H. Con. Res. 69
Agreed to March 23, 2001
One Hundred Seventh Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE FIRST SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Wednesday,
the third day of January, two thousand and one
Concurrent Resolution
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 international child abduc-
tion cases;
Whereas over the past 2 decades, the Convention has had increas-
ingly important and positive effects and has grown in terms
of the number of Contracting States and the level of interest
of other nations;
Whereas there has been an increase of multinational marriages
and a corresponding increase of international abductions of chil-
dren by parents;
Whereas as travel becomes faster and easier, and as multinational
marriages become more common, the Convention is more signifi-
cant 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 professionals and experts in
international child abduction to examine their experiences with
the Convention;
Whereas on both occasions, the participants affirmed their over-
whelming commitment to the Convention, but were also unified
in the conclusion that there are serious shortcomings 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 resolution 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 Convention
to ensure reason and common sense have in some cases ceased
to be viewed as exceptions, have instead become the rule, and
are frequently used as justifications for not returning abducted
children;
(5) the increasing difficulty of enforcing access rights for
parents under Article 21 of the Convention;
(6) the need of parents for significant personal financial
resources to obtain legal representation and proceed under the
H. Con. Res. 69—2
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 experience
for judges in international child abduction cases, because 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 Pri-
vate International Law has made significant contributions to
the implementation of the Convention but recognizes that more
needs to be done; and
Whereas the International Centre for Missing and Exploited Chil-
dren has promised to support an effort to produce practice guides
to provide a framework for applying the Convention: Now, there-
fore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concur-
ring), That—
(1) it is the sense of the Congress that—
(A) the original intent of the Hague Convention on
the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction—to pro-
vide a uniform process for resolving international child
abduction cases—is more important than ever;
(B) practice guides should be developed for the Conven-
tion that build on recognized best practices under the
Convention and provide a framework for applying the
Convention;
(C) the Convention itself need not be modified;
(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
process possible;
(E) the practice guides should be developed in 3 stages:
comparative research and consultations, meetings of expert
committees to develop drafts, and consideration of the
drafts by a future 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 in the implementation and operation of
the Convention; and
H. Con. Res. 69—3
(B) such a proposal to produce practice guides be
adopted by the Fourth Special Commission at The Hague
in March 2001.
Attest:
Clerk of the House of Representatives.
Attest:
Secretary of the Senate.