS.—A description of 

7 any action under paragraphs (10) through (13) of 

8 section 205(a) (or commensurate action as provided 

9 in section 205(b)) and the effective date of such ac10 tion. 

11 (3) DELAYS IN TRANSMITTAL OF PRESI12 DENTIAL ACTION REPORTS.—Any delay in trans13 mittal of a report required under section 204. 

14 (4) WAIVERS.—Any waiver issued under section 

15 206. 

16 (b) LIMITED DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION.—The 

17 President may limit publication of information under this 

18 section in the same manner and to the same extent as 

19 the President may limit the publication of findings and 

20 determinations described in section 654(c) of the Foreign 

21 Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2414(c)), if the Presi22 dent determines that the publication of such informa23 tion— 

24 (1) would be harmful to the national security of 

25 the United States; or 


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1 (2) would not further the purposes of this Act. 

2 SEC. 208. TERMINATION OF PRESIDENTIAL ACTIONS. 

3 Any action taken under this Act or any amendment 

4 made by this Act with respect to a foreign country shall 

5 terminate on the earlier of the following two dates: 

6 (1) Not later than two years after the effective 

7 date of such action unless expressly reauthorized by 

8 law. 

9 (2) The date on which the President transmits 

10 to Congress a certification containing a determina11 tion of the President that the government of such 

12 country has resolved any unresolved abduction case 

13 or has taken substantial and verifiable steps to cor14 rect the pattern of noncooperation at issue, as appli15 cable, that gave rise to such action. 

16 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE AND TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

17 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

18 ‘‘Sean and David Goldman International Child Abduction 

19 Prevention and Return Act of 2014’’. 

20 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

21 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Findings; sense of Congress; purposes. 

Sec. 3. Definitions. 

TITLE I—DEPARTMENT OF STATE ACTIONS 

Sec. 101. Annual report. 

Sec. 102. Standards and assistance. 

Sec. 103. Bilateral procedures, including memoranda of understanding. 

Sec. 104. Report to congressional representatives. 


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TITLE II—ACTIONS BY THE SECRETARY OF STATE 

Sec. 201. Response to international child abductions. 

Sec. 202. Actions by the Secretary of State in response to patterns of noncompliance in cases of international child abductions. 

Sec. 203. Consultations with foreign governments. 

Sec. 204. Waiver by the Secretary of State. 

Sec. 205. Termination of actions by the Secretary of State. 

TITLE III—PREVENTION OF INTERNATIONAL CHILD ABDUCTION 

Sec. 301. Preventing children from leaving the United States in violation of a 

court order. 

Sec. 302. Authorization for judicial training on international parental child abduction. 

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS; PURPOSES. 

2 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) Sean Goldman, a United States citizen and 

4 resident of New Jersey, was abducted from the United 

5 States in 2004 and separated from his father, David 

6 Goldman, who spent nearly 6 years battling for the 

7 return of his son from Brazil before Sean was finally 

8 returned to Mr. Goldman’s custody on December 24, 

9 2009. 

10 (2) The Department of State’s Office of Chil11 dren’s Issues, which serves as the Central Authority of 

12 the United States for the purposes of the 1980 Hague 

13 Convention on the Civil Aspects of International 

14 Child Abduction (referred to in this Act as the 

15 ‘‘Hague Abduction Convention’’), has received thou16 sands of requests since 2007 for assistance in the re17 turn to the United States of children who have been 

18 wrongfully abducted by a parent or other legal guard19 ian to another country. 


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1 (3) For a variety of reasons reflecting the signifi2 cant obstacles to the recovery of abducted children, as 

3 well as the legal and factual complexity involving 

4 such cases, not all cases are reported to the Central 

5 Authority of the United States. 

6 (4) More than 1,000 outgoing international child 

7 abductions are reported every year to the Central Au8 thority of the United States, which depends solely on 

9 proactive reporting of abduction cases. 

10 (5) Only about one-half of the children abducted 

11 from the United States to countries with which the 

12 United States enjoys reciprocal obligations under the 

13 Hague Abduction Convention are returned to the 

14 United States. 

15 (6) The United States and other Convention 

16 countries have expressed their desire, through the 

17 Hague Abduction Convention, ‘‘to protect children 

18 internationally from the harmful effects of their 

19 wrongful removal or retention and to establish proce20 dures to ensure their prompt return to the State of 

21 their habitual residence, as well as to secure protec22 tion for rights of access.’’ 

23 (7) Compliance by the United States and other 

24 Convention countries depends on the actions of their 

25 designated central authorities, the performance of 


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1 their judicial systems as reflected in the legal process 

2 and decisions rendered to enforce or effectuate the 

3 Hague Abduction Convention, and the ability and 

4 willingness of their law enforcement authorities to en5 sure the swift enforcement of orders rendered pursu6 ant to the Hague Abduction Convention. 

7 (8) According to data from the Department of 

8 State, approximately 40 percent of abduction cases 

9 involve children taken from the United States to 

10 countries with which the United States does not have 

11 reciprocal obligations under the Hague Abduction 

12 Convention or other arrangements relating to the res13 olution of abduction cases. 

14 (9) According to the Department of State’s April 

15 2010 Report on Compliance with the Hague Conven16 tion on the Civil Aspects of International Child Ab17 duction, ‘‘parental child abduction jeopardizes the 

18 child and has substantial long-term consequences for 

19 both the child and the left-behind parent.’’ 

20 (10) Few left-behind parents have the extraor21 dinary financial resources necessary— 

22 (A) to pursue individual civil or criminal 

23 remedies in both the United States and a foreign 

24 country, even if such remedies are available; or 


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1 (B) to engage in repeated foreign travel to 

2 attempt to obtain the return of their children 

3 through diplomatic or other channels. 

4 (11) Military parents often face additional com5 plications in resolving abduction cases because of the 

6 challenges presented by their military obligations. 

7 (12) In addition to using the Hague Abduction 

8 Convention to achieve the return of abducted children, 

9 the United States has an array of Federal, State, and 

10 local law enforcement, criminal justice, and judicial 

11 tools at its disposal to prevent international abduc12 tions. 

13 (13) Federal agencies tasked with preventing 

14 international abductions have indicated that the most 

15 effective way to stop international child abductions is 

16 while they are in progress, rather than after the child 

17 has been removed to a foreign destination. 

18 (14) Parental awareness of abductions in 

19 progress, rapid response by relevant law enforcement, 

20 and effective coordination among Federal, State, 

21 local, and international stakeholders are critical in 

22 preventing such abductions. 

23 (15) A more robust application of domestic tools, 

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1 tities and appropriate application of the Hague Ab2 duction Convention could— 

3 (A) discourage some parents from attempt4 ing abductions; 

5 (B) block attempted abductions at ports of 

6 exit; and 

7 (C) help achieve the return of more ab8 ducted children. 

9 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Congress 

10 that the United States should set a strong example for other 

11 Convention countries in the timely location and prompt 

12 resolution of cases involving children abducted abroad and 

13 brought to the United States. 

14 (c) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are— 

15 (1) to protect children whose habitual residence 

16 is the United States from wrongful abduction; 

17 (2) to assist left-behind parents in quickly resolv18 ing cases and maintaining safe and predictable con19 tact with their child while an abduction case is pend20 ing; 

21 (3) to protect the custodial rights of parents, in22 cluding military parents, by providing the parents, 

23 the judicial system, and law enforcement authorities 

24 with the information they need to prevent unlawful 

25 abduction before it occurs; 


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1 (4) to enhance the prompt resolution of abduc2 tion and access cases; 

3 (5) to detail an appropriate set of actions to be 

4 undertaken by the Secretary of State to address per5 sistent problems in the resolution of abduction cases; 

6 (6) to establish a program to prevent wrongful 

7 abductions; and 

8 (7) to increase interagency coordination in pre9 venting international child abduction by convening a 

10 working group composed of presidentially appointed 

11 and Senate confirmed officials from the Department 

12 of State, the Department of Homeland Security, and 

13 the Department of Justice. 

14 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

15 In this Act: 

16 (1) ABDUCTED CHILD.—The term ‘‘abducted 

17 child’’ means a child who is the victim of inter18 national child abduction. 

19 (2) ABDUCTION.—The term ‘‘abduction’’ means 

20 the alleged wrongful removal of a child from the 

21 child’s country of habitual residence, or the wrongful 

22 retention of a child outside such country, in violation 

23 of a left-behind parent’s custodial rights, including 

24 the rights of a military parent. 


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1 (3) ABDUCTION CASE.—The term ‘‘abduction 

2 case’’ means a case that— 

3 (A) has been reported to the Central Author4 ity of the United States by a left-behind parent 

5 for the resolution of an abduction; and 

6 (B) meets the criteria for an international 

7 child abduction under the Hague Abduction Con8 vention, regardless of whether the country at 

9 issue is a Convention country. 

10 (4) ACCESS CASE.—The term ‘‘access case’’ 

11 means a case involving an application filed with the 

12 Central Authority of the United States by a parent 

13 seeking rights of access. 

14 (5) ANNUAL REPORT.—The term ‘‘Annual Re15 port’’ means the Annual Report on International 

16 Child Abduction required under section 101. 

17 (6) APPLICATION.—The term ‘‘application’’ 

18 means— 

19 (A) in the case of a Convention country, the 

20 application required pursuant to article 8 of the 

21 Hague Abduction Convention; 

22 (B) in the case of a bilateral procedures 

23 country, the formal document required, pursuant 

24 to the provisions of the applicable arrangement, 


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1 to request the return of an abducted child or to 

2 request rights of access, as applicable; and 

3 (C) in the case of a non-Convention coun4 try, the formal request by the Central Authority 

5 of the United States to the Central Authority of 

6 such country requesting the return of an ab7 ducted child or for rights of contact with an ab8 ducted child. 

9 (7) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT10 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional commit11 tees’’ means the Committee on Foreign Relations of 

12 the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 

13 the House of Representatives. 

14 (8) BILATERAL PROCEDURES.—The term ‘‘bilat15 eral procedures’’ means any procedures established by, 

16 or pursuant to, a bilateral arrangement, including a 

17 Memorandum of Understanding between the United 

18 States and another country, to resolve abduction and 

19 access cases, including procedures to address interim 

20 contact matters. 

21 (9) BILATERAL PROCEDURES COUNTRY.—The 

22 term ‘‘bilateral procedures country’’ means a country 

23 with which the United States has entered into bilat24 eral procedures, including Memoranda of Under25 standing, with respect to child abductions. 


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1 (10) CENTRAL AUTHORITY.—The term ‘‘Central 

2 Authority’’ means— 

3 (A) in the case of a Convention country, the 

4 meaning given such term in article 6 of the 

5 Hague Abduction Convention; 

6 (B) in the case of a bilateral procedures 

7 country, the official entity designated by the gov8 ernment of the bilateral procedures country with9 in the applicable memorandum of understanding 

10 pursuant to section 103(b)(1) to discharge the 

11 duties imposed on the entity; and 

12 (C) in the case of a non-Convention coun13 try, the foreign ministry or other appropriate 

14 authority of such country. 

15 (11) CHILD.—The term ‘‘child’’ means an indi16 vidual who has not attained 16 years of age. 

17 (12) CONVENTION COUNTRY.—The term ‘‘Con18 vention country’’ means a country for which the 

19 Hague Abduction Convention has entered into force 

20 with respect to the United States. 

21 (13) HAGUE ABDUCTION CONVENTION.—The 

22 term ‘‘Hague Abduction Convention’’ means the Con23 vention on the Civil Aspects of International Child 

24 Abduction, done at The Hague October 25, 1980. 


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1 (14) INTERIM CONTACT.—The term ‘‘interim 

2 contact’’ means the ability of a left-behind parent to 

3 communicate with or visit an abducted child during 

4 the pendency of an abduction case. 

5 (15) LEFT-BEHIND PARENT.—The term ‘‘left-be6 hind parent’’ means an individual or legal custodian 

7 who alleges that an abduction has occurred that is in 

8 breach of rights of custody attributed to such indi9 vidual. 

10 (16) NON-CONVENTION COUNTRY.—The term 

11 ‘‘non-Convention country’’ means a country in which 

12 the Hague Abduction Convention has not entered into 

13 force with respect to the United States. 

14 (17) OVERSEAS MILITARY DEPENDENT CHILD.— 

15 The term ‘‘overseas military dependent child’’ means 

16 a child whose habitual residence is the United States 

17 according to United States law even though the child 

18 is residing outside the United States with a military 

19 parent. 

20 (18) OVERSEAS MILITARY PARENT.—The term 

21 ‘‘overseas military parent’’ means an individual 

22 who— 

23 (A) has custodial rights with respect to a 

24 child; and 


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1 (B) is serving outside the United States as 

2 a member of the United States Armed Forces. 

3 (19) PATTERN OF NONCOMPLIANCE.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘pattern of 

5 noncompliance’’ means the persistent failure— 

6 (i) of a Convention country to imple7 ment and abide by provisions of the Hague 

8 Abduction Convention; 

9 (ii) of a non-Convention country to 

10 abide by bilateral procedures that have been 

11 established between the United States and 

12 such country; or 

13 (iii) of a non-Convention country to 

14 work with the Central Authority of the 

15 United States to resolve abduction cases. 

16 (B) PERSISTENT FAILURE.—Persistent fail17 ure under subparagraph (A) may be evidenced 

18 in a given country by the presence of 1 or more 

19 of the following criteria: 

20 (i) Thirty percent or more of the total 

21 abduction cases in such country are unre22 solved abduction cases. 

23 (ii) The Central Authority regularly 

24 fails to fulfill its responsibilities pursuant 

25 to— 


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1 (I) the Hague Abduction Conven2 tion; or 

3 (II) any bilateral procedures be4 tween the United States and such 

5 country. 

6 (iii) The judicial or administrative 

7 branch, as applicable, of the national gov8 ernment of a Convention country or a bilat9 eral procedures country fails to regularly 

10 implement and comply with the provisions 

11 of the Hague Abduction Convention or bi12 lateral procedures, as applicable. 

13 (iv) Law enforcement authorities regu14 larly fail to enforce return orders or deter15 minations of rights of access rendered by the 

16 judicial or administrative authorities of the 

17 government of the country in abduction 

18 cases. 

19 (20) RIGHTS OF ACCESS.—The term ‘‘rights of 

20 access’’ means the establishment of rights of contact 

21 between a child and a parent seeking access in Con22 vention countries— 

23 (A) by operation of law; 

24 (B) through a judicial or administrative de25 termination; or 


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1 (C) through a legally enforceable arrange2 ment between the parties. 

3 (21) RIGHTS OF CUSTODY.—The term ‘‘rights of 

4 custody’’ means rights of care and custody of a child, 

5 including the right to determine the place of residence 

6 of a child, under the laws of the country in which the 

7 child is a habitual resident— 

8 (A) attributed to an individual or legal cus9 todian; and 

10 (B) arising— 

11 (i) by operation of law; or 

12 (ii) through a judicial or administra13 tive decision; or 

14 (iii) through a legally enforceable ar15 rangement between the parties. 

16 (22) RIGHTS OF INTERIM CONTACT.—The term 

17 ‘‘rights of interim contact’’ means the rights of con18 tact between a child and a left-behind parent, which 

19 has been provided as a provisional measure while an 

20 abduction case is pending, under the laws of the coun21 try in which the child is located— 

22 (A) by operation of law; or 

23 (B) through a judicial or administrative de24 termination; or 


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1 (C) through a legally enforceable arrange2 ment between the parties. 

3 (23) UNRESOLVED ABDUCTION CASE.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subparagraph 

5 (B), the term ‘‘unresolved abduction case’’ means 

6 an abduction case that remains unresolved for a 

7 period that exceeds 12 months after the date on 

8 which the completed application for return of the 

9 child is submitted for determination to the judi10 cial or administrative authority, as applicable, 

11 in the country in which the child is located. 

12 (B) RESOLUTION OF CASE.—An abduction 

13 case shall be considered to be resolved if— 

14 (i) the child is returned to the country 

15 of habitual residence, pursuant to the 

16 Hague Abduction Convention or other ap17 propriate bilateral procedures, if applicable; 

18 (ii) the judicial or administrative 

19 branch, as applicable, of the government of 

20 the country in which the child is located has 

21 implemented, and is complying with, the 

22 provisions of the Hague Abduction Conven23 tion or other bilateral procedures, as appli24 cable; 


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1 (iii) the left-behind parent reaches a 

2 voluntary arrangement with the other par3 ent; 

4 (iv) the left-behind parent submits a 

5 written withdrawal of the application or the 

6 request for assistance to the Department of 

7 State; 

8 (v) the left-behind parent cannot be lo9 cated for 1 year despite the documented ef10 forts of the Department of State to locate 

11 the parent; or 

12 (vi) the child or left-behind parent is 

13 deceased. 

14 TITLE I—DEPARTMENT OF 

15 STATE ACTIONS 

16 SEC. 101. ANNUAL REPORT. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than April 30 of each 

18 year, the Secretary of State shall submit to the appropriate 

19 congressional committees an Annual Report on Inter20 national Child Abduction. The Secretary shall post the An21 nual Report to the publicly accessible website of the Depart22 ment of State. 

23 (b) CONTENTS.—Each Annual Report shall include— 

24 (1) a list of all countries in which there were 1 

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1 endar year, relating to a child whose habitual resi2 dence is the United States, including a description of 

3 whether each such country— 

4 (A) is a Convention country; 

5 (B) is a bilateral procedures country; 

6 (C) has other procedures for resolving such 

7 abductions; or 

8 (D) adheres to no protocols with respect to 

9 child abduction; 

10 (2) for each country with respect to which there 

11 were 5 or more pending abduction cases, during the 

12 preceding year, relating to a child whose habitual res13 idence is the United States— 

14 (A) the number of such new abduction and 

15 access cases reported during the preceding year; 

16 (B) for Convention and bilateral procedures 

17 countries— 

18 (i) the number of abduction and access 

19 cases that the Central Authority of the 

20 United States transmitted to the Central 

21 Authority of such country; and 

22 (ii) the number of abduction and ac23 cess cases that were not submitted by the 

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1 istrative authority, as applicable, of such 

2 country; 

3 (C) the reason for the delay in submission 

4 of each case identified in subparagraph (B)(ii) 

5 by the Central Authority of such country to the 

6 judicial or administrative authority of that 

7 country; 

8 (D) the number of unresolved abduction and 

9 access cases, and the length of time each case has 

10 been pending; 

11 (E) the number and percentage of unre12 solved abduction cases in which law enforcement 

13 authorities have— 

14 (i) not located the abducted child; 

15 (ii) failed to undertake serious efforts 

16 to locate the abducted child; and 

17 (iii) failed to enforce a return order 

18 rendered by the judicial or administrative 

19 authorities of such country; 

20 (F) the total number and the percentage of 

21 the total number of abduction and access cases, 

22 respectively, resolved during the preceding year; 

23 (G) recommendations to improve the resolu24 tion of abduction and access cases; and 


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1 (H) the average time it takes to locate a 

2 child; 

3 (3) the number of abducted children whose habit4 ual residence is in the United States and who were 

5 returned to the United States from— 

6 (A) Convention countries; 

7 (B) bilateral procedures countries; 

8 (C) countries having other procedures for 

9 resolving such abductions; or 

10 (D) countries adhering to no protocols with 

11 respect to child abduction; 

12 (4) a list of Convention countries and bilateral 

13 procedures countries that have failed to comply with 

14 any of their obligations under the Hague Abduction 

15 Convention or bilateral procedures, as applicable, 

16 with respect to the resolution of abduction and access 

17 cases; 

18 (5) a list of countries demonstrating a pattern of 

19 noncompliance and a description of the criteria on 

20 which the determination of a pattern of noncompli21 ance for each country is based; 

22 (6) information on efforts by the Secretary of 

23 State to encourage non-Convention countries— 

24 (A) to ratify or accede to the Hague Abduc25 tion Convention; 


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1 (B) to enter into or implement other bilat2 eral procedures, including memoranda of under3 standing, with the United States; and 

4 (C) to address pending abduction and access 

5 cases; 

6 (7) the number of cases resolved without ab7 ducted children being returned to the United States 

8 from Convention countries, bilateral procedures coun9 tries, or other non-Convention countries; 

10 (8) a list of countries that became Convention 

11 countries with respect to the United States during the 

12 preceding year; and 

13 (9) information about efforts to seek resolution of 

14 abduction cases of children whose habitual residence 

15 is in the United States and whose abduction occurred 

16 before the Hague Abduction Convention entered into 

17 force with respect to the United States. 

18 (c) EXCEPTIONS.—Unless a left-behind parent pro19 vides written permission to the Central Authority of the 

20 United States to include personally identifiable information 

21 about the parent or the child in the Annual Report, the 

22 Annual Report may not include any personally identifiable 

23 information about any such parent, child, or party to an 

24 abduction or access case involving such parent or child. 


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1 (d) ADDITIONAL SECTIONS.—Each Annual Report 

2 shall also include— 

3 (1) information on the number of unresolved ab4 duction cases affecting military parents; 

5 (2) a description of the assistance offered to such 

6 military parents; 

7 (3) information on the use of airlines in abduc8 tions, voluntary airline practices to prevent abduc9 tions, and recommendations for best airline practices 

10 to prevent abductions; 

11 (4) information on actions taken by the Central 

12 Authority of the United States to train domestic 

13 judges in the application of the Hague Abduction 

14 Convention; and 

15 (5) information on actions taken by the Central 

16 Authority of the United States to train United States 

17 Armed Forces legal assistance personnel, military 

18 chaplains, and military family support center per19 sonnel about— 

20 (A) abductions; 

21 (B) the risk of loss of contact with children; 

22 and 

23 (C) the legal means available to resolve such 

24 cases. 


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1 (e) REPEAL OF THE HAGUE ABDUCTION CONVENTION

2 COMPLIANCE REPORT.—Section 2803 of the Foreign Affairs 

3 Reform and Restructuring Act of 1998 (42 U.S.C. 11611) 

4 is repealed. 

5 (f) NOTIFICATION TO CONGRESS ON COUNTRIES IN

6 NONCOMPLIANCE.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State shall 

8 include, in a separate section of the Annual Report, 

9 the Secretary’s determination, pursuant to the provi10 sions under section 202(b), of whether each country 

11 listed in the report has engaged in a pattern of non12 compliance in cases of child abduction during the pre13 ceding 12 months. 

14 (2) CONTENTS.—The section described in para15 graph (1)— 

16 (A) shall identify any action or actions de17 scribed in section 202(d) (or commensurate ac18 tion as provided in section 202(e)) that have 

19 been taken by the Secretary with respect to each 

20 country; 

21 (B) shall describe the basis for the Sec22 retary’s determination of the pattern of non23 compliance by each country; 

24 (C) shall indicate whether noneconomic pol25 icy options designed to resolve the pattern of 


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1 noncompliance have reasonably been exhausted, 

2 including the consultations required under sec3 tion 203. 

4 SEC. 102. STANDARDS AND ASSISTANCE. 

5 The Secretary of State shall— 

6 (1) ensure that United States diplomatic and 

7 consular missions abroad— 

8 (A) maintain a consistent reporting stand9 ard with respect to abduction and access cases; 

10 (B) designate at least 1 senior official in 

11 each such mission, at the discretion of the Chief 

12 of Mission, to assist left-behind parents from the 

13 United States who are visiting such country or 

14 otherwise seeking to resolve abduction or access 

15 cases; and 

16 (C) monitor developments in abduction and 

17 access cases; and 

18 (2) develop and implement written strategic 

19 plans for engagement with any Convention or non20 Convention country in which there are 5 or more 

21 cases of international child abduction. 

22 SEC. 103. BILATERAL PROCEDURES, INCLUDING MEMO23 RANDA OF UNDERSTANDING. 

24 (a) DEVELOPMENT.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after 

2 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 

3 State shall initiate a process to develop and enter into 

4 appropriate bilateral procedures, including memo5 randa of understanding, as appropriate, with non6 Convention countries that are unlikely to become Con7 vention countries in the foreseeable future, or with 

8 Convention countries that have unresolved abduction 

9 cases that occurred before the Hague Abduction Con10 vention entered into force with respect to the United 

11 States or that country. 

12 (2) PRIORITIZATION.—In carrying out para13 graph (1), the Secretary of State shall give priority 

14 to countries with significant abduction cases and re15 lated issues. 

16 (b) ELEMENTS.—The bilateral procedures described in 

17 subsection (a) should include provisions relating to— 

18 (1) the identification of— 

19 (A) the Central Authority; 

20 (B) the judicial or administrative authority 

21 that will promptly adjudicate abduction and ac22 cess cases; 

23 (C) the law enforcement agencies; and 

24 (D) the implementation of procedures to en25 sure the immediate enforcement of an order 


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1 issued by the authority identified pursuant to 

2 subparagraph (B) to return an abducted child to 

3 a left-behind parent, including by— 

4 (i) conducting an investigation to as5 certain the location of the abducted child; 

6 (ii) providing protection to the ab7 ducted child after such child is located; and 

8 (iii) retrieving the abducted child and 

9 making the appropriate arrangements for 

10 such child to be returned to the child’s coun11 try of habitual residence; 

12 (2) the implementation of a protocol to effectuate 

13 the return of an abducted child identified in an ab14 duction case not later than 6 weeks after the applica15 tion with respect to the abduction case has been sub16 mitted to the judicial or administrative authority, as 

17 applicable, of the country in which the abducted child 

18 is located; 

19 (3) the implementation of a protocol for the es20 tablishment and protection of the rights of interim 

21 contact during pendency of abduction cases; and 

22 (4) the implementation of a protocol to establish 

23 periodic visits between a United States embassy or 

24 consular official and an abducted child, in order to 


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1 allow the official to ascertain the child’s location and 

2 welfare. 

3 SEC. 104. REPORT TO CONGRESSIONAL REPRESENTATIVES. 

4 (a) NOTIFICATION.—The Secretary of State shall sub5 mit written notification to the Member of Congress and 

6 Senators, or Resident Commissioner or Delegate, as appro7 priate, representing the legal residence of a left-behind par8 ent if such parent— 

9 (1) reports an abduction to the Central Author10 ity of the United States; and 

11 (2) consents to such notification. 

12 (b) TIMING.—At the request of any person who is a 

13 left-behind parent, including a left-behind parent who pre14 viously reported an abduction to the Central Authority of 

15 the United States before the date of the enactment of this 

16 Act, the notification required under subsection (a) shall be 

17 provided as soon as is practicable. 

18 TITLE II—ACTIONS BY THE 

19 SECRETARY OF STATE 

20 SEC. 201. RESPONSE TO INTERNATIONAL CHILD ABDUC21 TIONS. 

22 (a) UNITED STATES POLICY.—It is the policy of the 

23 United States— 

24 (1) to promote the best interest of children 

25 wrongfully abducted from the United States by— 


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1 (A) establishing legal rights and procedures 

2 for their prompt return; and 

3 (B) ensuring the enforcement of reciprocal 

4 international obligations under the Hague Ab5 duction Convention or arrangements under bilat6 eral procedures; 

7 (2) to promote the timely resolution of abduction 

8 cases through 1 or more of the actions described in 

9 section 202; and 

10 (3) to ensure appropriate coordination within 

11 the Federal Government and between Federal, State, 

12 and local agencies involved in abduction prevention, 

13 investigation, and resolution. 

14 (b) ACTIONS BY THE SECRETARY OF STATE IN RE15 SPONSE TO UNRESOLVED CASES.— 

16 (1) DETERMINATION OF ACTION BY THE SEC17 RETARY OF STATE.—For each abduction or access 

18 case relating to a child whose habitual residence is in 

19 the United States that remains pending or is other20 wise unresolved on the date that is 12 months after 

21 the date on which the Central Authority of the United 

22 States submits such case to a foreign country, the Sec23 retary of State shall determine whether the govern24 ment of such foreign country has failed to take appro25 priate steps to resolve the case. If the Secretary of 


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1 State determines that such failure occurred, the Sec2 retary should, as expeditiously as practicable— 

3 (A) take 1 or more of the actions described 

4 in subsections (d) and (e) of section 202; and 

5 (B) direct the Chief of Mission in that for6 eign country to directly address the resolution of 

7 the case with senior officials in the foreign gov8 ernment. 

9 (2) AUTHORITY FOR DELAY OF ACTION BY THE

10 SECRETARY OF STATE.—The Secretary of State may 

11 delay any action described in paragraph (1) if the 

12 Secretary determines that an additional period of 

13 time, not to exceed 1 year, will substantially assist in 

14 resolving the case. 

15 (3) REPORT.—If the Secretary of State delays 

16 any action pursuant to paragraph (2) or decides not 

17 to take an action described in subsection (d) or (e) of 

18 section 202 after making the determination described 

19 in paragraph (1), the Secretary, not later than 15 

20 days after such delay or decision, shall provide a re21 port to the appropriate congressional committees that 

22 details the reasons for delaying action or not taking 

23 action, as appropriate. 

24 (4) CONGRESSIONAL BRIEFINGS.—At the request 

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1 retary of State shall provide a detailed briefing, in2 cluding a written report, if requested, on actions 

3 taken to resolve a case or the cause for delay. 

4 (c) IMPLEMENTATION.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out subsection 

6 (b), the Secretary of State should— 

7 (A) take 1 or more actions that most appro8 priately respond to the nature and severity of the 

9 governmental failure to resolve the unresolved ab10 duction case; and 

11 (B) seek, to the fullest extent possible— 

12 (i) to initially respond by commu13 nicating with the Central Authority of the 

14 country; and 

15 (ii) if clause (i) is unsuccessful, to tar16 get subsequent actions— 

17 (I) as narrowly as practicable, 

18 with respect to the agencies or instru19 mentalities of the foreign government 

20 that are responsible for such failures; 

21 and 

22 (II) in ways that respect the sepa23 ration of powers and independence of 

24 the judiciary of the country, as appli25 cable. 


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1 (2) GUIDELINES FOR ACTIONS BY THE SEC2 RETARY OF STATE.—In addition to the guidelines 

3 under paragraph (1), the Secretary of State, in deter4 mining whether to take 1 or more actions under para5 graphs (5) through (7) of section 202(d) or section 

6 202(e), shall seek to minimize any adverse impact 

7 on— 

8 (A) the population of the country whose 

9 government is targeted by the action or actions; 

10 (B) the humanitarian activities of United 

11 States and nongovernmental organizations in the 

12 country; and 

13 (C) the national security interests of the 

14 United States. 

15 SEC. 202. ACTIONS BY THE SECRETARY OF STATE IN RE16 SPONSE TO PATTERNS OF NONCOMPLIANCE 

17 IN CASES OF INTERNATIONAL CHILD ABDUC18 TIONS. 

19 (a) RESPONSE TO A PATTERN OF NONCOMPLIANCE.— 

20 It is the policy of the United States— 

21 (1) to oppose institutional or other systemic fail22 ures of foreign governments to fulfill their obligations 

23 pursuant to the Hague Abduction Convention or bi24 lateral procedures, as applicable, to resolve abduction 

25 and access cases; 


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1 (2) to promote reciprocity pursuant to, and in 

2 compliance with, the Hague Abduction Convention or 

3 bilateral procedures, as appropriate; and 

4 (3) to directly engage with senior foreign govern5 ment officials to most effectively address patterns of 

6 noncompliance. 

7 (b) DETERMINATION OF COUNTRIES WITH PATTERNS

8 OF NONCOMPLIANCE IN CASES OF INTERNATIONAL CHILD

9 ABDUCTION.— 

10 (1) ANNUAL REVIEW.—Not later than April 30 of 

11 each year, the Secretary of State shall— 

12 (A) review the status of abduction and ac13 cess cases in each foreign country in order to de14 termine whether the government of such country 

15 has engaged in a pattern of noncompliance dur16 ing the preceding 12 months; and 

17 (B) report such determination pursuant to 

18 section 101(f). 

19 (2) DETERMINATIONS OF RESPONSIBLE PAR20 TIES.—The Secretary of State shall seek to determine 

21 the agencies or instrumentalities of the government of 

22 each country determined to have engaged in a pattern 

23 of noncompliance under paragraph (1)(A) that are 

24 responsible for such pattern of noncompliance— 


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1 (A) to appropriately target actions in re2 sponse to such noncompliance; and 

3 (B) to engage with senior foreign govern4 ment officials to effectively address such non5 compliance. 

6 (c) ACTIONS BY THE SECRETARY OF STATE WITH RE7 SPECT TO A COUNTRY WITH A PATTERN OF NONCOMPLI8 ANCE.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days (or 

10 180 days in case of a delay under paragraph (2)) 

11 after a country is determined to have been engaged in 

12 a pattern of noncompliance under subsection 

13 (b)(1)(A), the Secretary of State shall— 

14 (A) take 1 or more of the actions described 

15 in subsection (d); 

16 (B) direct the Chief of Mission in that coun17 try to directly address the systemic problems that 

18 led to such determination; and 

19 (C) inform senior officials in the foreign 

20 government of the potential repercussions related 

21 to such designation. 

22 (2) AUTHORITY FOR DELAY OF ACTIONS BY THE

23 SECRETARY OF STATE.—The Secretary shall not be 

24 required to take action under paragraph (1) until the 

25 expiration of a single, additional period of up to 90 


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1 days if, on or before the date on which the Secretary 

2 of State is required to take such action, the Secretary 

3 determines and certifies to the appropriate congres4 sional committees that such additional period is nec5 essary— 

6 (A) for a continuation of negotiations that 

7 have been commenced with the government of a 

8 country described in paragraph (1) in order to 

9 bring about a cessation of the pattern of non10 compliance by such country; 

11 (B) for a review of corrective action taken 

12 by a country after the designation of such coun13 try as being engaged in a pattern of noncompli14 ance under subsection (b)(1)(A); or 

15 (C) in anticipation that corrective action 

16 will be taken by such country during such 90- 

17 day period. 

18 (3) EXCEPTION FOR ADDITIONAL ACTION BY THE

19 SECRETARY OF STATE.—The Secretary of State shall 

20 not be required to take additional action under para21 graph (1) with respect to a country determined to 

22 have been engaged in a persistent pattern of non23 compliance if the Secretary— 

24 (A) has taken action pursuant to paragraph 

25 (5), (6), or (7) of subsection (d) with respect to 


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1 such country in the preceding year and such ac2 tion continues to be in effect; 

3 (B) exercises the waiver under section 204 

4 and briefs the appropriate congressional commit5 tees; or 

6 (C) submits a report to the appropriate con7 gressional committees that— 

8 (i) indicates that such country is sub9 ject to multiple, broad-based sanctions; and 

10 (ii) describes how such sanctions sat11 isfy the requirements under this subsection. 

12 (4) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 90 

13 days after the submission of the Annual Report, the 

14 Secretary shall submit a report to Congress on the 

15 specific actions taken against countries determined to 

16 have been engaged in a pattern of noncompliance 

17 under this section. 

18 (d) DESCRIPTION OF ACTIONS BY THE SECRETARY OF

19 STATE IN HAGUE ABDUCTION CONVENTION COUNTRIES.— 

20 Except as provided in subsection (f), the actions by the Sec21 retary of State referred to in this subsection are— 

22 (1) a demarche; 

23 (2) an official public statement detailing unre24 solved cases; 

25 (3) a public condemnation; 


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1 (4) a delay or cancellation of 1 or more bilateral 

2 working, official, or state visits; 

3 (5) the withdrawal, limitation, or suspension of 

4 United States development assistance in accordance 

5 with section 116 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 

6 (22 U.S.C. 2151n); 

7 (6) the withdrawal, limitation, or suspension of 

8 United States security assistance in accordance with 

9 section 502B of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 

10 (22 U.S.C. 2304); 

11 (7) the withdrawal, limitation, or suspension of 

12 assistance to the central government of a country pur13 suant to chapter 4 of part II of the Foreign Assist14 ance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2346 et seq.; relating to 

15 the Economic Support Fund); and 

16 (8) a formal request to the foreign country con17 cerned to extradite an individual who is engaged in 

18 abduction and who has been formally accused of, 

19 charged with, or convicted of an extraditable offense. 

20 (e) COMMENSURATE ACTION.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in sub22 section (f), the Secretary of State may substitute any 

23 other action authorized by law for any action de24 scribed in subsection (d) if the Secretary determines 

25 that such action— 


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1 (A) is commensurate in effect to the action 

2 substituted; and 

3 (B) would substantially further the purposes 

4 of this Act. 

5 (2) NOTIFICATION.—If commensurate action is 

6 taken pursuant to this subsection, the Secretary shall 

7 submit a report to the appropriate congressional com8 mittees that— 

9 (A) describes such action; 

10 (B) explains the reasons for taking such ac11 tion; and 

12 (C) specifically describes the basis for the 

13 Secretary’s determination under paragraph (1) 

14 that such action— 

15 (i) is commensurate with the action 

16 substituted; and 

17 (ii) substantially furthers the purposes 

18 of this Act. 

19 (f) RESOLUTION.—The Secretary of State shall seek to 

20 take all appropriate actions authorized by law to resolve 

21 the unresolved case or to obtain the cessation of such pattern 

22 of noncompliance, as applicable. 

23 (g) HUMANITARIAN EXCEPTION.—Any action taken 

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1 strict the provision of medicine, medical equipment or sup2 plies, food, or other life-saving humanitarian assistance. 

3 SEC. 203. CONSULTATIONS WITH FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS. 

4 As soon as practicable after the Secretary of State 

5 makes a determination under section 201 in response to a 

6 failure to resolve unresolved abduction cases or the Sec7 retary takes an action under subsection (d) or (e) of section 

8 202, based on a pattern of noncompliance, the Secretary 

9 shall request consultations with the government of such 

10 country regarding the situation giving rise to such deter11 mination. 

12 SEC. 204. WAIVER BY THE SECRETARY OF STATE. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), the Sec14 retary of State may waive the application of any of the 

15 actions described in subsections (d) and (e) of section 202 

16 with respect to a country if the Secretary determines and 

17 notifies the appropriate congressional committees that— 

18 (1) the government of such country— 

19 (A) has satisfactorily resolved the abduction 

20 cases giving rise to the application of any of 

21 such actions; or 

22 (B) has ended such country’s pattern of 

23 noncompliance; or 

24 (2) the national security interest of the United 

25 States requires the exercise of such waiver authority. 


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1 (b) CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION.—Not later than 

2 the date on which the Secretary of State exercises the waiver 

3 authority under subsection (a), the Secretary shall— 

4 (1) notify the appropriate congressional commit5 tees of such waiver; and 

6 (2) provide such committees with a detailed jus7 tification for such waiver, including an explanation 

8 of the steps the noncompliant government has taken— 

9 (A) to resolve abductions cases; or 

10 (B) to end its pattern of noncompliance. 

11 (c) PUBLICATION IN FEDERAL REGISTER.—Subject to 

12 subsection (d), the Secretary of State shall ensure that each 

13 waiver determination under this section— 

14 (1) is published in the Federal Register; or 

15 (2) is posted on the Department of State website. 

16 (d) LIMITED DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION.—The 

17 Secretary of State may limit the publication of information 

18 under subsection (c) in the same manner and to the same 

19 extent as the President may limit the publication of find20 ings and determinations described in section 654(c) of the 

21 Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2414(c)), if the 

22 Secretary determines that the publication of such informa23 tion would be harmful to the national security of the United 

24 States and would not further the purposes of this Act. 


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1 SEC. 205. TERMINATION OF ACTIONS BY THE SECRETARY 

2 OF STATE. 

3 Any specific action taken under this Act or any 

4 amendment made by this Act with respect to a foreign coun5 try shall terminate on the date on which the Secretary of 

6 State submits a written certification to Congress that the 

7 government of such country— 

8 (1) has resolved any unresolved abduction case 

9 that gave rise to such specific action; or 

10 (2) has taken substantial and verifiable steps to 

11 correct such country’s persistent pattern of non12 compliance that gave rise to such specific action, as 

13 applicable. 

14 TITLE III—PREVENTION OF 

15 INTERNATIONAL CHILD AB16 DUCTION 

17 SEC. 301. PREVENTING CHILDREN FROM LEAVING THE 

18 UNITED STATES IN VIOLATION OF A COURT 

19 ORDER. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle C of title IV of the Home21 land Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 231 et seq.) is amended 

22 by adding at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘SEC. 433. PREVENTION OF INTERNATIONAL CHILD ABDUC24 TION. 

25 ‘‘(a) PROGRAM ESTABLISHED.—The Secretary, 

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1 tection (referred to in this section as ‘CBP’), in coordina2 tion with the Secretary of State, the Attorney General, and 

3 the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, shall 

4 establish a program that— 

5 ‘‘(1) seeks to prevent a child (as defined in sec6 tion 1204(b)(1) of title 18, United States Code) from 

7 departing from the territory of the United States if a 

8 parent or legal guardian of such child presents a 

9 court order from a court of competent jurisdiction 

10 prohibiting the removal of such child from the United 

11 States to a CBP Officer in sufficient time to prevent 

12 such departure for the duration of such court order; 

13 and 

14 ‘‘(2) leverages other existing authorities and 

15 processes to address the wrongful removal and return 

16 of a child. 

17 ‘‘(b) INTERAGENCY COORDINATION.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State shall 

19 convene and chair an interagency working group to 

20 prevent international parental child abduction. The 

21 group shall be composed of presidentially appointed, 

22 Senate confirmed officials from— 

23 ‘‘(A) the Department of State; 

24 ‘‘(B) the Department of Homeland Security, 

25 including U.S. Customs and Border Protection 


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1 and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforce2 ment; and 

3 ‘‘(C) the Department of Justice, including 

4 the Federal Bureau of Investigation. 

5 ‘‘(2) DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE.—The Secretary 

6 of Defense shall designate an official within the De7 partment of Defense— 

8 ‘‘(A) to coordinate with the Department of 

9 State on international child abduction issues; 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(B) to oversee activities designed to pre12 vent or resolve international child abduction 

13 cases relating to active duty military service 

14 members.’’. 

15 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents of 

16 the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 101 note) 

17 is amended by adding after the item relating to section 432 

18 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 433. Prevention of international child abduction.’’. 

19 SEC. 302. AUTHORIZATION FOR JUDICIAL TRAINING ON 

20 INTERNATIONAL PARENTAL CHILD ABDUC21 TION. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State, subject to 

23 the availability of appropriations, shall seek to provide 

24 training, directly or through another government agency or 

25 nongovernmental organizations, on the effective handling of 


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1 parental abduction cases to the judicial and administrative 

2 authorities in countries— 

3 (1) in which a significant number of unresolved 

4 abduction cases are pending; or 

5 (2) that have been designated as having a pat6 tern of noncompliance under section 202(b). 

7 (b) STRATEGY REQUIREMENT.—Not later than 180 

8 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Presi9 dent shall submit a strategy to carry out the activities de10 scribed in subsection (a) to— 

11 (1) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 

12 Senate; 

13 (2) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 

14 House of Representatives; 

15 (3) the Committee on Appropriations of the Sen16 ate; and 

17 (4) the Committee on Appropriations of the 

18 House of Representatives. 

19 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be ap21 propriated to the Secretary of State $1,000,000 for 

22 each of the fiscal years 2015 and 2016 to carry out 

23 subsection (a). 

24 (2) USE OF FUNDS.—Amounts appropriated for 

25 the activities set forth in subsection (a) shall be used 


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1 pursuant to the authorization and requirements 

2 under this section. 


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Calendar No. 450 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 3212 

[Report No. 113–204] 

AN ACT 

To ensure compliance with the 1980 Hague Conpurposes. dren abducted to other countries, and for other tablish procedures for the prompt return of chil- United States enjoys reciprocal obligations, to es- Child Abduction by countries with which the vention on the Civil Aspects of International 

JUNE 26, 2014 

Reported with an amendment 


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