113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3212 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE AND TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

5 ‘‘Sean and David Goldman International Child Abduction 

6 Prevention and Return Act of 2013’’. 

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

8 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. 

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

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

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

12 resident of New Jersey, was abducted from the 

13 United States in 2004 and separated from his fa14 ther, David Goldman, who spent nearly six years 

15 battling for the return of his son from Brazil before 
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1 Sean was finally returned to Mr. Goldman’s custody 

2 on December 24, 2009. 

3 (2) The Department of State’s Office of Chil4 dren’s Issues, which serves as the Central Authority 

5 of the United States for the purposes of the 1980 

6 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of Inter7 national Child Abduction, has received thousands of 

8 requests since 2007 for assistance in the return to 

9 the United States of children who have been ab10 ducted by a parent or other legal guardian to an11 other country. For a variety of reasons reflecting the 

12 significant obstacles to the recovery of abducted chil13 dren, as well as the legal and factual complexity in14 volving such cases, not all cases are reported to the 

15 Central Authority of the United States. 

16 (3) More than one thousand outgoing inter17 national child abductions are reported to the Central 

18 Authority of the United States every year. 

19 (4) Only about half of the children abducted 

20 from the United States to countries with which the 

21 United States enjoys reciprocal obligations under the 

22 Hague Abduction Convention are returned to the 

23 United States. 

24 (5) The United States and Convention coun25 tries have expressed their desire, through the Hague 
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1 Abduction Convention, ‘‘to protect children inter2 nationally from the harmful effects of their wrongful 

3 removal or retention and to establish procedures to 

4 ensure their prompt return to the State of their ha5 bitual residence, as well as to secure protection for 

6 rights of access.’’. 

7 (6) Compliance by the United States and Con8 vention countries depends on the actions of their 

9 designated central authorities, the performance of 

10 their judiciaries as reflected in the legal process and 

11 decisions rendered to enforce or effectuate the 

12 Hague Abduction Convention, and the ability and 

13 willingness of their law enforcement to insure the 

14 swift enforcement of orders rendered pursuant to the 

15 Hague Abduction Convention. 

16 (7) According to data compiled by the Central 

17 Authority of the United States, approximately 40 

18 percent of abduction cases and access cases involve 

19 children taken from the United States to countries 

20 with which the United States does not have Hague 

21 Abduction Convention obligations or other agree22 ments relating to the resolution of abduction cases 

23 and access cases. 

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

25 April 2010 Report on Compliance with the Hague 
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1 Convention on the Civil Aspects of International 

2 Child Abduction, ‘‘parental child abduction jeopard3 izes the child and has substantial long-term con4 sequences for both the child and the left-behind par5 ent.’’. 

6 (9) Abducted children are at risk of serious 

7 emotional and psychological problems and have been 

8 found to experience anxiety, eating problems, night9 mares, mood swings, sleep disturbances, aggressive 

10 behavior, resentment, guilt and fearfulness, and as 

11 adults may struggle with identity issues, personal re12 lationships, and parenting. 

13 (10) Left-behind parents may encounter sub14 stantial psychological and emotional problems, and 

15 few have the extraordinary financial resources nec16 essary to pursue individual civil or criminal remedies 

17 in both the United States and a foreign country, 

18 even where available, or to engage in repeated for19 eign travel to attempt to procure the return of their 

20 children by evoking diplomatic and humanitarian 

21 remedies. 

22 (11) Left-behind parents who are military par23 ents may be unable to leave their military duties to 

24 pursue multinational litigation or take leave to at25 tend multiple court proceedings, and foreign authori-
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1 ties may not schedule proceedings to accommodate 

2 such duties. 

3 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con4 gress that the United States should set a strong example 

5 for Convention countries in the timely location and return 

6 of abducted children in the United States whose habitual 

7 residence is not the United States. 

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

9 (1) protect children whose habitual residence is 

10 the United States from the harmful effects of abduc11 tion and to assist left-behind parents to have access 

12 to their abducted child in a safe and predictable 

13 manner, wherever the child is located, while an ab14 duction case is pending; 

15 (2) provide left-behind parents, including mili16 tary parents, their advocates, and judges the infor17 mation they need to enhance the resolution of abduc18 tion cases and access cases through established legal 

19 procedures, risk assessment tools, and the practical 

20 means for overcoming obstacles to recovering an ab21 ducted child; 

22 (3) establish measured, effective, and predict23 able actions to be undertaken by the President on 

24 behalf of abducted children whose habitual residence 

25 is the United States at the time of the abduction; 
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1 (4) promote an international consensus that it 

2 is in the interest of children to have any issues re3 lated to their care and custody determined in the 

4 country of their habitual residence; 

5 (5) provide the necessary training for officials 

6 of the United States Armed Forces and the Depart7 ment of Defense to establish policies and provide 

8 services to military parents that address the unique 

9 circumstances of abductions and violations of rights 

10 of access that may occur with regard to military de11 pendent children; and 

12 (6) encourage the effective implementation of 

13 international mechanisms, particularly those estab14 lished pursuant to the Hague Abduction Convention, 

15 to achieve reciprocity in the resolution of abductions 

16 and to protect children from the harmful effects of 

17 an abduction. 

18 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

19 In this Act: 

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

21 child’’ means a child who is the victim of an abduc22 tion. 

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

24 means— 
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1 (A) the alleged wrongful removal of a child 

2 from the child’s country of habitual residence; 

3 (B) the alleged wrongful retention of a 

4 child outside the child’s country of habitual res5 idence; or 

6 (C) the alleged wrongful removal or reten7 tion of a military dependent child from the ex8 ercise of rights of custody of a military parent. 

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

10 case’’ means a case involving an application filed 

11 with the Central Authority of the United States by 

12 a left-behind parent for the resolution of an abduc13 tion. 

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

15 means a case involving an application filed with the 

16 Central Authority of the United States by a left-be17 hind parent for the establishment of rights of access. 

18 (5) ANNUAL REPORT.—The term ‘‘Annual Re19 port’’ means the Annual Report on International 

20 Child Abduction required under section 101. 

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

22 means— 

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

24 the application required pursuant to article 8 of 

25 the Hague Abduction Convention; 
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1 (B) in the case of an MOU country, the 

2 formal document required pursuant to the pro3 visions of the applicable MOU to request the re4 turn of an abducted child or to request rights 

5 of access, as applicable; and 

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

7 formal request by the Central Authority of the 

8 United States to the Central Authority of such 

9 country requesting the return of an abducted 

10 child or for rights of access to an abducted 

11 child. 

12 (7) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT13 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com14 mittees’’ means the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 

15 the House of Representatives and the Committee on 

16 Foreign Relations of the Senate. 

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

18 Authority’’ means— 

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

20 the meaning given such term in article 6 of the 

21 Hague Abduction Convention; 

22 (B) in the case of an MOU country, the of23 ficial entity designated by the government of 

24 the MOU country within the applicable MOU 
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1 pursuant to section 103(b)(1) to discharge the 

2 duties imposed on the entity in such MOU; and 

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

4 foreign ministry of such country. 

5 (9) CHILD.—The term ‘‘child’’ means an indi6 vidual who has not attained the age of 16. 

7 (10) CONVENTION COUNTRY.—The term ‘‘Con8 vention country’’ means a country other than the 

9 United States that has ratified, acceded, or suc10 ceeded to the Hague Abduction Convention and with 

11 respect to which the United States has entered into 

12 a reciprocal agreement pursuant to the Hague Ab13 duction Convention. 

14 (11) HAGUE ABDUCTION CONVENTION.—The 

15 term ‘‘Hague Abduction Convention’’ means the 

16 Convention on the Civil Aspects of International 

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

18 1980. 

19 (12) LEFT-BEHIND PARENT.—The term ‘‘left20 behind parent’’ means an individual or entity, either 

21 individually or jointly, who alleges that an abduction 

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

23 (A) attributed to such individual or entity, 

24 as applicable; and 
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1 (B) exercised at the time of the abduction 

2 or that would have been exercised but for the 

3 abduction. 

4 (13) LEGAL RESIDENCE.—The term ‘‘legal resi5 dence’’ means the congressional district and State in 

6 which an individual either is residing, or if an indi7 vidual is residing temporarily outside the United 

8 States, the congressional district and State to which 

9 the individual intends to return. 

10 (14) MILITARY DEPENDENT CHILD.—The term 

11 ‘‘military dependent child’’ means a child whose ha12 bitual residence is the United States according to 

13 United States law even though the child is residing 

14 outside the United States with a military parent. 

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

16 parent’’ means an individual who has rights of cus17 tody over a child and who is serving outside the 

18 United States as a member of the United States 

19 Armed Forces. 

20 (16) MOU.—The term ‘‘MOU’’ means a memo21 randum of understanding between the United States 

22 and a country that is not a Convention country to 

23 resolve abduction cases and access cases. 
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1 (17) MOU COUNTRY.—The term ‘‘MOU coun2 try’’ means a country with respect to which the 

3 United States has entered into an MOU. 

4 (18) NONPARTY COUNTRY.—The term 

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

6 a Convention country nor an MOU country. 

7 (19) PATTERN OF NONCOOPERATION.— 

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

9 noncooperation’’ means the persistent failure— 

10 (i) of a Convention country to imple11 ment and abide by the provisions of the 

12 Hague Abduction Convention; and 

13 (ii) of an MOU country to implement 

14 and abide by the provisions of the applica15 ble MOU. 

16 (B) CRITERIA.—Such persistent failure 

17 may be evidenced by one or more of the fol18 lowing criteria: 

19 (i) The existence of 10 or more unre20 solved abduction cases. 

21 (ii) The failure of the Central Author22 ity of the country to fulfill its responsibil23 ities pursuant to the Hague Abduction 

24 Convention or the MOU, as applicable. 
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1 (iii) The failure of the judicial or ad2 ministrative branch, as applicable, of the 

3 national government of the country to im4 plement and comply with the provisions of 

5 the Hague Abduction Convention or the 

6 MOU, as applicable. 

7 (iv) The failure of law enforcement to 

8 locate abducted children or to enforce re9 turn orders or determinations of rights of 

10 access rendered by the judicial or adminis11 trative authorities of the national govern12 ment of the country in abduction cases or 

13 access cases. 

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

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

16 and a left-behind parent provided as a provisional 

17 measure while an abduction case is pending, by op18 eration of law or by reason of judicial or administra19 tive determination or by agreement having legal ef20 fect, under the law of the country in which the child 

21 is located. 

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

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

24 abducted child, including the right to determine the 

25 place of residence of an abducted child— 
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1 (A) attributed to an individual or entity, 

2 either individually or jointly, and 

3 (B) arising by operation of law or by rea4 son of a judicial or administrative decision, or 

5 by reason of an agreement having legal effect, 

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

7 an habitual resident immediately before the abduc8 tion. 

9 (22) UNRESOLVED ABDUCTION CASE.— 

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara11 graph (B), the term ‘‘unresolved abduction 

12 case’’ means an abduction case that remains 

13 unresolved for a period that exceeds 180 days 

14 after the date on which the completed applica15 tion for return of the child is submitted for de16 termination to the judicial or administrative au17 thority, as applicable, in the country in which 

18 the child is located. 

19 (B) RESOLUTION OF CASE.—An abduction 

20 case shall be considered to be resolved if— 

21 (i) the child is returned to the country 

22 of habitual residence, pursuant to the 

23 Hague Abduction Convention or MOU, if 

24 applicable; 
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1 (ii) the judicial or administrative 

2 branch, as applicable, of the national gov3 ernment of the country in which the child 

4 is located has implemented and is com5 plying with the provisions of the Hague 

6 Abduction Convention or the MOU, as ap7 plicable, and a final determination is made 

8 by such judicial or administrative branch 

9 that the child will not be returned to the 

10 country of habitual residence; or 

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

12 TITLE I—DEPARTMENT OF 

13 STATE ACTIONS 

14 SEC. 101. ANNUAL REPORT. 

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

16 year, the Secretary of State shall submit to the appro17 priate congressional committees an Annual Report on 

18 International Child Abduction. 

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

20 the following: 

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

22 there were one or more abduction cases during the 

23 preceding year that identifies whether each such 

24 country is a Convention country, an MOU country, 

25 or a nonparty country. 
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1 (2) For each country with respect to which 

2 there were 5 or more abduction cases during the 

3 preceding year: 

4 (A) The number of abduction cases and 

5 the number of access cases, respectively, re6 ported during the preceding year. 

7 (B) The number of abduction cases and 

8 the number of access cases, respectively, that 

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

10 such Annual Report is submitted. 

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

12 the number of abduction cases and the number 

13 of access cases, respectively, that were pending 

14 at any point for more than 180 days after the 

15 date on which the Central Authority of the 

16 United States transmitted the complete applica17 tion for each such case to the Central Authority 

18 of such country, and were not submitted by the 

19 Central Authority to the judicial or administra20 tive authority, as applicable, of such country 

21 within the 180-day period. 

22 (ii) The reason for the delay in submission 

23 of each case identified in clause (i) by the Cen24 tral Authority of such country to the judicial or 

25 administrative authority. 
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1 (D) The number of unresolved abduction 

2 cases, and the length of time each case has 

3 been pending. 

4 (E) The number of unresolved abduction 

5 cases in which a completed application has been 

6 filed and law enforcement has failed to locate 

7 the abducted child or to enforce a return order 

8 rendered by the judicial or administrative au9 thorities of such country. 

10 (F) The median time required for resolu11 tion of abduction cases during the preceding 

12 year, to be measured from the date on which 

13 the application with respect to the abduction 

14 case is transmitted by the Central Authority of 

15 the United States to the Central Authority of 

16 such country to the date on which the abduc17 tion case is resolved. 

18 (G) The total number and the percentage 

19 of the total number of abduction cases and ac20 cess cases, respectively, resolved during the pre21 ceding year. 

22 (H) Detailed information about each unre23 solved abduction case described in subpara24 graph (E) and on actions taken by the Depart25 ment of State to resolve such case, including 
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1 the specific actions taken by the United States 

2 chief of mission in such country. 

3 (I) Recommendations to improve resolution 

4 of abduction cases and access cases. 

5 (3) The number of abducted children from the 

6 United States who were returned to the United 

7 States from Convention countries, MOU countries, 

8 and nonparty countries, respectively. 

9 (4) A list of Convention countries and MOU 

10 countries that have failed to comply with any of 

11 their obligations under the Hague Abduction Con12 vention or the MOU, as applicable, with respect to 

13 the resolution of abduction cases and access cases. 

14 (5) A list of countries demonstrating a pattern 

15 of noncooperation, and a summary of the criteria on 

16 which the determination of a pattern of noncoopera17 tion for each country is based. 

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

19 of State to encourage other countries to become sig20 natories to the Hague Abduction Convention or to 

21 enter into an MOU. 

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

23 shall include efforts to address pending abduction 

24 cases and access cases in such countries. 
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1 (7) A description of the efforts of the Secretary 

2 of State to encourage Convention countries and 

3 MOU countries to facilitate the work of nongovern4 mental organizations within their respective coun5 tries that assist left-behind parents. 

6 (8) The number of cases which were success7 fully resolved without abducted children being re8 turned to the United States from Convention coun9 tries, MOU countries, and nonparty countries, re10 spectively. 

11 (c) EXCEPTION.—The Annual Report shall not in12 clude— 

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

14 involved in abduction cases or access cases; or 

15 (2) information that may identify a party in16 volved in an abduction case or access case unless the 

17 party stipulates in writing to the Central Authority 

18 of the United States that such information may be 

19 included in the Annual Report. 

20 (d) ADDITIONAL THEMATIC SECTIONS.—Each An21 nual Report shall also include— 

22 (1) information on the number of unresolved 

23 abduction cases affecting left-behind parents who 

24 are military parents and a summary of assistance of25 fered to such left-behind parents; 
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1 (2) information on the use of airlines in abduc2 tions, voluntary airline practices to prevent abduc3 tions, and recommendations for best airline practices 

4 to prevent abductions; 

5 (3) information on actions taken by the Central 

6 Authority of the United States to train domestic 

7 judges in application of the Hague Abduction Con8 vention; and 

9 (4) information on actions taken by the Central 

10 Authority of the United States to train United 

11 States Armed Forces legal assistance personnel, 

12 military chaplains, and military family support cen13 ter personnel about abductions, the risk of loss of 

14 access to children, and the legal frameworks avail15 able to resolve such cases. 

16 (e) REPEAL OF THE HAGUE CONVENTION COMPLI17 ANCE REPORT.—Section 2803 of the Foreign Affairs Re18 form and Restructuring Act of 1998 (42 U.S.C. 11611) 

19 is repealed. 

20 SEC. 102. STANDARDS AND ASSISTANCE. 

21 The Secretary of State shall ensure that United 

22 States diplomatic and consular missions abroad— 

23 (1) maintain a consistent reporting standard 

24 with respect to abduction cases and access cases in25 volving abducted children in the country in which 
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1 such mission is located for purposes of the Annual 

2 Report; 

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

4 mission to assist left-behind parents from the United 

5 States who are visiting such country to resolve cases 

6 involving an abduction or rights of access; and 

7 (3) monitor developments in cases involving ab8 ducted children in the country in which such mission 

9 is located. 

10 SEC. 103. MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING. 

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

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

13 a Convention country and is unlikely to become a Conven14 tion country in the forseeable future, that includes— 

15 (1) identification of the Central Authority; 

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

17 the return of an abducted child identified in an ab18 duction case not later than 6 weeks after the appli19 cation with respect to the abduction case has been 

20 submitted to the judicial or administrative authority, 

21 as applicable, of the country in which the abducted 

22 child is located; 

23 (3) a protocol for the establishment and protec24 tion of the rights of access; 
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1 (4) identification of the judicial or administra2 tive authority that will promptly adjudicate abduc3 tion cases and access cases; 

4 (5) identification of a law enforcement agency 

5 and available law enforcement mechanisms and pro6 cedures to ensure the immediate enforcement of an 

7 order issued by the authority identified pursuant to 

8 paragraph (4) to return an abducted child to a left9 behind parent, including by— 

10 (A) conducting an investigation to ascer11 tain the location of the abducted child; 

12 (B) providing protection to the abducted 

13 child after such child is located; and 

14 (C) retrieving the abducted child and mak15 ing the appropriate arrangements for such child 

16 to be returned to the country of habitual resi17 dence; 

18 (6) a protocol to establish periodic visits be19 tween a United States embassy or consular official 

20 and an abducted child to allow the official to ascer21 tain the child’s location and welfare; and 

22 (7) such other provisions as determined to be 

23 appropriate by the Secretary of State. 

24 (b) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.— 
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act shall be 

2 construed to prohibit the United States from pro3 posing and entering into a memorandum of under4 standing with a Convention country to further clar5 ify the reciprocal obligations of the United States 

6 and the Convention country under the Hague Ab7 duction Convention. 

8 (2) TREATMENT OF OBLIGATIONS OF CONVEN9 TION COUNTRY.—In those instances in which there 

10 is a memorandum of understanding as described in 

11 paragraph (1), the obligations of the Convention 

12 country under such memorandum shall be consid13 ered to be obligations of such country under the 

14 Hague Abduction Convention for purposes of this 

15 Act. 

16 SEC. 104. NOTIFICATION OF CONGRESSIONAL REPRESENT17 ATIVES. 

18 (a) NOTIFICATION.—Except as provided in sub19 section (b), the Secretary of State shall notify in writing 

20 the Member of Congress and Senators representing the 

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

22 reports an abduction to the Central Authority of the 

23 United States. 

24 (b) EXCEPTION.—The notification requirement under 

25 subsection (a) shall not apply if the left-behind parent 
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1 does not consent to the notification described in such sub2 section. 

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

4 left-behind parent, including a left-behind parent who pre5 viously reported an abduction to the Central Authority of 

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

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

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

9 as is practicable. 

10 (d) MEMBER OF CONGRESS DEFINED.—In this sec11 tion, the term ‘‘Member of Congress’’ means a Represent12 ative in, or Delegate or Resident Commissioner to, the 

13 Congress. 

14 TITLE II—PRESIDENTIAL 

15 ACTIONS 

16 SEC. 201. PRESIDENTIAL ACTIONS IN RESPONSE TO UNRE17 SOLVED CASES. 

18 (a) RESPONSE TO INTERNATIONAL CHILD ABDUC19 TIONS.— 

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

21 policy of the United States to— 

22 (A) promote the best interest of children 

23 abducted from the United States by estab24 lishing legal rights and procedures for their 

25 prompt return and by promoting such rights 
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1 and procedures through actions that ensure the 

2 enforcement of reciprocal international obliga3 tions; and 

4 (B) recognize the international character 

5 of the Hague Abduction Convention, and the 

6 need for reciprocity pursuant to and the uni7 form international interpretation of the Hague 

8 Abduction Convention, by promoting the timely 

9 resolution of abduction cases through one or 

10 more of the actions described in section 205. 

11 (2) REQUIREMENT OF PRESIDENTIAL AC12 TION.—Whenever the President determines that the 

13 government of a foreign country has failed to resolve 

14 an unresolved abduction case, the President shall op15 pose such failure through one or more of the actions 

16 described in subsection (b). 

17 (b) PRESIDENTIAL ACTIONS.— 

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

19 and (3), the President, in consultation with the Sec20 retary of State, shall, as expeditiously as practicable 

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

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

23 more of the actions described in paragraphs (1) 

24 through (13) of section 205(a) (or commensurate ac-
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1 tion as provided in section 205(b)) with respect to 

2 such country. 

3 (2) DEADLINE FOR ACTIONS.— 

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

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

6 each year, the President shall take one or more 

7 of the actions described in paragraphs (1) 

8 through (13) of section 205(a) (or commensu9 rate action as provided in section 205(b)) with 

10 respect to each foreign country the government 

11 of which has failed to resolve an unresolved ab12 duction case that is pending as of such date. 

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

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

15 section 205(a) (or commensurate action as pro16 vided in section 205(b))— 

17 (i) the action may only be taken after 

18 the requirements of sections 203 and 204 

19 have been satisfied; and 

20 (ii) the March 31 deadline to take the 

21 action shall not apply. 

22 (3) AUTHORITY FOR DELAY OF PRESIDENTIAL

23 ACTIONS.—The President may delay action de24 scribed in any of the paragraphs (10) through (13) 

25 of section 205(a) (or commensurate action as pro-
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1 vided in section 205(b)), as required under para2 graph (2), if the President determines and certifies 

3 to the appropriate congressional committees that an 

4 additional, specified period of time is necessary for 

5 a continuation of negotiations that have been com6 menced with the country to resolve the unresolved 

7 case. 

8 (c) IMPLEMENTATION.— 

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

10 (b), the President shall— 

11 (A) take one or more actions that most ap12 propriately respond to the nature and severity 

13 of the failure to resolve the unresolved abduc14 tion cases; and 

15 (B) seek to the fullest extent possible to 

16 target action as narrowly as practicable with re17 spect to the agencies or instrumentalities of the 

18 foreign government that are responsible for 

19 such failures, in ways that respect the separa20 tion of powers and independence of the judici21 ary in foreign countries. 

22 (2) GUIDELINES FOR PRESIDENTIAL AC23 TIONS.—In addition to the guidelines under para24 graph (1), the President, in determining whether to 

25 take one or more actions under paragraphs (10) 
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1 through (13) of section 205(a) (or commensurate ac2 tion as provided in section 205(b)), shall seek to 

3 minimize any adverse impact on— 

4 (A) the population of the country whose 

5 government is targeted by the action or actions; 

6 and 

7 (B) the humanitarian activities of United 

8 States and foreign nongovernmental organiza9 tions in the country. 

10 SEC. 202. PRESIDENTIAL ACTIONS IN RESPONSE TO PAT11 TERNS OF NONCOOPERATION IN CASES OF 

12 INTERNATIONAL CHILD ABDUCTIONS. 

13 (a) RESPONSE TO A PATTERN OF NONCOOPERA14 TION.— 

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

16 policy of the United States to— 

17 (A) oppose institutional or other systemic 

18 failures of foreign governments to fulfill their 

19 obligations pursuant to the Hague Abduction 

20 Convention or MOU, as applicable, to resolve 

21 abduction cases and access cases; and 

22 (B) promote reciprocity pursuant to and 

23 compliance with the Hague Abduction Conven24 tion by Convention countries and compliance 

25 with the applicable MOU by MOU countries. 
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1 (2) REQUIREMENT OF PRESIDENTIAL AC2 TION.—Whenever the President determines that the 

3 government of a foreign country has engaged in a 

4 pattern of noncooperation, the President shall pro5 mote the resolution of the unresolved abduction 

6 cases through one or more of the actions described 

7 in subsection (c). 

8 (b) DESIGNATIONS OF COUNTRIES WITH PATTERNS

9 OF NONCOOPERATION IN CASES OF INTERNATIONAL

10 CHILD ABDUCTION.— 

11 (1) ANNUAL REVIEW.— 

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

13 31 of each year, the President shall review the 

14 status of abduction cases and access cases in 

15 each foreign country to determine whether the 

16 government of such country has engaged in a 

17 pattern of noncooperation during the preceding 

18 12 months or since the date of the last review 

19 of such country under this subparagraph, 

20 whichever period is longer. The President shall 

21 designate each country the government of which 

22 has engaged in a pattern of noncooperation as 

23 a Country With a Pattern of Noncooperation. 

24 (B) BASIS OF REVIEW.—Each review con25 ducted under subparagraph (A) shall be based 
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1 upon information contained in the latest Annual 

2 Report and on any other evidence available. 

3 (2) DETERMINATIONS OF RESPONSIBLE PAR4 TIES.—For the government of each country des5 ignated as a Country With a Pattern of Noncoopera6 tion under paragraph (1)(A), the President shall 

7 seek to determine the agencies or instrumentalities 

8 of such government that are responsible for the pat9 tern of noncooperation by such government in order 

10 to appropriately target actions under this section in 

11 response. 

12 (3) CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION.—Whenever 

13 the President designates a country as a Country 

14 With a Pattern of Noncooperation under paragraph 

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

16 after such designation is made, transmit to the ap17 propriate congressional committees— 

18 (A) the designation of the country, signed 

19 by the President; and 

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

21 agencies or instrumentalities determined under 

22 paragraph (2). 

23 (c) PRESIDENTIAL ACTIONS WITH RESPECT TO A

24 COUNTRY WITH A PATTERN OF NONCOOPERATION.— 
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraphs (2) 

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

3 of Noncooperation designated under subsection 

4 (b)(1)(A), the President shall, after the require5 ments of sections 203 and 204 have been satisfied, 

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

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

8 designation of the country under such subsection, 

9 take one or more of the actions under paragraphs 

10 (10) through (13) of section 205(a) (or commensu11 rate action as provided in section 205(b)). 

12 (2) AUTHORITY FOR DELAY OF PRESIDENTIAL

13 ACTIONS.—If, on or before the date that the Presi14 dent is required to take action under paragraph (1), 

15 the President determines and certifies to the appro16 priate congressional committees that a single, addi17 tional period of time not to exceed 90 days is nec18 essary— 

19 (A) for a continuation of negotiations that 

20 have been commenced with the government of a 

21 country described in such paragraph to bring 

22 about a cessation of the pattern of noncoopera23 tion by such country, or 

24 (B) for a review of corrective action taken 

25 by such country after designation of such coun-
32 

•HR 3212 EH

1 try as a Country With a Pattern of Non2 cooperation under subsection (b)(1)(A) or in 

3 anticipation that corrective action will be taken 

4 by such country during such 90-day period, 

5 the President shall not be required to take such ac6 tion until the expiration of such period of time. 

7 (3) EXCEPTION FOR ONGOING PRESIDENTIAL

8 ACTION.— 

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

10 be required to take action under paragraph (1) 

11 with respect to a Country With a Pattern of 

12 Noncooperation if— 

13 (i) the President has taken action 

14 pursuant to paragraph (1) with respect to 

15 such country in a preceding year, such ac16 tion is in effect at the time such country 

17 is designated as a Country with a Pattern 

18 of Noncooperation under subsection 

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

20 the appropriate congressional committees 

21 the information described in section 204 

22 regarding the actions in effect with respect 

23 to such country; or 

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

25 President determines that such country is 
33 

•HR 3212 EH

1 subject to multiple, broad-based sanctions 

2 imposed in significant part in response to 

3 human rights abuses and that such sanc4 tions also satisfy the requirements of this 

5 subsection. 

6 (B) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.—If the 

7 President makes a determination under sub8 paragraph (A)(ii)— 

9 (i) the report under section 204 and, 

10 as applicable, the publication in the Fed11 eral Register under section 208, shall 

12 specify the specific sanction or sanctions 

13 that the President has determined satisfy 

14 the requirements of this subsection; and 

15 (ii) such sanctions shall remain in ef16 fect subject to section 209. 

17 (d) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—A determination 

18 under this section that a foreign country has engaged in 

19 a pattern of noncooperation shall not be construed to re20 quire the termination of assistance or other activities with 

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

22 including section 116 or 502B of the Foreign Assistance 

23 Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151(n) or 2304). 
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1 SEC. 203. CONSULTATIONS WITH FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS. 

2 As soon as practicable after the President makes a 

3 determination under section 201 in response to failures 

4 to resolve unresolved abduction cases and the President 

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

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

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

8 than 90 days after the President designates a country as 

9 a country with a pattern of noncooperation pursuant to 

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

11 (1) request consultation with the government of 

12 such country regarding the failures giving rise to 

13 designation of that country as a Country With a 

14 Pattern of Noncooperation regarding the pattern of 

15 noncooperation or to action under section 201; and 

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

17 with such country, privately or publicly. 

18 SEC. 204. REPORT TO CONGRESS. 

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

20 later than 90 days after the President makes a determina21 tion under section 201 in response to failures to resolve 

22 unresolved abduction cases and the President decides to 

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

24 205(a) (or commensurate action as provided in section 

25 205(b)) with respect to that country, or not later than 

26 90 days after the President designates a country as a 
35 

•HR 3212 EH

1 Country With a Pattern of Noncooperation pursuant to 

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

3 appropriate congressional committees a report on the fol4 lowing: 

5 (1) IDENTIFICATION OF PRESIDENTIAL AC6 TIONS.—An identification of the action or actions 

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

8 as provided in section 205(b)) to be taken with re9 spect to such country. 

10 (2) DESCRIPTION OF VIOLATIONS.—A descrip11 tion of the failure to resolve an unresolved case or 

12 the pattern of noncooperation, as applicable, giving 

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

14 President. 

15 (3) PURPOSE OF PRESIDENTIAL ACTIONS.—A 

16 description of the purpose of the action or actions. 

17 (4) EVALUATION.— 

18 (A) DESCRIPTION.—An evaluation, in con19 sultation with the Secretary of State, the par20 ties described in section 203(b), and other par21 ties the President determines appropriate, of 

22 the anticipated impact of the Presidential ac23 tion upon— 

24 (i) pending abduction cases in such 

25 country; 
36 

•HR 3212 EH

1 (ii) the government of such country; 

2 (iii) the population of such country; 

3 (iv) the United States economy; 

4 (v) other interested parties; and 

5 (vi) if such country is a Convention 

6 country or an MOU country, the reciprocal 

7 fulfillment of obligations pursuant to such 

8 Convention or applicable MOU, as applica9 ble. 

10 (B) FORM.—The evaluation under sub11 paragraph (A) shall be transmitted in unclassi12 fied form, but may contain a classified annex if 

13 necessary. 

14 (5) STATEMENT OF POLICY OPTIONS.—A state15 ment that noneconomic policy options designed to 

16 resolve the unresolved case or bring about the ces17 sation of the pattern of noncooperation have reason18 ably been exhausted, including the consultations re19 quired in section 203. 

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

21 before the date that the President is required to submit 

22 a report under subsection (a) to the appropriate congres23 sional committees, the President determines and certifies 

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

25 not to exceed 90 days is necessary pursuant to section 
37 

•HR 3212 EH

1 202(c)(2), the President shall not be required to submit 

2 the report to such committees until the expiration of such 

3 period of time. 

4 SEC. 205. PRESIDENTIAL ACTIONS. 

5 (a) DESCRIPTION OF PRESIDENTIAL ACTIONS.—Ex6 cept as provided in subsection (c), the Presidential actions 

7 referred to in this subsection are the following: 

8 (1) A private demarche. 

9 (2) An official public demarche. 

10 (3) A public condemnation. 

11 (4) A public condemnation within one or more 

12 multilateral fora. 

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

14 scientific exchanges. 

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

16 cultural exchanges. 

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

18 or state visits. 

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

20 working, official, or state visits. 

21 (9) A formal request to the foreign country con22 cerned to extradite an individual who is engaged in 

23 abduction and who has been formally accused of, 

24 charged with, or convicted of an extraditable offense. 
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•HR 3212 EH

1 (10) The withdrawal, limitation, or suspension 

2 of United States development assistance in accord3 ance with section 116 of the Foreign Assistance Act 

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

5 (11) The withdrawal, limitation, or suspension 

6 of United States security assistance in accordance 

7 with section 502B of the Foreign Assistance Act of 

8 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2304). 

9 (12) The withdrawal, limitation, or suspension 

10 of assistance to the central government of a country 

11 pursuant to chapter 4 of part II of the Foreign As12 sistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2346 et seq.; relat13 ing to the Economic Support Fund). 

14 (13) Ordering the heads of the appropriate 

15 United States agencies not to issue any (or a speci16 fied number of) specific licenses, and not to grant 

17 any other specific authority (or a specified number 

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

19 such government or to the agency or instrumentality 

20 of such government determined by the President to 

21 be responsible for such unresolved case or pattern of 

22 noncooperation, as applicable, under— 

23 (A) the Export Administration Act of 1979 

24 (as continued in effect under the International 

25 Emergency Economic Powers Act); 
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•HR 3212 EH

1 (B) the Arms Export Control Act; 

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

3 (D) any other statute that requires the 

4 prior review and approval of the United States 

5 Government as a condition for the export or re6 export of goods or services. 

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

8 subsection (c), the President may substitute any other ac9 tion authorized by law for any action described in sub10 section (a) if such action is commensurate in effect to the 

11 action substituted and if such action would further the 

12 purposes of this Act as specified in section 2(c). The Presi13 dent shall seek to take all appropriate and feasible actions 

14 authorized by law to resolve the unresolved case or to ob15 tain the cessation of such pattern of noncooperation, as 

16 applicable. If commensurate action is taken under this 

17 subsection, the President shall transmit to the appropriate 

18 congressional committees a report on such action, together 

19 with an explanation for taking such action. 

20 (c) EXCEPTIONS.— 

21 (1) HUMANITARIAN EXCEPTION.—Any action 

22 taken pursuant to subsection (a) or (b) may not pro23 hibit or restrict the provision of medicine, medical 

24 equipment or supplies, food, or other life-saving hu25 manitarian assistance. 
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•HR 3212 EH

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 

25 such defense articles or services are essen-
41 

•HR 3212 EH

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, 

25 such country has taken measures to ensure fu-
42 

•HR 3212 EH

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 des-
43 

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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. 

Passed the House of Representatives December 11, 

2013. 

Attest: 

Clerk. 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3212 

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