II 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2509 

To ensure compliance with the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects 

of International Child Abduction, to establish procedures for the prompt 

return of children abducted to other countries, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 19, 2014 

Mr. MENENDEZ (for himself, Mr. CORKER, and Mr. MARKEY) introduced the 

following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 

Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

To ensure compliance with the 1980 Hague Convention on 

the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, to 

establish procedures for the prompt return of children 

abducted to other countries, and for other purposes. 

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

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 2014’’. 

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

8 this Act is as follows: 


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Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents. 

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

Sec. 3. Definitions. 

TITLE I—DEPARTMENT OF STATE ACTIONS 

Sec. 101. Annual report. 

Sec. 102. Standards and assistance. 

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

Sec. 104. Report to congressional representatives. 

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 

5 United States in 2004 and separated from his fa6 ther, David Goldman, who spent nearly 6 years bat7 tling for the return of his son from Brazil before 

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

9 on December 24, 2009. 

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

12 of the United States for the purposes of the 1980 

13 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of Inter14 national Child Abduction (referred to in this Act as 


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1 the ‘‘Hague Abduction Convention’’), has received 

2 thousands of requests since 2007 for assistance in 

3 the return to the United States of children who have 

4 been wrongfully abducted by a parent or other legal 

5 guardian to another country. 

6 (3) For a variety of reasons reflecting the sig7 nificant obstacles to the recovery of abducted chil8 dren, as well as the legal and factual complexity in9 volving such cases, not all cases are reported to the 

10 Central Authority of the United States. 

11 (4) More than 1,000 outgoing international 

12 child abductions are reported every year to the Cen13 tral Authority of the United States, which depends 

14 solely on proactive reporting of abduction cases. 

15 (5) Only about one-half of the children ab16 ducted from the United States to countries with 

17 which the United States enjoys reciprocal obligations 

18 under the Hague Abduction Convention are returned 

19 to the United States. 

20 (6) The United States and other Convention 

21 countries have expressed their desire, through the 

22 Hague Abduction Convention, ‘‘to protect children 

23 internationally from the harmful effects of their 

24 wrongful removal or retention and to establish pro25 cedures to ensure their prompt return to the State 


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1 of their habitual residence, as well as to secure pro2 tection for rights of access.’’. 

3 (7) Compliance by the United States and other 

4 Convention countries depends on the actions of their 

5 designated central authorities, the performance of 

6 their judicial systems as reflected in the legal proc7 ess and decisions rendered to enforce or effectuate 

8 the Hague Abduction Convention, and the ability 

9 and willingness of their law enforcement authorities 

10 to ensure the swift enforcement of orders rendered 

11 pursuant to the Hague Abduction Convention. 

12 (8) According to data from the Department of 

13 State, approximately 40 percent of abduction cases 

14 involve children taken from the United States to 

15 countries with which the United States does not 

16 have reciprocal obligations under the Hague Abduc17 tion Convention or other arrangements relating to 

18 the resolution of abduction cases. 

19 (9) According to the Department of State’s 

20 April 2010 Report on Compliance with the Hague 

21 Convention on the Civil Aspects of International 

22 Child Abduction, ‘‘parental child abduction jeopard23 izes the child and has substantial long-term con24 sequences for both the child and the left-behind par25 ent.’’. 


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1 (10) Few left-behind parents have the extraor2 dinary financial resources necessary— 

3 (A) to pursue individual civil or criminal 

4 remedies in both the United States and a for5 eign country, even if such remedies are avail6 able; or 

7 (B) to engage in repeated foreign travel to 

8 attempt to obtain the return of their children 

9 through diplomatic or other channels. 

10 (11) Military parents often face additional com11 plications in resolving abduction cases because of the 

12 challenges presented by their military obligations. 

13 (12) In addition to using the Hague Abduction 

14 Convention to achieve the return of abducted chil15 dren, the United States has an array of Federal, 

16 State, and local law enforcement, criminal justice, 

17 and judicial tools at its disposal to prevent inter18 national abductions. 

19 (13) Federal agencies tasked with preventing 

20 international abductions have indicated that the 

21 most effective way to stop international child abduc22 tions is while they are in progress, rather than after 

23 the child has been removed to a foreign destination. 

24 (14) Parental awareness of abductions in 

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1 ment, and effective coordination among Federal, 

2 State, local, and international stakeholders are crit3 ical in preventing such abductions. 

4 (15) A more robust application of domestic 

5 tools, in cooperation with international law enforce6 ment entities and appropriate application of the 

7 Hague Abduction Convention could— 

8 (A) discourage some parents from attempt9 ing abductions; 

10 (B) block attempted abductions at ports of 

11 exit; and 

12 (C) help achieve the return of more ab13 ducted children. 

14 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con15 gress that the United States should set a strong example 

16 for other Convention countries in the timely location and 

17 prompt resolution of cases involving children abducted 

18 abroad and brought to the United States. 

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

20 (1) to protect children whose habitual residence 

21 is the United States from wrongful abduction; 

22 (2) to assist left-behind parents in quickly re23 solving cases and maintaining safe and predictable 

24 contact with their child while an abduction case is 

25 pending; 


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1 (3) to protect the custodial rights of parents, 

2 including military parents, by providing the parents, 

3 the judicial system, and law enforcement authorities 

4 with the information they need to prevent unlawful 

5 abduction before it occurs; 

6 (4) to enhance the prompt resolution of abduc7 tion and access cases; 

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

9 undertaken by the Secretary of State to address per10 sistent problems in the resolution of abduction cases; 

11 (6) to establish a program to prevent wrongful 

12 abductions; and 

13 (7) to increase interagency coordination in pre14 venting international child abduction by convening a 

15 working group composed of presidentially appointed 

16 and Senate confirmed officials from the Department 

17 of State, the Department of Homeland Security, and 

18 the Department of Justice. 

19 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

20 In this Act: 

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

22 child’’ means a child who is the victim of inter23 national child abduction. 

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

25 the alleged wrongful removal of a child from the 


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

2 retention of a child outside such country, in violation 

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

4 the rights of a military parent. 

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

6 case’’ means a case that— 

7 (A) has been reported to the Central Au8 thority of the United States by a left-behind 

9 parent for the resolution of an abduction; and 

10 (B) meets the criteria for an international 

11 child abduction under the Hague Abduction 

12 Convention, regardless of whether the country 

13 at issue is a Convention country. 

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 parent 

17 seeking 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 a bilateral procedures 

2 country, the formal document required, pursu3 ant to the provisions of the applicable arrange4 ment, to request the return of an abducted 

5 child or to request rights of access, as applica6 ble; and 

7 (C) in the case of a non-Convention coun8 try, the formal request by the Central Authority 

9 of the United States to the Central Authority of 

10 such country requesting the return of an ab11 ducted child or for rights of contact with an ab12 ducted child. 

13 (7) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT14 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com15 mittees’’ means the Committee on Foreign Relations 

16 of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

17 of the House of Representatives. 

18 (8) BILATERAL PROCEDURES.—The term ‘‘bi19 lateral procedures’’ means any procedures estab20 lished by, or pursuant to, a bilateral arrangement, 

21 including a Memorandum of Understanding between 

22 the United States and another country, to resolve 

23 abduction and access cases, including procedures to 

24 address interim contact matters. 


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1 (9) BILATERAL PROCEDURES COUNTRY.—The 

2 term ‘‘bilateral procedures country’’ means a coun3 try with which the United States has entered into bi4 lateral procedures, including Memoranda of Under5 standing, with respect to child abductions. 

6 (10) CENTRAL AUTHORITY.—The term ‘‘Cen7 tral Authority’’ means— 

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

9 the meaning given such term in article 6 of the 

10 Hague Abduction Convention; 

11 (B) in the case of an MOU country, the of12 ficial entity designated by the government of 

13 the MOU country within the applicable memo14 randum of understanding pursuant to section 

15 103(b)(1) to discharge the duties imposed on 

16 the entity in such MOU; and 

17 (C) in the case of a non-Convention coun18 try, the foreign ministry or other appropriate 

19 authority of such country. 

20 (11) CHILD.—The term ‘‘child’’ means an indi21 vidual who has not attained 16 years of age. 

22 (12) CONVENTION COUNTRY.—The term ‘‘Con23 vention country’’ means a country for which the 

24 Hague Abduction Convention has entered into force 

25 with respect to the United States. 


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1 (13) HAGUE ABDUCTION CONVENTION.—The 

2 term ‘‘Hague Abduction Convention’’ means the 

3 Convention on the Civil Aspects of International 

4 Child Abduction, done at The Hague October 25, 

5 1980. 

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

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

8 communicate with or visit an abducted child during 

9 the pendency of an abduction case. 

10 (15) LEFT-BEHIND PARENT.—The term ‘‘left11 behind parent’’ means an individual who alleges that 

12 an abduction has occurred that is in breach of rights 

13 of custody attributed to such individual. 

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

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

16 the Hague Abduction Convention has not entered 

17 into force with respect to the United States. 

18 (17) OVERSEAS MILITARY DEPENDENT

19 CHILD.—The term ‘‘overseas military dependent 

20 child’’ means a child whose habitual residence is the 

21 United States according to United States law even 

22 though the child is residing outside the United 

23 States with a military parent. 


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1 (18) OVERSEAS MILITARY PARENT.—The term 

2 ‘‘overseas military parent’’ means an individual 

3 who— 

4 (A) has custodial rights with respect to a 

5 child; and 

6 (B) is serving outside the United States as 

7 a member of the United States Armed Forces. 

8 (19) PATTERN OF NONCOMPLIANCE.— 

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

10 noncompliance’’ means the persistent failure— 

11 (i) of a Convention country to imple12 ment and abide by provisions of the Hague 

13 Abduction Convention; 

14 (ii) of a non-Convention country to 

15 abide by bilateral procedures that have 

16 been established between the United States 

17 and such country; or 

18 (iii) of a non-Convention country to 

19 work with the Central Authority of the 

20 United States to resolve abduction cases. 

21 (B) PERSISTENT FAILURE.—Persistent 

22 failure under subparagraph (A) may be evi23 denced in a given country by the presence of 1 

24 or more of the following criteria: 


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1 (i) Thirty percent or more of the total 

2 abduction cases in such country are unre3 solved abduction cases. 

4 (ii) The Central Authority regularly 

5 fails to fulfill its responsibilities pursuant 

6 to— 

7 (I) the Hague Abduction Conven8 tion; or 

9 (II) any bilateral procedures be10 tween the United States and such 

11 country. 

12 (iii) The judicial or administrative 

13 branch, as applicable, of the national gov14 ernment of a Convention country or a bi15 lateral procedures country fails to regularly 

16 implement and comply with the provisions 

17 of the Hague Abduction Convention or bi18 lateral procedures, as applicable. 

19 (iv) Law enforcement authorities reg20 ularly fail to enforce return orders or de21 terminations of rights of access rendered 

22 by the judicial or administrative authorities 

23 of the government of the country in abduc24 tion cases. 


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

2 access’’ means the establishment of rights of contact 

3 between a child and a parent seeking access in Con4 vention countries under the laws of the country in 

5 which the child is located— 

6 (A) by operation of law; 

7 (B) through a judicial or administrative 

8 determination; or 

9 (C) through a legally enforceable arrange10 ment between the parties. 

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

12 of custody’’ means rights of care and custody of a 

13 child, including the right to determine the place of 

14 residence of a child, under the laws of the country 

15 in which the child is a habitual resident— 

16 (A) attributed to an individual; and 

17 (B) arising— 

18 (i) by operation of law; 

19 (ii) through a judicial or administra20 tive decision; or 

21 (iii) through a legally enforceable ar22 rangement between the parties. 

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

24 ‘‘rights of interim contact’’ means the rights of con25 tact between a child and a left-behind parent, which 


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1 has been provided as a provisional measure while an 

2 abduction case is pending, under the laws of the 

3 country in which the child is located— 

4 (A) by operation of law; 

5 (B) through a judicial or administrative 

6 determination; or 

7 (C) through a legally enforceable arrange8 ment between the parties. 

9 (23) 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 12 months 

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 other ap24 propriate bilateral procedures, if applica25 ble; 


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1 (ii) the judicial or administrative 

2 branch, as applicable, of the government of 

3 the country in which the child is located 

4 has implemented, and is complying with, 

5 the provisions of the Hague Abduction 

6 Convention or other bilateral procedures, 

7 as applicable; 

8 (iii) the left-behind parent reaches a 

9 voluntary arrangement with the other par10 ent; 

11 (iv) the left-behind parent submits a 

12 written withdrawal of the application or 

13 the request for assistance to the Depart14 ment of State; 

15 (v) the left-behind parent cannot be 

16 located for 1 year despite the documented 

17 efforts of the Department of State to lo18 cate the parent; or 

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

20 deceased. 

21 TITLE I—DEPARTMENT OF 

22 STATE ACTIONS 

23 SEC. 101. ANNUAL REPORT. 

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

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1 priate congressional committees an Annual Report on 

2 International Child Abduction. 

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

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

5 1 or more abduction cases, during the preceding cal6 endar year, relating to a child whose habitual resi7 dence is the United States, including a description 

8 of whether each such country— 

9 (A) is a Convention country; 

10 (B) is a bilateral procedures country; 

11 (C) has other procedures for resolving such 

12 abductions; or 

13 (D) adheres to no protocols with respect to 

14 child abduction; 

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

16 were 5 or more pending abduction cases, during the 

17 preceding year, relating to a child whose habitual 

18 residence is the United States— 

19 (A) the number of such new abduction and 

20 access cases reported during the preceding year; 

21 (B) for Convention and bilateral proce22 dures countries— 

23 (i) the number of abduction and ac24 cess cases that the Central Authority of 


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1 the United States transmitted to the Cen2 tral Authority of such country; and 

3 (ii) the number of abduction and ac4 cess cases that were not submitted by the 

5 Central Authority to the judicial or admin6 istrative authority, as applicable, of such 

7 country; 

8 (C) the reason for the delay in submission 

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

10 by the Central Authority of such country to the 

11 judicial or administrative authority of that 

12 country; 

13 (D) the number of unresolved abduction 

14 and access cases, and the length of time each 

15 case has been pending; 

16 (E) the number and percentage of unre17 solved abduction cases in which law enforce18 ment authorities have— 

19 (i) not located the abducted child; 

20 (ii) failed to undertake serious efforts 

21 to locate the abducted child; and 

22 (iii) failed to enforce a return order 

23 rendered by the judicial or administrative 

24 authorities of such country; 


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1 (F) the total number and the percentage of 

2 the total number of abduction and access cases, 

3 respectively, resolved during the preceding year; 

4 (G) recommendations to improve the reso5 lution of abduction and access cases; and 

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

7 child; 

8 (3) the number of abducted children whose ha9 bitual residence is in the United States and who 

10 were returned to the United States from— 

11 (A) Convention countries; 

12 (B) bilateral procedures countries; 

13 (C) countries having other procedures for 

14 resolving such abductions; or 

15 (D) countries adhering to no protocols with 

16 respect to child abduction; 

17 (4) a list of Convention countries and bilateral 

18 procedures countries that have failed to comply with 

19 any of their obligations under the Hague Abduction 

20 Convention or bilateral procedures, as applicable, 

21 with respect to the resolution of abduction and ac22 cess cases; 

23 (5) a list of countries demonstrating a pattern 

24 of noncompliance and a description of the criteria on 


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1 which the determination of a pattern of noncompli2 ance for each country is based; 

3 (6) information on efforts by the Secretary of 

4 State to encourage non-Convention countries— 

5 (A) to ratify or accede to the Hague Ab6 duction Convention; 

7 (B) to enter into or implement other bilat8 eral procedures, including memoranda of under9 standing, with the United States; and 

10 (C) to address pending abduction and ac11 cess cases; 

12 (7) the number of cases resolved without ab13 ducted children being returned to the United States 

14 from Convention countries, bilateral procedures 

15 countries, or other non-Convention countries; 

16 (8) a list of countries that became Convention 

17 countries with respect to the United States during 

18 the preceding year; and 

19 (9) information about efforts to seek resolution 

20 of abduction cases of children whose habitual resi21 dence is in the United States and whose abduction 

22 occurred before the Hague Abduction Convention en23 tered into force with respect to the United States. 

24 (c) EXCEPTIONS.—Unless a left-behind parent pro25 vides written permission to the Central Authority of the 


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1 United States to include personally identifiable informa2 tion about the parent or the child in the Annual Report, 

3 the Annual Report may not include any personally identifi4 able information about any such parent, child, or party 

5 to an abduction or access case involving such parent or 

6 child. 

7 (d) ADDITIONAL SECTIONS.—Each Annual Report 

8 shall also include— 

9 (1) information on the number of unresolved 

10 abduction cases affecting military parents; 

11 (2) a description of the assistance offered to 

12 such military parents; 

13 (3) information on the use of airlines in abduc14 tions, voluntary airline practices to prevent abduc15 tions, and recommendations for best airline practices 

16 to prevent abductions; 

17 (4) information on actions taken by the Central 

18 Authority of the United States to train domestic 

19 judges in the application of the Hague Abduction 

20 Convention; and 

21 (5) information on actions taken by the Central 

22 Authority of the United States to train United 

23 States Armed Forces legal assistance personnel, 

24 military chaplains, and military family support cen25 ter personnel about— 


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1 (A) abductions; 

2 (B) the risk of loss of contact with chil3 dren; and 

4 (C) the legal means available to resolve 

5 such cases. 

6 (e) REPEAL OF THE HAGUE ABDUCTION CONVEN7 TION COMPLIANCE REPORT.—Section 2803 of the For8 eign Affairs Reform and Restructuring Act of 1998 (42 

9 U.S.C. 11611) is repealed. 

10 (f) NOTIFICATION TO CONGRESS ON COUNTRIES IN

11 NONCOMPLIANCE.— 

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

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

14 the Secretary’s determination, pursuant to the provi15 sions under section 202(b), of whether each country 

16 listed in the report has engaged in a pattern of non17 compliance in cases of child abduction during the 

18 preceding 12 months. 

19 (2) CONTENTS.—The section described in para20 graph (1)— 

21 (A) shall identify any action or actions de22 scribed in section 202(d) (or commensurate ac23 tion as provided in section 202(e)) that have 

24 been taken by the Secretary with respect to 

25 each country; 


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1 (B) shall describe the basis for the Sec2 retary’s determination of the pattern of non3 compliance by each country; 

4 (C) shall indicate whether all noneconomic 

5 policy options designed to resolve the pattern of 

6 noncompliance have reasonably been exhausted, 

7 including the consultations required under sec8 tion 203. 

9 SEC. 102. STANDARDS AND ASSISTANCE. 

10 The Secretary of State shall— 

11 (1) ensure that United States diplomatic and 

12 consular missions abroad— 

13 (A) maintain a consistent reporting stand14 ard with respect to abduction and access cases; 

15 (B) designate at least 1 senior official in 

16 each such mission, at the discretion of the Chief 

17 of Mission, to assist left-behind parents from 

18 the United States who are visiting such country 

19 or otherwise seeking to resolve abduction or ac20 cess cases; and 

21 (C) monitor developments in abduction and 

22 access cases; and 

23 (2) develop and implement written strategic 

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1 Convention country in which there are 5 or more 

2 cases of international child abduction. 

3 SEC. 103. BILATERAL PROCEDURES, INCLUDING MEMO4 RANDA OF UNDERSTANDING. 

5 (a) DEVELOPMENT.— 

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

7 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec8 retary of State shall initiate a process to develop and 

9 enter into appropriate bilateral procedures, including 

10 memoranda of understanding, as appropriate, with 

11 non-Convention countries that are unlikely to be12 come Convention countries in the foreseeable future, 

13 or with Convention countries that have unresolved 

14 abduction cases that occurred before the Hague Ab15 duction Convention entered into force with respect to 

16 the United States or that country. 

17 (2) PRIORITIZATION.—In carrying out para18 graph (1), the Secretary of State shall give priority 

19 to countries with significant abduction cases and re20 lated issues. 

21 (b) ELEMENTS.—The bilateral procedures described 

22 in subsection (a) shall include provisions requiring— 

23 (1) the identification of— 

24 (A) the Central Authority; 


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1 (B) the judicial or administrative authority 

2 that will promptly adjudicate abduction and ac3 cess cases; 

4 (C) the law enforcement agencies; and 

5 (D) the implementation of procedures to 

6 ensure the immediate enforcement of an order 

7 issued by the authority identified pursuant to 

8 subparagraph (B) to return an abducted child 

9 to a left-behind parent, including by— 

10 (i) conducting an investigation to as11 certain the location of the abducted child; 

12 (ii) providing protection to the ab13 ducted child after such child is located; 

14 and 

15 (iii) retrieving the abducted child and 

16 making the appropriate arrangements for 

17 such child to be returned to the child’s 

18 country of habitual residence; 

19 (2) the implementation of a protocol to effec20 tuate the return of an abducted child identified in an 

21 abduction case not later than 6 weeks after the ap22 plication with respect to the abduction case has been 

23 submitted to the judicial or administrative authority, 

24 as applicable, of the country in which the abducted 

25 child is located; 


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1 (3) the implementation of a protocol for the es2 tablishment and protection of the rights of interim 

3 contact during pendency of abduction cases; and 

4 (4) the implementation of a protocol to estab5 lish periodic visits between a United States embassy 

6 or consular official and an abducted child, in order 

7 to allow the official to ascertain the child’s location 

8 and welfare. 

9 SEC. 104. REPORT TO CONGRESSIONAL REPRESENTATIVES. 

10 (a) NOTIFICATION.—The Secretary of State shall 

11 submit written notification to the Member of Congress and 

12 Senators, or Resident Commissioner or Delegate, as ap13 propriate, representing the legal residence of a left-behind 

14 parent if such parent— 

15 (1) reports an abduction to the Central Author16 ity of the United States; and 

17 (2) consents to such notification. 

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

19 left-behind parent, including a left-behind parent who pre20 viously reported an abduction to the Central Authority of 

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

22 Act, the notification required under subsection (a) shall 

23 be provided as soon as is practicable. 


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1 TITLE II—ACTIONS BY THE 

2 SECRETARY OF STATE 

3 SEC. 201. RESPONSE TO INTERNATIONAL CHILD ABDUC4 TIONS. 

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

6 United States— 

7 (1) to promote the best interest of children 

8 wrongfully abducted from the United States by— 

9 (A) establishing legal rights and proce10 dures for their prompt return; and 

11 (B) ensuring the enforcement of reciprocal 

12 international obligations under the Hague Ab13 duction Convention or other bilateral proce14 dures, as applicable; 

15 (2) to promote the timely resolution of abduc16 tion cases through 1 or more of the actions de17 scribed in section 202; and 

18 (3) to ensure appropriate coordination within 

19 the Federal Government and between Federal, State, 

20 and local agencies involved in abduction prevention, 

21 investigation, and resolution. 

22 (b) ACTIONS BY THE SECRETARY OF STATE IN RE23 SPONSE TO UNRESOLVED CASES.— 

24 (1) DETERMINATION OF ACTION BY THE SEC25 RETARY OF STATE.—For each abduction or access 


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1 case relating to a child whose habitual residence is 

2 in the United States that remains pending or is oth3 erwise unresolved on the date that is 12 months 

4 after the date on which the Central Authority of the 

5 United States submits such case to a foreign coun6 try, the Secretary of State shall determine whether 

7 the government of such foreign country has failed to 

8 take appropriate steps to resolve the case. If the 

9 Secretary of State determines that such failure oc10 curred, the Secretary should, as expeditiously as 

11 practicable— 

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

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

14 (B) direct the Chief of Mission in that for15 eign country to directly address the resolution 

16 of the case with senior officials in the foreign 

17 government. 

18 (2) AUTHORITY FOR DELAY OF ACTION BY THE

19 SECRETARY OF STATE.—The Secretary of State may 

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

21 Secretary determines that an additional period of 

22 time, not to exceed 1 year, will substantially assist 

23 in resolving the case. 

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

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


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

2 of section 202 after making the determination de3 scribed in paragraph (1), the Secretary, not later 

4 than 15 days after such delay or decision, provide a 

5 report to the appropriate congressional committees 

6 that details the reasons for delaying action or not 

7 taking action, as appropriate. 

8 (4) CONGRESSIONAL BRIEFINGS.—At the re9 quest of the appropriate congressional committees, 

10 the Secretary of State shall provide a detailed brief11 ing, including a written report, if requested, on ac12 tions taken to resolve a case or the cause for delay. 

13 (c) IMPLEMENTATION.— 

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

15 (b), the Secretary of State should— 

16 (A) take 1 or more actions that most ap17 propriately respond to the nature and severity 

18 of the governmental failure to resolve the unre19 solved abduction case; and 

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

21 (i) to initially respond by commu22 nicating with the Central Authority of the 

23 country; and 

24 (ii) if clause (i) is unsuccessful, to tar25 get subsequent actions— 


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1 (I) as narrowly as practicable, 

2 with respect to the agencies or instru3 mentalities of the foreign government 

4 that are responsible for such failures; 

5 and 

6 (II) in ways that respect the sep7 aration of powers and independence of 

8 the judiciary of the country, as appli9 cable. 

10 (2) GUIDELINES FOR ACTIONS BY THE SEC11 RETARY OF STATE.—In addition to the guidelines 

12 under paragraph (1), the Secretary of State, in de13 termining whether to take 1 or more actions under 

14 paragraphs (5) through (7) of section 202(d) or sec15 tion 202(e), shall seek to minimize any adverse im16 pact on— 

17 (A) the population of the country whose 

18 government is targeted by the action or actions; 

19 (B) the humanitarian activities of United 

20 States and nongovernmental organizations in 

21 the country; and 

22 (C) the national security interests of the 

23 United States. 


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1 SEC. 202. ACTIONS BY THE SECRETARY OF STATE IN RE2 SPONSE TO PATTERNS OF NONCOMPLIANCE 

3 IN CASES OF INTERNATIONAL CHILD ABDUC4 TIONS. 

5 (a) RESPONSE TO A PATTERN OF NONCOMPLI6 ANCE.—It is the policy of the United States— 

7 (1) to oppose institutional or other systemic 

8 failures of foreign governments to fulfill their obliga9 tions pursuant to the Hague Abduction Convention 

10 or bilateral procedures, as applicable, to resolve ab11 duction and access cases; 

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

13 compliance with, the Hague Abduction Convention 

14 or bilateral procedures, as appropriate; and 

15 (3) to directly engage with senior foreign gov16 ernment officials to most effectively address patterns 

17 of noncompliance. 

18 (b) DETERMINATION OF COUNTRIES WITH PAT19 TERNS OF NONCOMPLIANCE IN CASES OF INTER20 NATIONAL CHILD ABDUCTION.— 

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

22 of each year, the Secretary of State shall— 

23 (A) review the status of abduction and ac24 cess cases in each foreign country in order to 

25 determine whether the government of such 


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1 country has engaged in a pattern of noncompli2 ance during the preceding 12 months; and 

3 (B) report such determination pursuant to 

4 section 101(f). 

5 (2) DETERMINATIONS OF RESPONSIBLE PAR6 TIES.—The Secretary of State shall seek to deter7 mine the agencies or instrumentalities of the govern8 ment of each country determined to have engaged in 

9 a pattern of noncompliance under paragraph (1)(A) 

10 that are responsible for such pattern of noncompli11 ance— 

12 (A) to appropriately target actions in re13 sponse to such noncompliance; and 

14 (B) to engage with senior foreign govern15 ment officials to effectively address such non16 compliance. 

17 (c) ACTIONS BY THE SECRETARY OF STATE WITH

18 RESPECT TO A COUNTRY WITH A PATTERN OF NON19 COMPLIANCE.— 

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

21 180 days in case of a delay under paragraph (2)) 

22 after a country is determined to have been engaged 

23 in a pattern of noncompliance under subsection 

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


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

2 in subsection (d); 

3 (B) direct the Chief of Mission in that 

4 country to directly address the systemic prob5 lems that led to such determination; and 

6 (C) inform senior officials in the foreign 

7 government of the potential repercussions re8 lated to such designation. 

9 (2) AUTHORITY FOR DELAY OF ACTIONS BY

10 THE SECRETARY OF STATE.—The Secretary shall 

11 not be required to take action under paragraph (1) 

12 until the expiration of a single, additional period of 

13 up to 90 days if, on or before the date on which the 

14 Secretary of State is required to take such action, 

15 the Secretary determines and certifies to the appro16 priate congressional committees that such additional 

17 period is necessary— 

18 (A) for a continuation of negotiations that 

19 have been commenced with the government of a 

20 country described in paragraph (1) in order to 

21 bring about a cessation of the pattern of non22 compliance by such country; 

23 (B) for a review of corrective action taken 

24 by a country after the designation of such counVerDate Mar 15 2010 04:06 Jun 25, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00033 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2509.IS S2509

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1 try as being engaged in a pattern of noncompli2 ance under subsection (b)(1)(A); or 

3 (C) in anticipation that corrective action 

4 will be taken by such country during such 90- 

5 day period. 

6 (3) EXCEPTION FOR ADDITIONAL ACTION BY

7 THE SECRETARY OF STATE.—The Secretary of State 

8 shall not be required to take additional action under 

9 paragraph (1) with respect to a country determined 

10 to have been engaged in a persistent pattern of non11 compliance if the Secretary— 

12 (A) has taken action pursuant to para13 graph (5), (6), or (7) of subsection (d) with re14 spect to such country in the preceding year and 

15 such action continues to be in effect; 

16 (B) exercises the waiver under section 204 

17 and briefs the appropriate congressional com18 mittees; or 

19 (C) submits a report to the appropriate 

20 congressional committees that— 

21 (i) indicates that such country is sub22 ject to multiple, broad-based sanctions; 

23 and 


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1 (ii) describes how such sanctions sat2 isfy the requirements under this sub3 section. 

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

5 days after the submission of the Annual Report, the 

6 Secretary shall submit a report to Congress on the 

7 specific actions taken against countries determined 

8 to have been engaged in a pattern of noncompliance 

9 under this section. 

10 (d) DESCRIPTION OF ACTIONS BY THE SECRETARY

11 OF STATE IN HAGUE ABDUCTION CONVENTION COUN12 TRIES.—Except as provided in subsection (f), the actions 

13 by the Secretary of State referred to in this subsection 

14 are— 

15 (1) a demarche; 

16 (2) an official public statement detailing unre17 solved cases; 

18 (3) a public condemnation; 

19 (4) a delay or cancellation of 1 or more bilat20 eral working, official, or state visits; 

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

22 United States development assistance in accordance 

23 with section 116 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 

24 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151n); 


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

2 United States security assistance in accordance with 

3 section 502B of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 

4 (22 U.S.C. 2304); and 

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

6 assistance to the central government of a country 

7 pursuant to chapter 4 of part II of the Foreign As8 sistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2346 et seq.; relat9 ing to the Economic Support Fund). 

10 (e) COMMENSURATE ACTION.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in sub12 section (f), the Secretary of State may substitute 

13 any other action authorized by law for any action 

14 described in subsection (d) if the Secretary deter15 mines that such action— 

16 (A) is commensurate in effect to the action 

17 substituted; and 

18 (B) would substantially further the pur19 poses of this Act. 

20 (2) NOTIFICATION.—If commensurate action is 

21 taken pursuant to this subsection, the Secretary 

22 shall submit a report to the appropriate congres23 sional committees that— 

24 (A) describes such action; 


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1 (B) explains the reasons for taking such 

2 action; and 

3 (C) specifically describes the basis for the 

4 Secretary’s determination under paragraph (1) 

5 that such action— 

6 (i) is commensurate with the action 

7 substituted; and 

8 (ii) substantially furthers the purposes 

9 of this Act. 

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

11 to take all appropriate actions authorized by law to resolve 

12 the unresolved case or to obtain the cessation of such pat13 tern of noncompliance, as applicable. 

14 (g) HUMANITARIAN EXCEPTION.—Any action taken 

15 pursuant to subsection (d) or (e) may not prohibit or re16 strict the provision of medicine, medical equipment or sup17 plies, food, or other life-saving humanitarian assistance. 

18 SEC. 203. CONSULTATIONS WITH FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS. 

19 As soon as practicable after the Secretary of State 

20 makes a determination under section 201 in response to 

21 a failure to resolve unresolved abduction cases or the Sec22 retary takes an action under subsection (d) or (e) of sec23 tion 202, based on a pattern of noncompliance, the Sec24 retary shall request consultations with the government of 


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1 such country regarding the situation giving rise to such 

2 determination. 

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

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), the Sec5 retary of State may waive the application of any of the 

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

7 with respect to a country if the Secretary determines and 

8 notifies the appropriate congressional committees that— 

9 (1) the government of such country— 

10 (A) has satisfactorily resolved the abduc11 tion cases giving rise to the application of any 

12 of such actions; or 

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

14 noncompliance; or 

15 (2) the national security interest of the United 

16 States requires the exercise of such waiver authority. 

17 (b) CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION.—Not later than 

18 the date on which the Secretary of State exercises the 

19 waiver authority under subsection (a), the Secretary 

20 shall— 

21 (1) notify the appropriate congressional com22 mittees of such waiver; and 

23 (2) provide such committees with a detailed jus24 tification for such waiver, including an explanation 


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1 of the steps the noncompliant government has 

2 taken— 

3 (A) to resolve abductions cases; or 

4 (B) to end its pattern of noncompliance. 

5 (c) PUBLICATION IN FEDERAL REGISTER.—Subject 

6 to subsection (d), the Secretary of State shall ensure that 

7 each waiver determination under this section— 

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

9 (2) is posted on the Department of State 

10 website. 

11 (d) LIMITED DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION.—The 

12 Secretary of State may limit the publication of informa13 tion under subsection (c) in the same manner and to the 

14 same extent as the President may limit the publication of 

15 findings and determinations described in section 654(c) of 

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

17 if the Secretary determines that the publication of such 

18 information would be harmful to the national security of 

19 the United States and would not further the purposes of 

20 this Act. 

21 SEC. 205. TERMINATION OF ACTIONS BY THE SECRETARY 

22 OF STATE. 

23 Any specific action taken under this Act or any 

24 amendment made by this Act with respect to a foreign 

25 country shall terminate on the date on which the Secretary 


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1 of State submits a written certification to Congress that 

2 the government of such country— 

3 (1) has resolved any unresolved abduction case 

4 that gave rise to such specific action; or 

5 (2) has taken substantial and verifiable steps to 

6 correct such country’s persistent pattern of non7 compliance that gave rise to such specific action, as 

8 applicable. 

9 TITLE III—PREVENTION OF 

10 INTERNATIONAL CHILD AB11 DUCTION 

12 SEC. 301. PREVENTING CHILDREN FROM LEAVING THE 

13 UNITED STATES IN VIOLATION OF A COURT 

14 ORDER. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle C of title IV of the 

16 Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 231 et seq.) 

17 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘SEC. 433. PREVENTION OF INTERNATIONAL CHILD ABDUC19 TION. 

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

21 through the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border 

22 Protection (referred to in this section as ‘CBP’), in coordi23 nation with the Secretary of State, the Attorney General, 

24 and the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, 

25 shall establish a program that— 


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1 ‘‘(1) seeks to prevent a child (as defined in sec2 tion 1204(b)(1) of title 18, United States Code) 

3 from departing from the territory of the United 

4 States if a parent or legal guardian of such child 

5 presents a court order from a court of competent ju6 risdiction prohibiting the removal of such child from 

7 the United States to a CBP Officer in sufficient 

8 time to prevent such departure for the duration of 

9 such court order, including through the use of exist10 ing authorities and processes to address the wrong11 ful removal; and 

12 ‘‘(2) leverages other existing authorities and 

13 processes to address the wrongful removal and re14 turn of a child. 

15 ‘‘(b) INTERAGENCY COORDINATION.— 

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

17 shall convene and chair an interagency working 

18 group to prevent international parental child abduc19 tion. The group shall be composed of presidentially 

20 appointed, Senate confirmed officials from— 

21 ‘‘(A) the Department of State; 

22 ‘‘(B) the Department of Homeland Secu23 rity, including U.S. Customs and Border Pro24 tection and U.S. Immigration and Customs En25 forcement; and 


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

2 the Federal Bureau of Investigation. 

3 ‘‘(2) DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE.—The Sec4 retary of Defense shall designate an official within 

5 the Department of Defense— 

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

7 State on international child abduction issues; 

8 and 

9 ‘‘(B) to oversee activities designed to pre10 vent or resolve international child abduction 

11 cases relating to active duty military service 

12 members.’’. 

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

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

15 is amended by adding after the item relating to section 

16 432 the following: 

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

17 SEC. 302. AUTHORIZATION FOR JUDICIAL TRAINING ON 

18 INTERNATIONAL PARENTAL CHILD ABDUC19 TION. 

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

21 to the availability of appropriations, shall seek to provide 

22 training, directly or through another government agency 

23 or nongovernmental organizations, on the effective han24 dling of parental abduction cases to the judicial and ad25 ministrative authorities in countries— 


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1 (1) in which a significant number of unresolved 

2 abduction cases are pending; or 

3 (2) that have been designated as having a pat4 tern of noncompliance under section 202(b). 

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

6 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Presi7 dent shall submit a strategy to carry out the activities de8 scribed in subsection (a) to— 

9 (1) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 

10 Senate; 

11 (2) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 

12 House of Representatives; 

13 (3) the Committee on Appropriations of the 

14 Senate; and 

15 (4) the Committee on Appropriations of the 

16 House of Representatives. 

17 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be 

19 appropriated to the Secretary of State $5,000,000 

20 for each of the fiscal years 2015 and 2016 to carry 

21 out subsection (a). 

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

23 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. 

Æ 


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