which the determination of a pattern of noncoopera-
tion for each country is based. 
(5)(A) Information on efforts by the Secretary 
of State to encourage other countries to become sig-
natories to the Hague Abduction Convention or to 
enter into an MOU. 
(B) The efforts referred to in subparagraph (A) 
shall include efforts to address pending abduction 
cases and access cases in such country. 
(6) A description of the efforts of the Secretary 
of State to encourage Convention countries and 
MOU countries to facilitate the work of nongovern-
mental organizations within their respective coun-
tries that assist left-behind parents. 
(c) EXCEPTION.—The Annual Report shall not in-
clude— 
(1) the names of left-behind parents or children 
involved in abduction cases or access cases; or 
(2) information that may identify a party in-
volved in an abduction case or access case unless the 
party stipulates in writing to the Central Authority 
of the United States that such information may be 
included in the Annual Report. 
(d) ADDITIONAL THEMATIC SECTIONS.—Each An-
nual Report shall also include— 
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(1) information on the number of unresolved 
cases affecting left-behind parents who are military 
parents and a summary of assistance offered to such 
left-behind parents; 
(2) information on the use of airlines in abduc-
tions, including which airlines have been utilized to 
carry out an abduction, voluntary airline practices to 
prevent abductions, and recommendations for best 
airline practices to prevent abductions; 
(3) information on actions taken by the Central 
Authority of the United States to train domestic 
judges in application of the Hague Abduction Con-
vention; and 
(4) information on actions taken by the Central 
Authority of the United States to train United 
States Armed Forces legal assistance personnel, 
military chaplains, and military family support cen-
ter personnel about abductions, the risk of loss of 
access to children, and the legal frameworks avail-
able to resolve such cases. 
(e) REPEAL OF THE HAGUE CONVENTION COMPLI-
ANCE REPORT.—Section 2803 of the Foreign Affairs Re-
form and Restructuring Act of 1998 (42 U.S.C. 11611) 
is repealed. 
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SEC. 102. STANDARDS AND ASSISTANCE. 
The Secretary of State shall ensure that United 
States diplomatic and consular missions abroad— 
(1) maintain a consistent reporting standard 
with respect to abduction cases and access cases in-
volving abducted children in the country in which 
such mission is located for purposes of the Annual 
Report; 
(2) designate at least one official in each such 
mission to assist left-behind parents from the United 
States who are visiting such country to resolve cases 
involving an abduction or rights of access; and 
(3) monitor developments in cases involving ab-
ducted children in the country in which such mission 
is located. 
SEC. 103. MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State shall seek 
to enter into an MOU with every country that is not a 
Convention country. 
(b) MOU PROVISIONS.—An MOU shall include, with 
respect to the applicable MOU country— 
(1) identification of the Central Authority; 
(2) a protocol to identify, locate, and effectuate 
the return of an abducted child identified in an ab-
duction case not later than 6 weeks after the appli-
cation with respect to the abduction case has been 
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submitted to the judicial or administrative authority, 
as applicable, of the country in which the abducted 
child is located; 
(3) a protocol for the establishment and protec-
tion of the rights of access; 
(4) identification of the judicial or administra-
tive authority that will promptly adjudicate abduc-
tion cases and access cases; 
(5) identification of a law enforcement agency 
and available law enforcement mechanisms and pro-
cedures to ensure the immediate enforcement of an 
order issued by the authority identified pursuant to 
paragraph (4) to return an abducted child to a left- 
behind parent, including by— 
(A) conducting an investigation to ascer-
tain the location of the abducted child; 
(B) providing protection to the abducted 
child after such child is located; and 
(C) retrieving the abducted child and mak-
ing the appropriate arrangements for such child 
to be returned to the country of habitual resi-
dence; 
(6) a protocol to establish periodic visits be-
tween a United States embassy or consular official 
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and an abducted child to allow the official to ascer-
tain the child’s location and welfare; and 
(7) such other provisions as determined to be 
appropriate by the Secretary of State. 
(c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act shall be 
construed to prohibit the United States from pro-
posing and entering into a memorandum of under-
standing with a Convention country to further clar-
ify the reciprocal obligations of the United States 
and the Convention country under the Hague Ab-
duction Convention. 
(2) TREATMENT OF OBLIGATIONS OF CONVEN-
TION COUNTRY.—In those instances in which there 
is a memorandum of understanding as described in 
paragraph (1), the obligations of the Convention 
country under such memorandum shall be consid-
ered to be obligations of such country under the 
Hague Abduction Convention for purposes of this 
Act. 
SEC. 104. NOTIFICATION OF CONGRESSIONAL REPRESENT-
ATIVES. 
(a) NOTIFICATION.—Except as provided in sub-
section (b), the Secretary of State shall notify in writing 
the Member of Congress and Senators representing the 
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legal residence of a left-behind parent when such parent 
reports an abduction to the Central Authority of the 
United States. 
(b) EXCEPTION.—The notification requirement under 
subsection (a) shall not apply if the left-behind parent 
does not consent to the notification described in such sub-
section. 
(c) MEMBER OF CONGRESS DEFINED.—In this sec-
tion, the term ‘‘Member of Congress’’ means a Represent-
ative in, or Delegate or Resident Commissioner to, the 
Congress. 
TITLE II—PRESIDENTIAL 
ACTIONS 
SEC. 201. PRESIDENTIAL ACTIONS IN RESPONSE TO UNRE-
SOLVED CASES. 
(a) RESPONSE TO INTERNATIONAL CHILD ABDUC-
TIONS.— 
(1) UNITED STATES POLICY.—It shall be the 
policy of the United States to— 
(A) promote the best interest of children 
abducted from the United States by estab-
lishing legal rights and procedures for their 
prompt return and by promoting such rights 
and procedures through actions that ensure the 
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enforcement of reciprocal international obliga-
tions; and 
(B) recognize the international character 
of the Hague Abduction Convention, and the 
need for reciprocity pursuant to and the uni-
form international interpretation of the Hague 
Abduction Convention, by promoting the timely 
resolution of abduction cases and access cases 
through 1 or more of the actions described in 
section 205. 
(2) REQUIREMENT
OF
PRESIDENTIAL
AC-
TION.—Whenever the President determines that the 
government of a foreign country has failed to resolve 
an unresolved abduction case or unresolved access 
case, the President shall oppose such failure through 
one or more of the actions described in subsection 
(b). 
(b) PRESIDENTIAL ACTIONS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraphs (2) 
and (3), the President, in consultation with the Sec-
retary of State, shall, as expeditiously as practicable 
in response to the failure described in subsection (a) 
by the government of a foreign country, take 1 or 
more of the actions described in paragraphs (1) 
through (18) of section 205(a) (or commensurate ac-
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tion as provided in section 205(b)) with respect to 
such country. 
(2) DEADLINE FOR ACTIONS.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 
subparagraph (B), not later than March 31 of 
each year, the President shall take 1 or more 
of the actions described in paragraphs (1) 
through (18) of section 205(a) (or commensu-
rate action as provided in section 205(b)) with 
respect to each foreign country the government 
of which has failed to resolve an unresolved ab-
duction case or access case that is pending as 
of such date. 
(B) EXCEPTION.—In the case of an action 
under any of paragraphs (11) through (18) of 
section 205(a) (or commensurate action as pro-
vided in section 205(b))— 
(i) the action may only be taken after 
the requirements of sections 203 and 204 
have been satisfied; and 
(ii) the March 31 deadline to take the 
action shall not apply. 
(3) AUTHORITY FOR DELAY OF PRESIDENTIAL 
ACTIONS.—The President may delay action de-
scribed in any of the paragraphs (11) through (18) 
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of section 205(a) (or commensurate action as pro-
vided in section 205(b)), as required under para-
graph (2), if the President determines and certifies 
to the appropriate congressional committees that a 
single, additional period of time, not to exceed 90 
days, is necessary— 
(A) for a continuation of negotiations that 
have been commenced with the country to re-
solve the unresolved case; or 
(B) in anticipation that the case will be re-
solved by such country during such 90-day pe-
riod. 
(c) IMPLEMENTATION.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out subsection 
(b), the President shall— 
(A) take 1 or more actions that most ap-
propriately respond to the nature and severity 
of the failure to resolve the unresolved cases; 
and 
(B) seek to the fullest extent possible to 
target action as narrowly as practicable with re-
spect to the agencies or instrumentalities of the 
foreign government that are responsible for 
such failures. 
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(2) 
GUIDELINES
FOR
PRESIDENTIAL
AC-
TIONS.—In addition to the guidelines under para-
graph (1), the President, in determining whether to 
take 1 or more actions under paragraphs (11) 
through (18) of section 205(a) (or commensurate ac-
tion as provided in section 205(b)), shall seek to 
minimize any adverse impact on— 
(A) the population of the country whose 
government is targeted by the action or actions; 
and 
(B) the humanitarian activities of United 
States and foreign nongovernmental organiza-
tions in the country. 
SEC. 202. PRESIDENTIAL ACTIONS IN RESPONSE TO PAT-
TERNS OF NONCOOPERATION IN CASES OF 
INTERNATIONAL CHILD ABDUCTIONS. 
(a) RESPONSE
TO
A PATTERN
OF NONCOOPERA-
TION.— 
(1) UNITED STATES POLICY.—It shall be the 
policy of the United States to— 
(A) oppose institutional or other systemic 
failures of foreign governments to fulfill their 
obligations pursuant to the Hague Abduction 
Convention or MOU, as applicable, to resolve 
abduction cases and access cases; and 
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(B) promote reciprocity pursuant to and 
compliance with the Hague Abduction Conven-
tion by Convention countries and compliance 
with the applicable MOU by MOU countries. 
(2) REQUIREMENT
OF
PRESIDENTIAL
AC-
TION.—Whenever the President determines that the 
government of a foreign country has engaged in a 
pattern of noncooperation, the President shall pro-
mote the resolution of the unresolved cases through 
one or more of the actions described in subsection 
(c). 
(b) DESIGNATIONS OF COUNTRIES WITH PATTERNS 
OF NONCOOPERATION
IN CASES
OF INTERNATIONAL 
CHILD ABDUCTION.— 
(1) ANNUAL REVIEW.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than March 
31 of each year, the President shall review the 
status of abduction cases and access cases in 
each foreign country to determine whether the 
government of such country has engaged in a 
pattern of noncooperation during the preceding 
12 months or since the date of the last review 
of such country under this subparagraph, 
whichever period is longer. The President shall 
designate each country the government of which 
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