106TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. CON. RES. 293
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Urging compliance with the Hague Convention on
the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.
106TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. CON. RES. 293
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Whereas the Department of State reports that at any given
time there are 1,000 open cases of American children ei-
ther abducted from the United States or wrongfully re-
tained in a foreign country;
Whereas many more cases of international child abductions
are not reported to the Department of State;
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Whereas the situation has worsened since 1993, when Con-
gress estimated the number of American children ab-
ducted from the United States and wrongfully retained in
foreign countries to be more than 10,000;
Whereas Congress has recognized the gravity of international
child abduction in enacting the International Parental
Kidnapping Crime Act of 1993 (18 U.S.C. 1204), the
Parental Kidnapping Prevention Act (28 U.S.C. 1738a),
and substantial reform and reporting requirements for
the Department of State in the fiscal years 1998–1999
and 2000–2001 Foreign Relations Authorization Acts;
Whereas the United States became a contracting party in
1988 to the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of
International Child Abduction (in this concurrent resolu-
tion referred to as the ‘‘Hague Convention’’) and adopted
effective implementing legislation in the International
Child Abduction Remedies Act (42 U.S.C. 11601 et seq.);
Whereas the Hague Convention establishes mutual rights and
duties between and among its contracting states to expe-
dite the return of children to the state of their habitual
residence, as well as to ensure that rights of custody and
of access under the laws of one contracting state are ef-
fectively respected in other contracting states, without
consideration of the merits of any underlying child cus-
tody dispute;
Whereas article 13 of the Hague Convention provides a nar-
row exception to the requirement for prompt return of
children, which exception releases the requested state
from its obligation to return a child to the country of the
child’s habitual residence if it is established that there is
a ‘‘grave risk’’ that the return would expose the child to
‘‘physical or psychological harm or otherwise place the
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child in an intolerable situation’’ or ‘‘if the child objects
to being returned and has attained an age and degree of
maturity at which it is appropriate to take account of the
child’s views’’;
Whereas some contracting states, for example Germany, rou-
tinely invoke article 13 as a justification for nonreturn,
rather than resorting to it in a small number of wholly
exceptional cases;
Whereas the National Center for Missing and Exploited Chil-
dren (NCMEC), the only institution of its kind, was es-
tablished in the United States for the purpose of assist-
ing parents in recovering their missing children;
Whereas article 21 of the Hague Convention provides that
the central authorities of all parties to the Convention are
obligated to cooperate with each other in order to pro-
mote the peaceful enjoyment of parental access rights
and the fulfillment of any conditions to which the exer-
cise of such rights may be subject, and to remove, as far
as possible, all obstacles to the exercise of such rights;
Whereas some contracting states fail to order or enforce nor-
mal visitation rights for parents of abducted or wrong-
fully retained children who have not been returned under
the terms of the Hague Convention; and
Whereas the routine invocation of the article 13 exception,
denial of parental visitation of children, and the failure
by several contracting parties, most notably Austria, Ger-
many, Honduras, Mexico, and Sweden, to fully implement
the Convention deprives the Hague Convention of the
spirit of mutual confidence upon which its success de-
pends: Now, therefore, be it
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Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate
concurring), That Congress urges—
(1) all contracting parties to the Hague Con-
vention, particularly European civil law countries
that consistently violate the Hague Convention such
as Austria, Germany and Sweden, to comply fully
with both the letter and spirit of their international
legal obligations under the Convention;
(2) all contracting parties to the Hague Con-
vention to ensure their compliance with the Hague
Convention by enacting effective implementing legis-
lation and educating their judicial and law enforce-
ment authorities;
(3) all contracting parties to the Hague Con-
vention to honor their commitments and return ab-
ducted or wrongfully retained children to their place
of habitual residence without reaching the merits of
any underlying custody dispute and ensure parental
access rights by removing obstacles to the exercise of
such rights;
(4) the Secretary of State to disseminate to all
Federal and State courts the Department of State’s
annual report to Congress on Hague Convention
compliance and related matters; and
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(5) each contracting party to the Hague Con-
vention to further educate its central authority and
local law enforcement authorities regarding the
Hague Convention, the severity of the problem of
international child abduction, and the need for im-
mediate action when a parent of an abducted child
seeks their assistance.
Passed the House of Representatives May 23, 2000.
Attest:
Clerk.