III
107TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. CON. RES. 69
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
MARCH 22, 2001
Received
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of the Congress on the Hague Conven-
tion on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduc-
tion and urging all Contracting States to the Convention
to recommend the production of practice guides.
Whereas 20 years ago, the Hague Convention on the Civil
Aspects of International Child Abduction was a bold step
forward to provide a uniform process for resolving inter-
national child abduction cases;
Whereas over the past 2 decades, the Convention has had in-
creasingly important and positive effects and has grown
HCON 69 RDS
in terms of the number of Contracting States and the
level of interest of other nations;
Whereas there has been an increase of multinational mar-
riages and a corresponding increase of international ab-
ductions of children by parents;
Whereas as travel becomes faster and easier, and as multi-
national marriages become more common, the Convention
is more significant than ever;
Whereas on 2 occasions, the International Centre for Missing
and Exploited Children and the National Center for
Missing and Exploited Children have convened profes-
sionals and experts in international child abduction to ex-
amine their experiences with the Convention;
Whereas on both occasions, the participants affirmed their
overwhelming commitment to the Convention, but were
also unified in the conclusion that there are serious short-
comings in its implementation;
Whereas the shortcomings include—
(1) a lack of awareness by policy makers and the
general public of the Convention and of the problem of
international child abduction, making the successful reso-
lution of cases more difficult;
(2) the fact that, in too many instances, the process
for resolving an international child abduction is too slow;
(3) a lack of uniformity in the interpretation of the
Convention from nation to nation;
(4) the fact that key exceptions provided in the Con-
vention to ensure reason and common sense have in some
cases ceased to be viewed as exceptions, have instead be-
come the rule, and are frequently used as justifications
for not returning abducted children;
HCON 69 RDS
(5) the increasing difficulty of enforcing access
rights for parents under Article 21 of the Convention;
(6) the need of parents for significant personal fi-
nancial resources to obtain legal representation and pro-
ceed under the Convention and, in many places, the lack
of assistance for parents who do not have such resources;
(7) a serious lack of training, knowledge, and experi-
ence for judges in international child abduction cases, be-
cause there are too many courts hearing these cases and
in most instances few such cases for each court; and
(8) in many instances, the lack of enforcement of
court orders for the return of children;
Whereas the Permanent Bureau of The Hague Conference on
Private International Law has made significant contribu-
tions to the implementation of the Convention but recog-
nizes that more needs to be done; and
Whereas the International Centre for Missing and Exploited
Children has promised to support an effort to produce
practice guides to provide a framework for applying the
Convention: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate
concurring), That—
(1) it is the sense of the Congress that—
(A) the original intent of the Hague Con-
vention on the Civil Aspects of International
Child Abduction—to provide a uniform process
for resolving international child abduction
cases—is more important than ever;
(B) practice guides should be developed for
the Convention that build on recognized best
HCON 69 RDS
practices under the Convention and provide a
framework for applying the Convention;
(C) the Convention itself need not be modi-
fied;
(D) the practices identified and included in
the practice guides should not be legally binding
on Contracting States to the Convention and
should be based on research and the advice of
experts to help ensure the most effective proc-
ess possible;
(E) the practice guides should be developed
in 3 stages: comparative research and consulta-
tions, meetings of expert committees to develop
drafts, and consideration of the drafts by a fu-
ture Special Commission; and
(F) the Permanent Bureau of The Hague
Conference on Private International Law should
organize the process of developing the practice
guides; and
(2) the Congress urges all Contracting States to
the Convention to adopt a resolution recommending
that—
(A) the Permanent Bureau of The Hague
Conference 
on 
Private 
International 
Law
produce and promote practice guides to assist
HCON 69 RDS
in the implementation and operation of the
Convention; and
(B) such a proposal to produce practice
guides be adopted by the Fourth Special Com-
mission at The Hague in March 2001.
Passed the House of Representatives March 22,
2001.
Attest:
JEFF TRANDAHL,
Clerk.