In the Senate of the United States, 

July 16, 2014. 

Resolved, That the bill from the House of Representatives (H.R. 3212) entitled ‘‘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.’’, do pass with the following 

AMENDMENT: 

Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert: 

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 2014’’. 

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. 
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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. 

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 re-
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1 turn to the United States of children who have been 

2 wrongfully abducted by a parent or other legal guard3 ian to another country. 

4 (3) For a variety of reasons reflecting the signifi5 cant obstacles to the recovery of abducted children, as 

6 well as the legal and factual complexity involving 

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

8 Authority of the United States. 

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

10 abductions are reported every year to the Central Au11 thority of the United States, which depends solely on 

12 proactive reporting of abduction cases. 

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

14 from the United States to countries with which the 

15 United States enjoys reciprocal obligations under the 

16 Hague Abduction Convention are returned to the 

17 United States. 

18 (6) The United States and other Convention 

19 countries have expressed their desire, through the 

20 Hague Abduction Convention, ‘‘to protect children 

21 internationally from the harmful effects of their 

22 wrongful removal or retention and to establish proce23 dures to ensure their prompt return to the State of 

24 their habitual residence, as well as to secure protec25 tion for rights of access.’’ 
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1 (7) Compliance by the United States and other 

2 Convention countries depends on the actions of their 

3 designated central authorities, the performance of 

4 their judicial systems as reflected in the legal process 

5 and decisions rendered to enforce or effectuate the 

6 Hague Abduction Convention, and the ability and 

7 willingness of their law enforcement authorities to en8 sure the swift enforcement of orders rendered pursu9 ant to the Hague Abduction Convention. 

10 (8) According to data from the Department of 

11 State, approximately 40 percent of abduction cases 

12 involve children taken from the United States to 

13 countries with which the United States does not have 

14 reciprocal obligations under the Hague Abduction 

15 Convention or other arrangements relating to the res16 olution of abduction cases. 

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

18 2010 Report on Compliance with the Hague Conven19 tion on the Civil Aspects of International Child Ab20 duction, ‘‘parental child abduction jeopardizes the 

21 child and has substantial long-term consequences for 

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

23 (10) Few left-behind parents have the extraor24 dinary financial resources necessary— 
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1 (A) to pursue individual civil or criminal 

2 remedies in both the United States and a foreign 

3 country, even if such remedies are available; or 

4 (B) to engage in repeated foreign travel to 

5 attempt to obtain the return of their children 

6 through diplomatic or other channels. 

7 (11) Military parents often face additional com8 plications in resolving abduction cases because of the 

9 challenges presented by their military obligations. 

10 (12) In addition to using the Hague Abduction 

11 Convention to achieve the return of abducted children, 

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

13 local law enforcement, criminal justice, and judicial 

14 tools at its disposal to prevent international abduc15 tions. 

16 (13) Federal agencies tasked with preventing 

17 international abductions have indicated that the most 

18 effective way to stop international child abductions is 

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

20 has been removed to a foreign destination. 

21 (14) Parental awareness of abductions in 

22 progress, rapid response by relevant law enforcement, 

23 and effective coordination among Federal, State, 

24 local, and international stakeholders are critical in 

25 preventing such abductions. 
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1 (15) A more robust application of domestic tools, 

2 in cooperation with international law enforcement en3 tities and appropriate application of the Hague Ab4 duction Convention could— 

5 (A) discourage some parents from attempt6 ing abductions; 

7 (B) block attempted abductions at ports of 

8 exit; and 

9 (C) help achieve the return of more ab10 ducted children. 

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

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

13 Convention countries in the timely location and prompt 

14 resolution of cases involving children abducted abroad and 

15 brought to the United States. 

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

17 (1) to protect children whose habitual residence 

18 is the United States from wrongful abduction; 

19 (2) to assist left-behind parents in quickly resolv20 ing cases and maintaining safe and predictable con21 tact with their child while an abduction case is pend22 ing; 

23 (3) to protect the custodial rights of parents, in24 cluding military parents, by providing the parents, 

25 the judicial system, and law enforcement authorities 
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1 with the information they need to prevent unlawful 

2 abduction before it occurs; 

3 (4) to enhance the prompt resolution of abduc4 tion and access cases; 

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

6 undertaken by the Secretary of State to address per7 sistent problems in the resolution of abduction cases; 

8 (6) to establish a program to prevent wrongful 

9 abductions; and 

10 (7) to increase interagency coordination in pre11 venting international child abduction by convening a 

12 working group composed of presidentially appointed 

13 and Senate confirmed officials from the Department 

14 of State, the Department of Homeland Security, and 

15 the Department of Justice. 

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 inter20 national child abduction. 

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

22 the alleged wrongful removal of a child from the 

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

24 retention of a child outside such country, in violation 
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1 of a left-behind parent’s custodial rights, including 

2 the rights of a military parent. 

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

4 case’’ means a case that— 

5 (A) has been reported to the Central Author6 ity of the United States by a left-behind parent 

7 for the resolution of an abduction; and 

8 (B) meets the criteria for an international 

9 child abduction under the Hague Abduction Con10 vention, regardless of whether the country at 

11 issue is a Convention country. 

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 parent 

15 seeking 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, the 

22 application required pursuant to article 8 of the 

23 Hague Abduction Convention; 

24 (B) in the case of a bilateral procedures 

25 country, the formal document required, pursuant 
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1 to the provisions of the applicable arrangement, 

2 to request the return of an abducted child or to 

3 request rights of access, as applicable; and 

4 (C) in the case of a non-Convention coun5 try, the formal request by the Central Authority 

6 of the United States to the Central Authority of 

7 such country requesting the return of an ab8 ducted child or for rights of contact with an ab9 ducted child. 

10 (7) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT11 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional commit12 tees’’ means the Committee on Foreign Relations of 

13 the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 

14 the House of Representatives. 

15 (8) BILATERAL PROCEDURES.—The term ‘‘bilat16 eral procedures’’ means any procedures established by, 

17 or pursuant to, a bilateral arrangement, including a 

18 Memorandum of Understanding between the United 

19 States and another country, to resolve abduction and 

20 access cases, including procedures to address interim 

21 contact matters. 

22 (9) BILATERAL PROCEDURES COUNTRY.—The 

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

24 with which the United States has entered into bilat-
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1 eral procedures, including Memoranda of Under2 standing, with respect to child abductions. 

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

4 Authority’’ means— 

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

6 meaning given such term in article 6 of the 

7 Hague Abduction Convention; 

8 (B) in the case of a bilateral procedures 

9 country, the official entity designated by the gov10 ernment of the bilateral procedures country with11 in the applicable memorandum of understanding 

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

13 duties imposed on the entity; and 

14 (C) in the case of a non-Convention coun15 try, the foreign ministry or other appropriate 

16 authority of such country. 

17 (11) CHILD.—The term ‘‘child’’ means an indi18 vidual who has not attained 16 years of age. 

19 (12) CONVENTION COUNTRY.—The term ‘‘Con20 vention country’’ means a country for which the 

21 Hague Abduction Convention has entered into force 

22 with respect to the United States. 

23 (13) HAGUE ABDUCTION CONVENTION.—The 

24 term ‘‘Hague Abduction Convention’’ means the Con-
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1 vention on the Civil Aspects of International Child 

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

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

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

5 communicate with or visit an abducted child during 

6 the pendency of an abduction case. 

7 (15) LEFT-BEHIND PARENT.—The term ‘‘left-be8 hind parent’’ means an individual or legal custodian 

9 who alleges that an abduction has occurred that is in 

10 breach of rights of custody attributed to such indi11 vidual. 

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

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

14 the Hague Abduction Convention has not entered into 

15 force with respect to the United States. 

16 (17) OVERSEAS MILITARY DEPENDENT CHILD.— 

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

18 a child whose habitual residence is the United States 

19 according to United States law even though the child 

20 is residing outside the United States with a military 

21 parent. 

22 (18) OVERSEAS MILITARY PARENT.—The term 

23 ‘‘overseas military parent’’ means an individual 

24 who— 
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1 (A) has custodial rights with respect to a 

2 child; and 

3 (B) is serving outside the United States as 

4 a member of the United States Armed Forces. 

5 (19) PATTERN OF NONCOMPLIANCE.— 

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

7 noncompliance’’ means the persistent failure— 

8 (i) of a Convention country to imple9 ment and abide by provisions of the Hague 

10 Abduction Convention; 

11 (ii) of a non-Convention country to 

12 abide by bilateral procedures that have been 

13 established between the United States and 

14 such country; or 

15 (iii) of a non-Convention country to 

16 work with the Central Authority of the 

17 United States to resolve abduction cases. 

18 (B) PERSISTENT FAILURE.—Persistent fail19 ure under subparagraph (A) may be evidenced 

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

21 of the following criteria: 

22 (i) Thirty percent or more of the total 

23 abduction cases in such country are unre24 solved abduction cases. 
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1 (ii) The Central Authority regularly 

2 fails to fulfill its responsibilities pursuant 

3 to— 

4 (I) the Hague Abduction Conven5 tion; or 

6 (II) any bilateral procedures be7 tween the United States and such 

8 country. 

9 (iii) The judicial or administrative 

10 branch, as applicable, of the national gov11 ernment of a Convention country or a bilat12 eral procedures country fails to regularly 

13 implement and comply with the provisions 

14 of the Hague Abduction Convention or bi15 lateral procedures, as applicable. 

16 (iv) Law enforcement authorities regu17 larly fail to enforce return orders or deter18 minations of rights of access rendered by the 

19 judicial or administrative authorities of the 

20 government of the country in abduction 

21 cases. 

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

23 access’’ means the establishment of rights of contact 

24 between a child and a parent seeking access in Con25 vention countries— 
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1 (A) by operation of law; 

2 (B) through a judicial or administrative de3 termination; or 

4 (C) through a legally enforceable arrange5 ment between the parties. 

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

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

8 including the right to determine the place of residence 

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

10 child is a habitual resident— 

11 (A) attributed to an individual or legal cus12 todian; and 

13 (B) arising— 

14 (i) by operation of law; or 

15 (ii) through a judicial or administra16 tive decision; or 

17 (iii) through a legally enforceable ar18 rangement between the parties. 

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

20 ‘‘rights of interim contact’’ means the rights of con21 tact between a child and a left-behind parent, which 

22 has been provided as a provisional measure while an 

23 abduction case is pending, under the laws of the coun24 try in which the child is located— 

25 (A) by operation of law; or 
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1 (B) through a judicial or administrative de2 termination; or 

3 (C) through a legally enforceable arrange4 ment between the parties. 

5 (23) UNRESOLVED ABDUCTION CASE.— 

6 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subparagraph 

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

8 an abduction case that remains unresolved for a 

9 period that exceeds 12 months after the date on 

10 which the completed application for return of the 

11 child is submitted for determination to the judi12 cial or administrative authority, as applicable, 

13 in the country in which the child is located. 

14 (B) RESOLUTION OF CASE.—An abduction 

15 case shall be considered to be resolved if— 

16 (i) the child is returned to the country 

17 of habitual residence, pursuant to the 

18 Hague Abduction Convention or other ap19 propriate bilateral procedures, if applicable; 

20 (ii) the judicial or administrative 

21 branch, as applicable, of the government of 

22 the country in which the child is located has 

23 implemented, and is complying with, the 

24 provisions of the Hague Abduction Conven-
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1 tion or other bilateral procedures, as appli2 cable; 

3 (iii) the left-behind parent reaches a 

4 voluntary arrangement with the other par5 ent; 

6 (iv) the left-behind parent submits a 

7 written withdrawal of the application or the 

8 request for assistance to the Department of 

9 State; 

10 (v) the left-behind parent cannot be lo11 cated for 1 year despite the documented ef12 forts of the Department of State to locate 

13 the parent; or 

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

15 deceased. 

16 TITLE I—DEPARTMENT OF 

17 STATE ACTIONS 

18 SEC. 101. ANNUAL REPORT. 

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

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

21 congressional committees an Annual Report on Inter22 national Child Abduction. The Secretary shall post the An23 nual Report to the publicly accessible website of the Depart24 ment of State. 

25 (b) CONTENTS.—Each Annual Report shall include— 
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1 (1) a list of all countries in which there were 1 

2 or more abduction cases, during the preceding cal3 endar year, relating to a child whose habitual resi4 dence is the United States, including a description of 

5 whether each such country— 

6 (A) is a Convention country; 

7 (B) is a bilateral procedures country; 

8 (C) has other procedures for resolving such 

9 abductions; or 

10 (D) adheres to no protocols with respect to 

11 child abduction; 

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

13 were 5 or more pending abduction cases, during the 

14 preceding year, relating to a child whose habitual res15 idence is the United States— 

16 (A) the number of such new abduction and 

17 access cases reported during the preceding year; 

18 (B) for Convention and bilateral procedures 

19 countries— 

20 (i) the number of abduction and access 

21 cases that the Central Authority of the 

22 United States transmitted to the Central 

23 Authority of such country; and 

24 (ii) the number of abduction and ac25 cess cases that were not submitted by the 
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1 Central Authority to the judicial or admin2 istrative authority, as applicable, of such 

3 country; 

4 (C) the reason for the delay in submission 

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

6 by the Central Authority of such country to the 

7 judicial or administrative authority of that 

8 country; 

9 (D) the number of unresolved abduction and 

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

11 been pending; 

12 (E) the number and percentage of unre13 solved abduction cases in which law enforcement 

14 authorities have— 

15 (i) not located the abducted child; 

16 (ii) failed to undertake serious efforts 

17 to locate the abducted child; and 

18 (iii) failed to enforce a return order 

19 rendered by the judicial or administrative 

20 authorities of such country; 

21 (F) the total number and the percentage of 

22 the total number of abduction and access cases, 

23 respectively, resolved during the preceding year; 

24 (G) recommendations to improve the resolu25 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 

25 of the appropriate congressional committees, the Sec-
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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 

24 pursuant to subsection (d) or (e) may not prohibit or re-
37 

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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, 

26 through the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Pro-
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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. 

Attest: 

Secretary. 
113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H.R. 3212 

AMENDMENT