WRITTEN QUESTION No. 3053/96 by Glenys KINNOCK to the Commission. Abduction of two children to Tunisia
Date: 1996-11-06
Institutions: European Parliament, KINNOCK
Subjects: Tunisia, agreement (EU), child protection, custody, democracy, human rights, illegal restraint, international convention













EUR-Lex - 91996E3053 - EN






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91996E3053

WRITTEN QUESTION No. 3053/96 by Glenys KINNOCK to the Commission. Abduction of two children to Tunisia  


Official Journal C 083 , 14/03/1997 P. 0114 





WRITTEN QUESTION P-3053/96 by Glenys Kinnock (PSE) to the Commission (6 November 1996)Subject: Abduction of two children to TunisiaAs the Commission is aware, Tunisia is not a signatory to the Hague Convention and consequently Member States have very little means of redress when the abduction of children by a Tunisian parent takes place.Is the Commission aware that two young boys were illegally taken by their father from their home in my constituency in Wales at a time when their mother had legal custody?In view of the fact that Tunisia is a recipient of substantial amounts of European aid, is it not appropriate to make such aid conditional upon their government adopting an acceptable position in relation to our international treaties.Answer given by Mrs Gradin on behalf of the Commission (12 December 1996)Although the Commission was not aware of the particular case mentioned by the Honourable Member, it has been informed of a number of abductions of children towards countries which have not ratified the Hague Convention of 1980 on civil aspects of international child abduction. The Honourable Member is right to stress that there are few means of redress against such abductions.However, abductions such as those cited by the Honourable Member are likely to be contrary to the criminal law of the Member States, and thus to fell within their exclusive jurisdiction.As regards relations with Tunisia, the Commission would inform the Honourable Member that since the Euro-Mediterranean partnership was launched in Barcelona in November 1995 Tunisia has subscribed to new undertakings. On the multilateral level, it has agreed '... to act in accordance with the United Nations Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as well as other obligations under international law...'.On the bilateral level, the new agreement, which is to take effect shortly, regards respect for democracy and human rights as an essential factor: respect for the democractic principles of fundamental human rights as set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights will, it says, underlie the internal and international policies pursued by the Community and Tunisia and is an essential factor in the agreement.Under the agreement there is provision for political dialogue on all matters of common interest. In addition to this dialogue, positive and/or negative measures may be taken to promote democracy and human rights. Negative measures, which may range from confidential or public approaches to suspension of the partnership, must not only be based on fair and objective criteria but also be appropriate to the wide variety of situations which occur, in the interests of keeping dialogue open and to avoid penalizing the people for the actions of their government.