† HR 3212 EAS 
noncompliance have reasonably been exhausted, 
including the consultations required under sec-
tion 203. 
SEC. 102. STANDARDS AND ASSISTANCE. 
The Secretary of State shall— 
(1) ensure that United States diplomatic and 
consular missions abroad— 
(A) maintain a consistent reporting stand-
ard with respect to abduction and access cases; 
(B) designate at least 1 senior official in 
each such mission, at the discretion of the Chief 
of Mission, to assist left-behind parents from the 
United States who are visiting such country or 
otherwise seeking to resolve abduction or access 
cases; and 
(C) monitor developments in abduction and 
access cases; and 
(2) develop and implement written strategic 
plans for engagement with any Convention or non- 
Convention country in which there are 5 or more 
cases of international child abduction. 
SEC. 103. BILATERAL PROCEDURES, INCLUDING MEMO-
RANDA OF UNDERSTANDING. 
(a) DEVELOPMENT.—
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(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 
State shall initiate a process to develop and enter into 
appropriate bilateral procedures, including memo-
randa of understanding, as appropriate, with non- 
Convention countries that are unlikely to become Con-
vention countries in the foreseeable future, or with 
Convention countries that have unresolved abduction 
cases that occurred before the Hague Abduction Con-
vention entered into force with respect to the United 
States or that country. 
(2) PRIORITIZATION.—In carrying out para-
graph (1), the Secretary of State shall give priority 
to countries with significant abduction cases and re-
lated issues. 
(b) ELEMENTS.—The bilateral procedures described in 
subsection (a) should include provisions relating to— 
(1) the identification of— 
(A) the Central Authority; 
(B) the judicial or administrative authority 
that will promptly adjudicate abduction and ac-
cess cases; 
(C) the law enforcement agencies; and 
(D) the implementation of procedures to en-
sure the immediate enforcement of an order
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issued by the authority identified pursuant to 
subparagraph (B) to return an abducted child to 
a left-behind parent, including by— 
(i) conducting an investigation to as-
certain the location of the abducted child; 
(ii) providing protection to the ab-
ducted child after such child is located; and 
(iii) retrieving the abducted child and 
making the appropriate arrangements for 
such child to be returned to the child’s coun-
try of habitual residence; 
(2) the implementation of a protocol to effectuate 
the return of an abducted child identified in an ab-
duction case not later than 6 weeks after the applica-
tion with respect to the abduction case has been sub-
mitted to the judicial or administrative authority, as 
applicable, of the country in which the abducted child 
is located; 
(3) the implementation of a protocol for the es-
tablishment and protection of the rights of interim 
contact during pendency of abduction cases; and 
(4) the implementation of a protocol to establish 
periodic visits between a United States embassy or 
consular official and an abducted child, in order to
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allow the official to ascertain the child’s location and 
welfare. 
SEC. 104. REPORT TO CONGRESSIONAL REPRESENTATIVES. 
(a) NOTIFICATION.—The Secretary of State shall sub-
mit written notification to the Member of Congress and 
Senators, or Resident Commissioner or Delegate, as appro-
priate, representing the legal residence of a left-behind par-
ent if such parent— 
(1) reports an abduction to the Central Author-
ity of the United States; and 
(2) consents to such notification. 
(b) TIMING.—At the request of any person who is a 
left-behind parent, including a left-behind parent who pre-
viously reported an abduction to the Central Authority of 
the United States before the date of the enactment of this 
Act, the notification required under subsection (a) shall be 
provided as soon as is practicable. 
TITLE II—ACTIONS BY THE 
SECRETARY OF STATE 
SEC. 201. RESPONSE TO INTERNATIONAL CHILD ABDUC-
TIONS. 
(a) UNITED STATES POLICY.—It is the policy of the 
United States— 
(1) to promote the best interest of children 
wrongfully abducted from the United States by—
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(A) establishing legal rights and procedures 
for their prompt return; and 
(B) ensuring the enforcement of reciprocal 
international obligations under the Hague Ab-
duction Convention or arrangements under bilat-
eral procedures; 
(2) to promote the timely resolution of abduction 
cases through 1 or more of the actions described in 
section 202; and 
(3) to ensure appropriate coordination within 
the Federal Government and between Federal, State, 
and local agencies involved in abduction prevention, 
investigation, and resolution. 
(b) ACTIONS BY THE SECRETARY OF STATE IN RE-
SPONSE TO UNRESOLVED CASES.— 
(1) DETERMINATION OF ACTION BY THE SEC-
RETARY
OF
STATE.—For each abduction or access 
case relating to a child whose habitual residence is in 
the United States that remains pending or is other-
wise unresolved on the date that is 12 months after 
the date on which the Central Authority of the United 
States submits such case to a foreign country, the Sec-
retary of State shall determine whether the govern-
ment of such foreign country has failed to take appro-
priate steps to resolve the case. If the Secretary of
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State determines that such failure occurred, the Sec-
retary should, as expeditiously as practicable— 
(A) take 1 or more of the actions described 
in subsections (d) and (e) of section 202; and 
(B) direct the Chief of Mission in that for-
eign country to directly address the resolution of 
the case with senior officials in the foreign gov-
ernment. 
(2) AUTHORITY FOR DELAY OF ACTION BY THE 
SECRETARY OF STATE.—The Secretary of State may 
delay any action described in paragraph (1) if the 
Secretary determines that an additional period of 
time, not to exceed 1 year, will substantially assist in 
resolving the case. 
(3) REPORT.—If the Secretary of State delays 
any action pursuant to paragraph (2) or decides not 
to take an action described in subsection (d) or (e) of 
section 202 after making the determination described 
in paragraph (1), the Secretary, not later than 15 
days after such delay or decision, shall provide a re-
port to the appropriate congressional committees that 
details the reasons for delaying action or not taking 
action, as appropriate. 
(4) CONGRESSIONAL BRIEFINGS.—At the request 
of the appropriate congressional committees, the Sec-
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retary of State shall provide a detailed briefing, in-
cluding a written report, if requested, on actions 
taken to resolve a case or the cause for delay. 
(c) IMPLEMENTATION.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—In carrying out subsection 
(b), the Secretary of State should— 
(A) take 1 or more actions that most appro-
priately respond to the nature and severity of the 
governmental failure to resolve the unresolved ab-
duction case; and 
(B) seek, to the fullest extent possible— 
(i) to initially respond by commu-
nicating with the Central Authority of the 
country; and 
(ii) if clause (i) is unsuccessful, to tar-
get subsequent actions— 
(I) as narrowly as practicable, 
with respect to the agencies or instru-
mentalities of the foreign government 
that are responsible for such failures; 
and 
(II) in ways that respect the sepa-
ration of powers and independence of 
the judiciary of the country, as appli-
cable.