I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3240 

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. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 16, 2009 

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey (for himself, Mr. POE of Texas, Mr. MOLLOHAN, 

Mr. SENSENBRENNER, Mr. WOLF, Mr. INGLIS, Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ

of California, and Mr. FORTENBERRY) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition 

to the Committees on Ways and Means, Financial Services, the Judiciary, 

and Oversight and Government Reform, for a period to be subsequently 

determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To ensure compliance with the 1980 Hague Convention on 

the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction by 

countries with which the United States enjoys reciprocal 

obligations, to establish procedures for the prompt return 

of children abducted to other countries, and for other 

purposes. 

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


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘International Child 

3 Abduction Prevention Act of 2009’’. 

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

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

6 (1) The Department of State’s Office of Chil7 dren’s Issues, which serves as the Central Authority 

8 for the United States for the operation of 1980 

9 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of Inter10 national Child Abduction, is currently handling ap11 proximately 1,900 open cases involving more than 

12 2,800 children abducted by a parent or legal guard13 ian from the United States to other countries. For 

14 a variety of reasons reflecting the legal and factual 

15 complexity of parental abduction cases and the sig16 nificant obstacles to recovery, only a percentage of 

17 all cases are reported to the Department of State. 

18 (2) In fiscal year 2008, the Central Authority 

19 for the United States responded to cases involving 

20 776 children abducted from the United States to 

21 countries with which the United States enjoys recip22 rocal obligations under the Hague Convention, but 

23 during that same time period only 248 children were 

24 returned from Hague Convention countries to the 

25 United States. Also in 2008, the United States Cen26 tral Authority reported 344 newly filed Hague ConVerDate Nov 24 2008 20:01 Jul 17, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3240.IH H3240

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1 vention applications involving 484 children wrongly 

2 removed to or retained in the United States. Two 

3 hundred ten children were returned under the Con4 vention to their country of habitual residence. 

5 (3) The number of outgoing international child 

6 abductions reported to the Central Authority for the 

7 United States increased by about 60 percent in the 

8 last three years, and by about 40 percent in 2008 

9 alone. 

10 (4) In evaluating the obstacles to recovering 

11 children abducted from a parent in the United 

12 States, the first difficulty is presented by countries 

13 who are signatories to the Hague Convention, but 

14 have not acted in compliance with the responsibil15 ities of the Convention. According to the Central Au16 thority for the United States, Honduras has not 

17 acted in compliance with the terms it agreed to as 

18 a party to the Hague Convention, and Brazil, Chile, 

19 Greece, Mexico, Slovakia, Switzerland, and Ven20 ezuela have demonstrated patterns of noncompli21 ance. The failure of these countries to meet their ob22 ligations is found in the actions of their designated 

23 central authorities, the performance of their judi24 ciaries, as reflected in the legal process and decisions 

25 rendered to enforce or effectuate the Hague ConvenVerDate Nov 24 2008 20:01 Jul 17, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3240.IH H3240

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1 tion, or the ability and willingness of law enforce2 ment to insure the swift enforcement of orders ren3 dered pursuant to the Hague Convention. 

4 (5) The United States and other State Signato5 ries to the Hague Convention have expressed their 

6 desire, through the Convention, ‘‘to protect children 

7 internationally from the harmful effects of their 

8 wrongful removal or retention and to establish pro9 cedures to ensure their prompt return to the State 

10 of their habitual residence, as well as to secure pro11 tection for rights of access.’’. 

12 (6) In evaluating and assessing the problem of 

13 the abduction of children from the United States, 

14 the Central Authority for the United States in fiscal 

15 year 2008 reported that it had been provided notice 

16 of 306 cases of parental abductions involving 455 

17 children taken from the United States to countries 

18 with which the United States does not enjoy an 

19 agreement related to the treatment of parental ab20 duction cases and that are not signatories to the 

21 Hague Convention, currently including a cumulative 

22 total of 101 children in Japan, 67 children in India, 

23 and 37 children in Russia. The number of reported 

24 cases likely represents an even smaller percentage of 

25 the total number of United States children impacted 


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1 as the process for the location and recovery of ab2 ducted children differs significantly with each coun3 try, and there is currently no formal protocol for in4 tervening in such cases. 

5 (7) According to the Department of State’s 

6 April 2008 Report on Compliance with the Hague 

7 Convention on the Civil Aspects of International 

8 Child Abduction, ‘‘parental child abduction jeopard9 izes the child and has substantial long-term con10 sequences for both the child and the left-behind par11 ent.’’. 

12 (8) Abducted children are at risk of serious 

13 emotional and psychological problems and have been 

14 found to experience anxiety, eating problems, night15 mares, mood swings, sleep disturbances, aggressive 

16 behavior, resentment, guilt and fearfulness, and as 

17 adults may struggle with identity issues, their own 

18 personal relationships, and parenting. 

19 (9) Left behind parents may encounter substan20 tial psychological, emotional, and financial problems, 

21 and the majority have no means to generate the 

22 enormous financial resources required to pursue in23 dividual civil or criminal remedies to attempt to se24 cure the return of their children, even if such rem25 edies were available or effective in foreign courts or 


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1 political systems. Left-behind parents also often have 

2 to pursue child custody and other protective orders 

3 through expensive litigation at home. 

4 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con5 gress that the United States should set a strong example 

6 for other Hague Convention countries in the timely loca7 tion and return of children wrongly removed from and re8 tained in the United States. 

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

10 (1) protect United States children from the 

11 harmful effects of international child abduction and 

12 to protect the right of children to exercise parental 

13 access with their parents in a safe and predictable 

14 way, wherever located; 

15 (2) provide parents, their advocates, and judges 

16 the information they need to enhance the resolution 

17 of family disputes through established legal proce18 dures, the tools for assessing the risk of wrongful re19 moval and retention of children, and the practical 

20 means for overcoming obstacles to recovering ab21 ducted children; 

22 (3) establish effective mechanisms to provide 

23 assistance to and aggressive advocacy on behalf of 

24 parents whose children have been abducted from the 

25 United States to a foreign country, from a foreign 


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1 country to the United States, and on behalf of mili2 tary parents stationed abroad; 

3 (4) promote an international consensus that the 

4 best interests of children are of paramount impor5 tance in matters relating to their custody, and that 

6 it is in the best interest of a child to have issues of 

7 custody determined in the State of their habitual 

8 residence immediately prior to the abduction; 

9 (5) provide the necessary training for military 

10 officials and training and assistance to military fam11 ilies to address the unique circumstances of the reso12 lution of child custody disputes which occur abroad, 

13 or occur when a parent is serving abroad; 

14 (6) facilitate the creation and effective imple15 mentation of international mechanisms, particularly 

16 the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of 

17 International Child Abduction, to protect children 

18 from the harmful effects of their wrongful removal 

19 and retention; and 

20 (7) facilitate the compliance of the United 

21 States with reciprocal obligations contained in the 

22 Hague Convention regarding children wrongfully re23 moved to or retained in the United States. 

24 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

25 In this Act: 


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1 (1) AMBASSADOR AT LARGE.—The term ‘‘Am2 bassador at Large’’ means the Ambassador at Large 

3 for International Child Abductions appointed under 

4 section 101. 

5 (2) ANNUAL REPORT.—The term ‘‘Annual Re6 port’’ means the Annual Report on International 

7 Child Abductions required under section 102. 

8 (3) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT9 TEES.—Except as otherwise provided, the term ‘‘ap10 propriate congressional committees’’ means the 

11 Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Rep12 resentatives and the Committee on Foreign Rela13 tions of the Senate. 

14 (4) CENTRAL AUTHORITY FOR THE UNITED

15 STATES.—The term ‘‘Central Authority for the 

16 United States’’ has the meaning given such term in 

17 article 6 of the Convention on the Civil Aspects of 

18 International Child Abduction, done at The Hague 

19 on October 25, 1980. 

20 (5) HAGUE CONVENTION.—The term ‘‘Hague 

21 Convention’’ means the Convention on the Civil As22 pects of International Child Abduction, done at The 

23 Hague on October 25, 1980. 

24 (6) HAGUE CONVENTION COMPLIANCE RE25 PORT.—The term ‘‘Hague Convention compliance 


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1 report’’ means the annual report on compliance with 

2 the Hague Convention required to be submitted by 

3 the Department of State to Congress under section 

4 2803 of the Foreign Affairs Reform and Restruc5 turing Act of 1998 (42 U.S.C. 11611). 

6 (7) HAGUE CONVENTION SIGNATORY.—The 

7 term ‘‘Hague Convention signatory’’ means a coun8 try that has signed or acceded to the Convention 

9 and with which the United States has entered into 

10 a reciprocal agreement pursuant to the Convention. 

11 (8) MOU.—The term ‘‘MOU’’ means a memo12 randum of understanding. 

13 (9) MOU COUNTRY.—The term ‘‘MOU coun14 try’’ means a country or entity with which the 

15 United States has entered into a memorandum of 

16 understanding to resolve cases of international child 

17 abduction. Such MOU’s shall include— 

18 (A) identification of a specific protocol de19 signed to establish and effectuate the urgent re20 turn of children abducted from the United 

21 States not later than six weeks after the date 

22 of the application for return of the child having 

23 been received by the agency authorized for such 

24 purposes; 


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1 (B) identification of a specific protocol for 

2 the establishment and protection of the rights 

3 of both interim and ongoing parental access be4 tween children and their parents; 

5 (C) identification of an official entity with6 in the government possessing the authority to 

7 facilitate the resolution of child abduction cases 

8 in cooperation with the Office on International 

9 Child Abductions and left-behind parents in the 

10 United States; 

11 (D) identification of the judicial or admin12 istrative agency possessing the authority to fa13 cilitate the prompt adjudication of a request for 

14 the return of an abducted child to the United 

15 States; 

16 (E) identification of a law enforcement 

17 agency and available mechanisms and proce18 dures to investigate and assist in the location, 

19 protection, and retrieval of an abducted child 

20 and to ensure the immediate enforcement of or21 ders entered by the court in the habitual resi22 dence to return an abducted child to the United 

23 States; 


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1 (F) establishment of welfare and where2 abouts visits between a United States embassy 

3 and a wrongfully removed or retained child; and 

4 (G) additional requisite elements that shall 

5 be satisfied and maintained for purposes of sec6 tion 201(b) as determined by the Secretary of 

7 State. 

8 (10) NONSIGNATORY COUNTRY.—The term 

9 ‘‘nonsignatory country’’ means a country which is 

10 neither a Hague Convention signatory nor a MOU 

11 country to which a United States child has been ab12 ducted or in which a United States child remains 

13 wrongfully retained. 

14 (11) OFFICE.—The term ‘‘Office’’ means the 

15 Office on International Child Abductions established 

16 pursuant to section 101. 

17 (12) PATTERN OF NONCOOPERATION.—The 

18 term ‘‘pattern of noncooperation’’ means a national 

19 government’s systemic failure, evidenced by the ex20 istence of ten or more parental child abduction cases 

21 which, after having been properly prepared and 

22 transmitted by the Central Authority for the United 

23 States remain unresolved within its borders after 18 

24 months or, where there are fewer than ten unre25 solved cases, any cases still unresolved after nine 


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1 months from the time of receipt and transmittal by 

2 the Central Authority for the United States of a re3 quest to fulfill its international obligations with re4 spect to the prompt resolution of cases of child ab5 duction. 

6 (13) RIGHTS OF ACCESS.—The term ‘‘rights of 

7 access’’ means the rights of a parent and child to 

8 enjoy reasonable unfettered contact both within and 

9 outside the State of the child’s habitual residence. 

10 (14) UNRESOLVED ABDUCTION CASE.—The 

11 term ‘‘unresolved abduction case’’ means an abduc12 tion case which has been properly documented to es13 tablish that pursuant to the law of the State of ha14 bitual residence of a minor child, an international 

15 abduction or wrongful retention of such child whose 

16 habitual residence immediately prior to the abduc17 tion was the United States, remains unresolved more 

18 than two months following the date of the receipt 

19 and transmittal by the Central Authority for the 

20 United States of the request for return of such child. 

21 (15) UNRESOLVED ACCESS CASE.—The term 

22 ‘‘unresolved access case’’ means an application for 

23 the establishment of rights of parental access on ei24 ther an interim or permanent basis, or the request 

25 for the enforcement of rights of parental access 


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1 (contact orders) which have been previously estab2 lished by a court of competent jurisdiction, which re3 main unresolved more than two months following the 

4 date of the receipt and transmittal by the Central 

5 Authority for the United States of a request for as6 sistance in the organization of rights of access. 

7 TITLE I—DEPARTMENT OF 

8 STATE ACTIVITIES 

9 SEC. 101. OFFICE ON INTERNATIONAL CHILD ABDUCTIONS; 

10 AMBASSADOR AT LARGE FOR INTER11 NATIONAL CHILD ABDUCTIONS. 

12 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE.—There is estab13 lished within the Department of State an Office on Inter14 national Child Abductions that shall be headed by the Am15 bassador at Large for International Child Abductions ap16 pointed under subsection (b). 

17 (b) APPOINTMENT.—The Ambassador at Large shall 

18 be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and 

19 consent of the Senate. 

20 (c) DUTIES.—The Ambassador at Large shall have 

21 the following responsibilities: 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The primary responsibility 

23 of the Ambassador at Large shall be to— 


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1 (A) promote measures to prevent the inter2 national abduction of children from the United 

3 States; 

4 (B) advocate on behalf of children whose 

5 habitual residence is the United States and who 

6 have been abducted to another country; 

7 (C) assist left-behind parents in the resolu8 tion of abduction or refusal of access cases; and 

9 (D) advance mechanisms to prevent and 

10 resolve cases of international child abduction 

11 abroad. 

12 (2) ADVISORY ROLE.—The Ambassador at 

13 Large shall be a principal adviser to the President 

14 and the Secretary of State regarding matters of 

15 international child abduction and refusals of rights 

16 of access, and shall make recommendations regard17 ing— 

18 (A) the policies of the United States Gov19 ernment toward governments with a pattern of 

20 noncooperation with respect to cases of inter21 national child abduction; 

22 (B) coordination with other United States 

23 agencies regarding criminal prosecutions, 

24 Interpol assistance in the issuance of warrants 

25 and alerts, pending cases, training for United 


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1 States forces, and the negotiation of agree2 ments to protect United States forces stationed 

3 abroad; 

4 (C) policies to address international child 

5 abduction globally; 

6 (D) the position of the United States Gov7 ernment on cases establishing the future func8 tioning of the Hague Convention in the country 

9 at issue; and 

10 (E) the position of the United States Gov11 ernment on a request to accept an accession to 

12 the Hague Convention. 

13 (3) DIPLOMATIC REPRESENTATION.—Subject to 

14 the direction of the President and the Secretary of 

15 State, the Ambassador at Large is authorized to 

16 represent the United States in matters and cases 

17 relevant to international child abduction and refusals 

18 of rights to access in— 

19 (A) contacts with foreign governments, the 

20 World Organization for Cross-border Co-oper21 ation in Civil and Commercial Matters, the 

22 Hague Conference on Private International 

23 Law, and other international organizations of 

24 which the United States is a member; 


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1 (B) multilateral conferences and meetings 

2 relevant to international child abduction; and 

3 (C) advocating accession to the Hague 

4 Convention, or, where accession to the Hague 

5 Convention is not possible, negotiating MOU’s. 

6 (4) REPORTING RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Am7 bassador at Large shall have the reporting respon8 sibilities described in section 102. 

9 (5) CASE FILE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM AND IN10 FORMATION PROTOCOL.—The Ambassador at Large 

11 shall establish a case file management system within 

12 the Office to ensure the maintenance of accurate, 

13 complete, and timely information, to the extent 

14 available, on all cases of international child abduc15 tion or refusal of access about which the Office is 

16 notified, as well as a protocol for the receipt and up17 dating of such information with actions taken by the 

18 Office and responses by the respective country, as 

19 well as deadlines required by the Hague Convention 

20 or the MOU at issue. 

21 (6) UNIFORM CASE INTAKE PROCEDURES.—The 

22 Ambassador at Large shall establish uniform case 

23 intake procedures, which also make note of deadlines 

24 for responses pursuant to the Hague Convention or 

25 MOU, where applicable. 


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1 (7) CIVIL SERVICE EMPLOYEES.—The Ambas2 sador at Large, in cooperation with the Secretary of 

3 State, shall ensure that a majority of the personnel 

4 of the Office are composed of civil service employees 

5 or members of the Service (as such term is described 

6 in section 103 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 

7 (22 U.S.C. 3903)) who shall be permitted to remain 

8 with the Office for at least four years. 

9 (8) LEGAL ADVICE.—The Ambassador at Large 

10 shall make available legal advice to case managers of 

11 the Central Authority of the United States on an as12 needed basis to address country-specific legal issues 

13 and to provide such case managers with information 

14 that can be disseminated generally on questions fre15 quently asked by left behind parents. 

16 (9) USER FRIENDLY RESOURCES.—The Ambas17 sador at Large shall establish user-friendly re18 sources, including— 

19 (A) a toll free number that goes directly to 

20 the Office; and 

21 (B) a language line for left behind parents 

22 who do not speak English. 

23 (10) ASSISTANCE TO JUDGES.—The Ambas24 sador at Large shall— 


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1 (A) be responsible for producing and dis2 seminating a training course for United States 

3 Federal and State judges likely to receive 

4 Hague Convention cases; and 

5 (B) retain not fewer than four specially 

6 trained judges available on an as needed basis 

7 to advise United States Federal and State 

8 judges handling Hague Convention cases. 

9 (d) FUNDING.—The Secretary of State shall provide 

10 the Ambassador at Large with such funds as may be nec11 essary for— 

12 (1) the hiring of staff for the Office; 

13 (2) the conduct of investigations by the Office; 

14 (3) the establishment of a case file management 

15 system; 

16 (4) the translation of case documents in cases 

17 that may have systemic effect in the country in 

18 question; 

19 (5) the development of training materials; and 

20 for 

21 (6) necessary travel to carry out the provisions 

22 of this section. 

23 SEC. 102. ANNUAL REPORT. 

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

25 year or the first day thereafter on which the appropriate 


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1 House of Congress is in session, the Secretary of State, 

2 with the assistance of the Ambassador at Large, shall sub3 mit to Congress an Annual Report on International Child 

4 Abduction by providing detailed information with respect 

5 to unresolved cases about which the Central Authority for 

6 the United States has been notified. Each Annual Report 

7 shall contain the following: 

8 (1) HAGUE CONVENTION SIGNATORY COUN9 TRIES.—Information on the following: 

10 (A) A current list of those countries with 

11 which the United States has reciprocal obliga12 tions under the Hague Convention. 

13 (B) A current list of those countries that 

14 have requested the United States to accept 

15 their accession to the Hague Convention. 

16 (C) The number of pending cases of al17 leged abduction of or refusal of access to chil18 dren from the United States in each the coun19 tries referred to in subparagraphs (A) and (B), 

20 broken-out by type with date of original appli21 cation and country of detention. 

22 (D) The proportion of cases of abduction 

23 of or refusal of access to children from the 

24 United States resolved in each country since the 

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1 tions and the length of time each such case was 

2 pending. 

3 (E) For each pending unresolved case, in4 cluding the current reporting year and previous 

5 years— 

6 (i) the date of the alleged abduction 

7 or wrongful retention; 

8 (ii) the date any administrative or ju9 dicial application pursuant to the Hague 

10 Convention was brought, if applicable; 

11 (iii) detailed information about each 

12 such case, including in the case of judicial 

13 application having been filed, the court 

14 handling the matter and the procedural 

15 history, the specific actions taken by the 

16 United States chief of mission in the coun17 try to which the child is alleged to have 

18 been wrongfully removed or retained, and 

19 the date of submission of documents re20 quired by the application process; and 

21 (iv) detailed information and an as22 sessment of the lack of resolution about 

23 each such case together with a determina24 tion of any systemic issues related to the 

25 Hague Convention signatory country as 


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1 well as recommendation to enhance the 

2 protocol for the improvement of the resolu3 tion of future cases. 

4 (F) A description of the efforts of the Sec5 retary of State to encourage Hague Convention 

6 signatory countries to facilitate the work within 

7 such respective countries of nongovernmental 

8 organizations that assist parents seeking the re9 turn of children under the Hague Convention. 

10 (G) Whether a state of reciprocity no 

11 longer exists between the United States and a 

12 Hague Convention signatory country such that 

13 United States parents, advocates, and judges 

14 should, in assessing the risk of wrongful re15 moval or retention, require strong protective 

16 and preventative measures. 

17 (H) All reporting requirements contained 

18 in the Hague Convention compliance report. 

19 (2) MOU COUNTRIES.—Information on the fol20 lowing: 

21 (A) A list of those countries that are MOU 

22 countries. 

23 (B) A description of the basic elements of 

24 the memorandum of understanding entered into 


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1 with each country specified in subparagraph 

2 (A). 

3 (C) Whether each such country is moving 

4 toward accession to the Hague Convention. 

5 (D) The number of unresolved cases of 

6 wrongful removal or retentions of or refusal of 

7 access to children from the United States in 

8 each such country. 

9 (E) The proportion of cases of abduction 

10 of or refusal of access to children from the 

11 United States resolved in each such country 

12 since the applicable MOU went into force. 

13 (F) For each unresolved abduction or ac14 cess case— 

15 (i) the date of the alleged abduction 

16 or wrongful retention; 

17 (ii) the date of any administrative or 

18 judicial process that was brought seeking 

19 the return of a minor child to the United 

20 States, or brought seeking rights of access 

21 to such child, and in the case of judicial 

22 process, the court in which the matter has 

23 been brought and the procedural history; 


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1 (iii) whether the protocols established 

2 pursuant to the applicable MOU have been 

3 followed; 

4 (iv) detailed information about each 

5 such case, including the specific actions 

6 taken by the United States chief of mission 

7 in the country to which the child is alleged 

8 to have been wrongfully removed or re9 tained and actions by the Central Author10 ity for the United States; 

11 (v) detailed information on and an as12 sessment of the lack of resolution as well 

13 as a determination of any systemic issues 

14 related to the MOU country with specific 

15 attention regarding any failure of any of 

16 the requisite elements of the MOU; and 

17 (vi) recommendations to amend the 

18 applicable MOU to improve the resolution 

19 of cases and ameliorate any systemic 

20 issues. 

21 (3) NONSIGNATORY COUNTRIES.—Information 

22 on the following: 

23 (A) A list of those countries that are nei24 ther Hague Convention signatory countries nor 

25 MOU countries. 


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1 (B) Information on efforts by the Depart2 ment of State to encourage each such nonsigna3 tory country to become a Hague Convention 

4 signatory country or MOU country. 

5 (C) For each unresolved abduction or ac6 cess case— 

7 (i) the date of the alleged abduction 

8 or wrongful retention; 

9 (ii) the date of any administrative or 

10 judicial process that was brought seeking 

11 the return of a minor child to the United 

12 States, or brought seeking rights of access 

13 to such child, and in the case of judicial 

14 process, the court in which the matter has 

15 been brought and the procedural history; 

16 (iii) detailed information about each 

17 such case, including the specific actions 

18 taken by the United States chief of mission 

19 in the country to which the child is alleged 

20 to have been wrongfully removed or re21 tained and any other action taken by the 

22 Central Authority for the United States; 

23 (iv) detailed information on and an 

24 assessment of the reasons for the lack of 

25 a resolution in each such case as well as a 


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1 review of the systemic issues in the host 

2 country which may contribute to or en3 hance the wrongful removal or retention of 

4 children; and 

5 (v) recommendations for specific ac6 tions which may be taken by the United 

7 States Government to improve the resolu8 tion of cases and ameliorate any systemic 

9 issues. 

10 (b) EXCEPTION.—Each Annual Report required 

11 under this section may not include names of parties or 

12 of minor children. Other potentially party-identifying in13 formation shall also be excluded in cases in which the par14 ent remaining in the United States or on a United States 

15 military installation has submitted a request in writing to 

16 the Central Authority for the United States that such in17 formation not be publicized. Information that is subject 

18 to attorney-client privilege may be provided with an exe19 cuted waiver. 

20 (c) ADDITIONAL THEMATIC SECTIONS.—Each An21 nual Report under this section shall also include— 

22 (1) information on the number of unresolved 

23 cases affecting parents who are members of the 

24 Armed Forces and a summary of assistance offered 

25 to such left behind parents; 


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1 (2) information on the use of airlines in inter2 national child abduction, including which airlines are 

3 most commonly used in abduction, voluntary airline 

4 practices to prevent international child abduction, 

5 and recommendations for best airline practices; and 

6 (3) information on actions taken by the Central 

7 Authority for the United States to train domestic 

8 and foreign judges in application of the Hague Con9 vention. 

10 (d) STANDARDS AND ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary of 

11 State shall ensure that United States diplomatic and con12 sular missions abroad maintain a consistent reporting 

13 standard with respect to cases of international child ab14 ductions from the United States to the country in which 

15 each such mission is located, provide appropriate assist16 ance to parents from the United States who are visiting 

17 such country to obtain the return, rights of access to, or 

18 visitation rights with an abducted child, and remain in19 formed of developments in cases of children abducted from 

20 the United States to the country in which such mission 

21 is located. 

22 (e) TERMINATION.—Upon publication of the first An23 nual Report required under this section, the requirement 

24 for the Secretary of State to submit the Hague Convention 


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1 compliance report, in addition to the Annual Report, shall 

2 terminate. 

3 TITLE II—PRESIDENTIAL 

4 ACTIONS 

5 SEC. 201. PRESIDENTIAL ACTIONS IN RESPONSE TO PAT6 TERNS OF NONCOOPERATION IN CASES OF 

7 INTERNATIONAL CHILD ABDUCTIONS. 

8 (a) RESPONSE TO INTERNATIONAL CHILD ABDUC9 TIONS.— 

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

11 policy of the United States to— 

12 (A) promote the best interest of children in 

13 matters relating to their custody or rights of 

14 access by protecting them internationally from 

15 the harmful effects of their wrongful removal or 

16 retention; 

17 (B) oppose practices or policies of the gov18 ernments of foreign countries that fail to ensure 

19 children’s prompt return to the United States 

20 in cases of international child abduction or the 

21 wrongful retention of a child, where the United 

22 States is the child’s habitual residence imme23 diately prior to such abduction, through the ac24 tions described in subsection (b); and 


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1 (C) oppose practices or policies of the gov2 ernments of foreign countries that fail to ensure 

3 children’s continued contact with their parents 

4 by providing for rights of access. 

5 (2) REQUIREMENT OF PRESIDENTIAL AC6 TION.—Whenever the President determines that the 

7 government of a foreign country has engaged in a 

8 pattern of noncooperation, the President shall pro9 mote the resolution of the unresolved cases through 

10 one or more of the actions described in section 

11 204(a). 

12 (b) DESIGNATIONS OF COUNTRIES WITH PATTERNS

13 OF NONCOOPERATION IN CASES OF INTERNATIONAL

14 CHILD ABDUCTION.— 

15 (1) ANNUAL REVIEW.— 

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

17 31 of each year, the President shall review the 

18 status of unresolved cases in each foreign coun19 try to determine whether the government of 

20 each such country has engaged in a pattern of 

21 noncooperation during the preceding 12 months 

22 or since the date of the last review of each such 

23 country under this paragraph, whichever is 

24 longer. The President shall designate each 

25 country the government of which the President 


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1 has determined has engaged in a pattern of 

2 noncooperation as a Country With a Pattern of 

3 Noncooperation. 

4 (B) BASIS OF REVIEW.—Each review con5 ducted under subparagraph (A) shall be based 

6 upon information regarding government re7 sponses to unresolved cases of international 

8 child abduction with respect to each such coun9 try, including the number of cases and the 

10 length of time such cases have been pending, as 

11 described in the latest Annual Report and on 

12 any other evidence available with respect to 

13 each such country. 

14 (C) IMPLEMENTATION.—Any review under 

15 subparagraph (A) of a country may take place 

16 singly or jointly with the review of one or more 

17 countries. 

18 (2) DETERMINATIONS OF RESPONSIBLE PAR19 TIES.—For the government of each country des20 ignated as a Country With a Pattern of Noncoopera21 tion under paragraph (1)(A), the President shall 

22 seek to determine the agency or instrumentality 

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1 priately target Presidential actions under this sec2 tion in response. 

3 (3) CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION.—Whenever 

4 the President designates a country as a Country 

5 With a Pattern of Noncooperation under paragraph 

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

7 after such designation is made, transmit to the ap8 propriate congressional committees information re9 lating to— 

10 (A) the designation of the country, signed 

11 by the President; and 

12 (B) one or more of the Presidential actions 

13 described in paragraphs (10) through (16) of 

14 section 204(a) carried out against such country. 

15 (c) PRESIDENTIAL ACTIONS WITH RESPECT TO A

16 COUNTRY WITH A PATTERN OF NONCOOPERATION.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraphs (2), 

18 (3), and (4) with respect to each Country With a 

19 Pattern of Noncooperation designated under sub20 section (b)(1)(A), the President shall, after the re21 quirements of sections 202 and 203 have been satis22 fied, but not later than 90 days (or 180 days in case 

23 of a delay under paragraph (2)) after the date of 

24 such designation of a country under such subsection, 


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1 carry out one or more of the following actions under 

2 subparagraph (A) or (B): 

3 (A) PRESIDENTIAL ACTIONS.—One or 

4 more of the Presidential actions described in 

5 paragraphs (10) through (16) of section 204(a). 

6 (B) COMMENSURATE ACTIONS.—Commen7 surate action in substitution to any action re8 ferred to in subparagraph (A). 

9 (2) AUTHORITY FOR DELAY OF PRESIDENTIAL

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

12 with respect to a Country With a Pattern of Non13 cooperation, the President determines and certifies 

14 to Congress that a single, additional period of time 

15 not to exceed 90 days is necessary— 

16 (A) for a continuation of negotiations that 

17 have been commenced with the government of 

18 such country to bring about a cessation of the 

19 pattern of noncooperation by such country, or 

20 (B)(i) for a review of corrective action 

21 taken by such country after designation of such 

22 country as a Country With a Pattern of Non23 cooperation, or 


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1 (ii) in anticipation that corrective action 

2 will be taken by such country during such 90- 

3 day period, 

4 the President shall not be required to take such 

5 action until the expiration of such period of 

6 time. 

7 (3) EXCEPTION FOR ONGOING PRESIDENTIAL

8 ACTION.—The President shall not be required to 

9 take action under this paragraph (1) with respect to 

10 a Country With a Pattern of Noncooperation if with 

11 respect to such country the following apply: 

12 (A) The President has taken action pursu13 ant to such paragraph in a preceding year. 

14 (B) Such action is in effect at the time 

15 such country is designated as a Country with a 

16 Pattern of Noncooperation under subsection 

17 (b)(1)(A). 

18 (C) The President reports to Congress the 

19 information described in paragraphs (1), (2), 

20 (3), and (4) of section 203(a) regarding the ac21 tions in effect with respect to such country. 

22 (D) At the time the President designates a 

23 country as a Country With a Pattern of Non24 cooperation, if such country is already subject 

25 to multiple, broad-based sanctions imposed in 


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1 significant part in response to human rights 

2 abuses, and such sanctions are ongoing, the 

3 President may determine that one or more of 

4 such sanctions also satisfies the requirements of 

5 this subsection. In a report to Congress pursu6 ant to paragraphs (1), (2), (3), and (4) of sec7 tion 203(a), the President shall specify the spe8 cific sanction or sanctions that the President 

9 determines satisfy the requirements of this sub10 section. Such specified sanctions shall remain in 

11 effect subject to section 208. 

12 (d) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—A determination 

13 under this Act, or any amendment made by this Act, that 

14 a foreign country has engaged in a pattern of noncoopera15 tion shall not be construed to require the termination of 

16 assistance or other activities with respect to such country 

17 under any other provision of law, including section 116 

18 or 502B of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 

19 2151(n) and 2304). 

20 SEC. 202. CONSULTATIONS. 

21 (a) NOTIFICATION.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para23 graph (2), in accordance with existing law and regu24 lation, the Secretary of State shall notify in writing 

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1 resenting the district of a left behind parent when 

2 such parent reports an international child abduction 

3 to the Department of State. The Secretary shall 

4 maintain a computerized data tracking system to 

5 track and monitor such reported international child 

6 abduction cases. 

7 (2) EXCEPTION.—Paragraph (1) shall not 

8 apply if the left behind parent does not consent to 

9 the notification described in such paragraph. 

10 (b) DUTY TO CONSULT WITH FOREIGN GOVERN11 MENTS.—The President shall— 

12 (1) request consultation with the government of 

13 a country to which a child is alleged to have been 

14 wrongfully removed or retained, regarding the pat15 tern of noncooperation giving rise to action under 

16 section 204; and 

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

18 privately or publicly. 

19 (c) DUTY TO CONSULT WITH LEFT BEHIND PAR20 ENTS IN THE UNITED STATES.—The President shall con21 sult with left behind parents of children in the foreign 

22 countries, or appropriate representatives or representative 

23 groups of such parents, concerning the potential impact 

24 of United States policies to promote the resolution of unre25 solved cases in countries described in subsection (a). 


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1 (d) DUTY TO CONSULT WITH OTHER UNITED

2 STATES INTERESTED PARTIES.—The President shall, as 

3 appropriate, consult with other United States interested 

4 parties regarding the potential impact of intended action 

5 in countries described in subsection (a) on economic or 

6 other interests of the United States. 

7 SEC. 203. REPORT TO CONGRESS. 

8 At such time as the President decides to take action 

9 under section 204 in response to a country that the Presi10 dent has designated as a Country With a Pattern of Non11 cooperation and the President decides to take action under 

12 paragraphs (10) through (16) of section 204, the Presi13 dent shall transmit to the appropriate congressional com14 mittees a report on the following: 

15 (1) IDENTIFICATION OF PRESIDENTIAL AC16 TIONS.—An identification of the action or actions 

17 described in paragraphs (10) through (16) of section 

18 204 (or commensurate action in substitution there19 to) to be taken with respect to such country. 

20 (2) DESCRIPTION OF VIOLATIONS.—A descrip21 tion of the unresolved cases of child abduction giving 

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

23 President. 


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1 (3) PURPOSE OF PRESIDENTIAL ACTIONS.—A 

2 description of the purpose of the Presidential action 

3 or actions. 

4 (4) EVALUATION.— 

5 (A) DESCRIPTION.—An evaluation, in con6 sultation with the Secretary of State, the Am7 bassador at Large, the parties described in sub8 sections (c) and (d) of section 202, and other 

9 parties the President determines appropriate, 

10 of— 

11 (i) the impact upon such unresolved 

12 cases in such country; 

13 (ii) the impact upon the government 

14 of such country; 

15 (iii) the impact upon the population of 

16 such country; and 

17 (iv) the impact upon the United 

18 States economy and other interested par19 ties. 

20 (B) AUTHORITY TO WITHHOLD DISCLO21 SURE.—The President may withhold part or all 

22 of such evaluation from the public, if classified, 

23 but shall provide the entire evaluation to Con24 gress. 


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1 (5) STATEMENT OF POLICY OPTIONS.—A state2 ment that noneconomic policy options designed to 

3 bring about a resolution of the pattern of non4 cooperation in such country have reasonably been 

5 exhausted, including the consultations required in 

6 accordance with section 202. 

7 SEC. 204. PRESIDENTIAL ACTIONS. 

8 (a) DESCRIPTION OF PRESIDENTIAL ACTIONS.—Ex9 cept as provided in subsection (c), the President may take 

10 the following actions with respect to a country that the 

11 President has designated as a Country With a Pattern of 

12 Noncooperation under section 201: 

13 (1) A private demarche. 

14 (2) An official public demarche. 

15 (3) A statement of nonreciprocity under the 

16 Hague Convention. 

17 (4) A public condemnation. 

18 (5) A public condemnation within one or more 

19 multilateral fora. 

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

21 scientific exchanges. 

22 (7) The delay or cancellation of one or more 

23 cultural exchanges. 

24 (8) The denial of one or more working, official, 

25 or state visits. 


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1 (9) The delay or cancellation of one or more 

2 working, official, or state visits. 

3 (10) The restriction of the number of visas 

4 issued to nationals of such country pursuant to sub5 paragraphs (F), (J), or (M) of section 101(a)(15) of 

6 the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

7 1101(a)(15)). 

8 (11) The withdrawal, limitation, or suspension 

9 of United States development assistance in accord10 ance with section 116 of the Foreign Assistance Act 

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

12 (12) Directing the Export-Import Bank of the 

13 United States, the Overseas Private Investment Cor14 poration, or the Trade and Development Agency not 

15 to approve the issuance of any (or a specified num16 ber of) guarantees, insurance, extensions of credit, 

17 or participation in the extension of credit with re18 spect to such government or the agency or instru19 mentality of such government determined by the 

20 President to be responsible for such pattern of non21 cooperation. 

22 (13) The withdrawal, limitation, or suspension 

23 of United States security assistance in accordance 

24 with section 502B of the Foreign Assistance Act of 

25 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2304). 


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1 (14) In accordance with section 701 of the 

2 International Financial Institutions Act of 1977 (22 

3 U.S.C. 262d), directing the United States executive 

4 directors of international financial institutions to op5 pose and vote against loans primarily benefitting the 

6 such government or the agency or instrumentality of 

7 such government determined by the President to be 

8 responsible for such pattern of noncooperation. 

9 (15) The denial, withdrawal, suspension, or lim10 itation of benefits provided pursuant to title V of the 

11 Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2461 et seq.), relat12 ing to the Generalized System of Preferences. 

13 (16) Ordering the heads of the appropriate 

14 United States agencies not to issue any (or a speci15 fied number of) specific licenses, and not to grant 

16 any other specific authority (or a specified number 

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

18 such government or to the agency or instrumentality 

19 of such government determined by the President to 

20 be responsible for such pattern of noncooperation, 

21 under— 

22 (A) the Export Administration Act of 

23 1979; 

24 (B) the Arms Export Control Act; 

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


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1 (D) any other statute that requires the 

2 prior review and approval of the United States 

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

5 (17) Prohibiting any United States financial in6 stitution from making loans or providing credits to7 taling more than $10,000,000 in any 12-month pe8 riod to such government or to the agency or instru9 mentality of such government or determined by the 

10 President to be responsible for such pattern of non11 cooperation. 

12 (18) Prohibiting the United States Government 

13 from procuring, or entering into any contract for the 

14 procurement of, any goods or services from such 

15 government or from the agency or instrumentality of 

16 such government determined by the President to be 

17 responsible for such pattern of noncooperation. 

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

19 subsection (c), the President may substitute any other ac20 tion authorized by law for any action described in para21 graphs (1) through (16) of subsection (a) if such action 

22 is commensurate in effect to the action substituted and 

23 if such action would further the purposes of this Act as 

24 specified in section 2(c). The President shall seek to take 

25 all appropriate and feasible actions authorized by law to 


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1 obtain the cessation of such pattern of noncooperation. If 

2 commensurate action is taken under this subsection, the 

3 President shall transmit to the appropriate congressional 

4 committees a report on such action, together with an ex5 planation for taking such action. 

6 (c) EXCEPTIONS.—Any action taken pursuant to sub7 section (a) or (b) may not prohibit or restrict the provision 

8 to such country of medicine, medical equipment, or sup9 plies, food, or other humanitarian assistance. 

10 SEC. 205. EFFECTS ON EXISTING CONTRACTS. 

11 The President shall not be required to apply or main12 tain any action under this section 204— 

13 (1) in the case of procurement of defense arti14 cles or defense services— 

15 (A) under existing contracts or sub16 contracts, including the exercise of options for 

17 production quantities, to satisfy requirements 

18 essential to the national security of the United 

19 States; 

20 (B) if the President determines in writing 

21 and transmits to Congress a report that the 

22 government of a foreign country or the agency 

23 or instrumentality of such government to which 

24 such action would otherwise be applied is a sole 

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1 ices, that such defense articles or services are 

2 essential, and that alternative sources are not 

3 readily or reasonably available; or 

4 (C) if the President determines in writing 

5 and transmits to Congress a report that such 

6 defense articles or services are essential to the 

7 national security of the United States under de8 fense co-production agreements; or 

9 (2) to products or services provided under con10 tracts entered into before the date on which the 

11 President publishes in the Federal Register notice of 

12 such action in accordance with section 207. 

13 SEC. 206. PRESIDENTIAL WAIVER. 

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

15 President may waive the application of any of the actions 

16 described in paragraphs (10) through (16) of section 

17 204(a) (or commensurate action in substitution thereto) 

18 with respect to a country that the President has des19 ignated as a Country With a Pattern of Noncooperation 

20 under section 201, if the President determines and so re21 ports to the appropriate congressional committees that— 

22 (1) the government of such has satisfactorily 

23 resolved the unresolved cases giving rise to the appli24 cation of any of such actions and— 


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1 (A) if such country is a Hague Convention 

2 signatory country, such country has taken 

3 measures to ensure future compliance with the 

4 provisions of the Hague Convention; 

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

6 such country has taken measures to ensure fu7 ture compliance with the provisions of the MOU 

8 at issue; or 

9 (C) if such country is a Nonsignatory 

10 country at the time the abductions or retentions 

11 resulting in the unresolved cases occurred, such 

12 country has become a Hague Convention signa13 tory country or a MOU country; 

14 (2) the exercise of such waiver authority would 

15 further the purposes of this Act; or 

16 (3) the important national interest of the 

17 United States requires the exercise of such waiver 

18 authority. 

19 (b) CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION.—Not later than 

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

21 the President shall notify the appropriate congressional 

22 committees of such waiver or the intention to exercise such 

23 waiver, together with a detailed justification thereof. 


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1 SEC. 207. PUBLICATION IN FEDERAL REGISTER. 

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

3 President shall ensure publication in the Federal Register 

4 of the following: 

5 (1) DETERMINATIONS OF GOVERNMENTS, 

6 AGENCIES, INSTRUMENTALITIES OF COUNTRIES

7 WITH PATTERNS OF NONCOOPERATION.—Any des8 ignation of a country that the President has des9 ignated as a Country With a Pattern of Noncoopera10 tion under section 201, together with, when applica11 ble and to the extent practicable, the identities of 

12 agencies, instrumentalities, or officials determined to 

13 be responsible for such pattern of noncooperation. 

14 (2) PRESIDENTIAL ACTIONS.—A description of 

15 any action under paragraphs (10) through (16) of 

16 section 204(a) (or commensurate action in substi17 tution thereto) and the effective date of such action. 

18 (3) DELAYS IN TRANSMITTAL OF PRESI19 DENTIAL ACTION REPORTS.—Any delay in trans20 mittal of a report required under in section 203. 

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

22 206. 

23 (b) LIMITED DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION.—The 

24 President may limit publication of information under this 

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

26 the President may limit the publication of findings and 


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

2 Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2414(c)), if the Presi3 dent determines that the publication of such informa4 tion— 

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

6 the United States; or 

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

8 SEC. 208. TERMINATION OF PRESIDENTIAL ACTIONS. 

9 Any action taken under this Act or any amendment 

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

11 terminate on the earlier of the following dates: 

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

13 date of such action unless expressly reauthorized by 

14 law. 

15 (2) Upon the determination by the President, in 

16 consultation with the Office, and certification to 

17 Congress that the government of such country has 

18 taken substantial and verifiable steps to correct the 

19 pattern of noncooperation at issue that gave rise to 

20 such action. 

21 SEC. 209. PRECLUSION OF JUDICIAL REVIEW. 

22 No court shall have jurisdiction to review any Presi23 dential determination or agency action under this Act or 

24 any amendment made by this Act. 


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1 SEC. 210. UNITED STATES ASSISTANCE. 

2 (a) IMPLEMENTATION OF PROHIBITION ON ECO3 NOMIC ASSISTANCE.—Section 116(c) of the Foreign As4 sistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151n(c)) is amended— 

5 (1) in matter preceding paragraph (1), by in6 serting ‘‘and in consultation with the Ambassador at 

7 Large for International Child Abduction’’ after 

8 ‘‘Freedom’’; 

9 (2) in paragraph (3)(B), by striking the period 

10 at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

11 (3) by adding at the end the following new 

12 paragraph: 

13 ‘‘(4) whether the government— 

14 ‘‘(A) has engaged in a pattern of non15 cooperation regarding unresolved cases of al16 leged international child abduction or denial of 

17 rights of access, as such terms are defined in 

18 the International Child Abduction Prevention 

19 Act of 2009; or 

20 ‘‘(B) has failed to undertake serious and 

21 sustained efforts to locate children allegedly ab22 ducted to the country when such efforts could 

23 have been reasonably undertaken.’’. 

24 (b) IMPLEMENTATION OF PROHIBITION ON MILITARY

25 ASSISTANCE.—Section 502B(a)(4) of the Foreign Assist26 ance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2304(a)(4)) is amended— 


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1 (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘or’’ at 

2 the end; 

3 (2) in subparagraph (B), by striking the period 

4 at the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

5 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub6 paragraphs: 

7 ‘‘(C) has engaged in a pattern of non8 cooperation regarding unresolved cases of al9 leged international child abduction or denial of 

10 rights of access, as such terms are defined in 

11 the International Child Abduction Protection 

12 Act of 2009; or 

13 ‘‘(D) has failed to undertake serious and 

14 sustained efforts to locate children allegedly ab15 ducted to the country when such efforts could 

16 have been reasonably undertaken.’’. 

17 (c) EXPANDED CONSULTATION.—Section 502B(b) of 

18 the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2304(b)) 

19 is amended, in the first sentence, by inserting ‘‘and with 

20 the assistance of the Ambassador at Large for Inter21 national Child Abduction,’’ after ‘‘the Ambassador at 

22 Large for International Religious Freedom,’’. 


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1 SEC. 211. MULTILATERAL ASSISTANCE. 

2 Section 701 of the International Financial Institu3 tions Act (22 U.S.C. 262d) is amended by adding at the 

4 end the following new subsection: 

5 ‘‘(h) In determining whether the government of a 

6 country engages in a pattern of gross violations of inter7 nationally recognized human rights, as described in sub8 section (a), the President shall give particular consider9 ation to whether such government— 

10 ‘‘(1) has engaged in a pattern of noncoopera11 tion regarding unresolved cases of alleged inter12 national child abduction or denial of rights of access, 

13 as such terms are defined in the International Child 

14 Abduction Prevention Act of 2009; or 

15 ‘‘(2) has failed to undertake serious and sus16 tained efforts to locate children allegedly abducted to 

17 such country when such efforts could have been rea18 sonably undertaken.’’. 

19 SEC. 212. AMENDMENT TO GENERALIZED SYSTEM OF PREF20 ERENCES ELIGIBILITY FOR GENERALIZED 

21 SYSTEM OF PREFERENCES. 

22 Section 502(b)(2) of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 

23 U.S.C. 2462(b)(2)) is amended— 

24 (1) by inserting after subparagraph (H) the fol25 lowing new subparagraph: 


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1 ‘‘(I) Such country is a country with a pat2 tern of noncooperation regarding unresolved 

3 cases of alleged international child abduction or 

4 denial of rights of access, as such terms are de5 fined in the International Child Abduction Pre6 vention Act of 2009.’’; and 

7 (2) in the flush left matter after subparagraph 

8 (I)— 

9 (A) by striking ‘‘and (H)’’ and inserting 

10 ‘‘(H)’’; and 

11 (B) by inserting after ‘‘D))’’ the following: 

12 ‘‘and (I)’’. 

13 TITLE III—MISCELLANEOUS 

14 PROVISIONS 

15 SEC. 301. AMENDMENT OF RESTRICTION FOR THE 

16 ISSUANCE OF PASSPORTS FOR CHILDREN 

17 UNDER AGE 14. 

18 Section 236(a)(2)(B) of the Admiral James W. 

19 Nance and Meg Donovan Foreign Relations Authorization 

20 Act, Fiscal Years 2000 and 2001 is amended— 

21 (1) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end; 

22 (2) in clause (iii), by striking the period at the 

23 end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

24 (3) by adding at the end the following new 

25 clause: 


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1 ‘‘(iv) in cases in which the child is liv2 ing outside the United States, such person 

3 is a United States citizen, has joint cus4 tody over the child, and is executing the 

5 application for issuance of a passport out6 side the United States.’’. 

7 SEC. 302. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

8 There is authorized to be appropriated such sums as 

9 may be necessary for each of fiscal years 2010 through 

10 2013 to carry out this Act and the amendments made by 

11 this Act. 

Æ 


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