Title: A resolution supporting the goals and ideals of Countering International Parental Child Abduction Month and expressing the sense of the Senate that Congress should raise awareness of the harm caused by international parental child abduction.
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
This resolution recognizes the Senate's observation of Countering International Parental Child Abduction Month in April 2020. It also urges the United States to lead in raising awareness about the devastating impact of international child abduction.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 487 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 487

 Supporting the goals and ideals of Countering International Parental 
   Child Abduction Month and expressing the sense of the Senate that 
  Congress should raise awareness of the harm caused by international 
                       parental child abduction.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            January 28, 2020

Mr. Tillis (for himself, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. McConnell, Mr. Blumenthal, 
     Mr. Crapo, Ms. Harris, Mr. Rubio, Mr. Booker, Mr. Cornyn, Ms. 
 Klobuchar, and Mr. Markey) submitted the following resolution; which 
           was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Supporting the goals and ideals of Countering International Parental 
   Child Abduction Month and expressing the sense of the Senate that 
  Congress should raise awareness of the harm caused by international 
                       parental child abduction.

Whereas thousands of children in the United States have been abducted from the 
        United States by parents, separating those children from their parents 
        who remain in the United States;
Whereas it is illegal under section 1204 of title 18, United States Code, to 
        remove, or attempt to remove, a child from the United States or retain a 
        child (who has been in the United States) outside of the United States 
        with the intent to obstruct the lawful exercise of parental rights;
Whereas more than 11,500 children were reported abducted from the United States 
        between 2008 and 2018;
Whereas, during 2018, 1 or more cases of international parental child abduction 
        involving children who are citizens of the United States were identified 
        in 107 countries around the world;
Whereas the United States is a party to the Convention on the Civil Aspects of 
        International Child Abduction, done at The Hague, October 25, 1980 (TIAS 
        11670) (referred to in this preamble as the ``Hague Convention on 
        Abduction''), which--

    (1) supports the prompt return of wrongly removed or retained children; 
and

    (2) calls for all participating parties to respect parental custody 
rights;

Whereas the majority of children who were abducted from the United States have 
        yet to be reunited with their custodial parents;
Whereas, during 2018, Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Egypt, India, Jordan, Lebanon, 
        Peru, and the United Arab Emirates were identified under the Sean and 
        David Goldman International Child Abduction Prevention and Return Act of 
        2014 (22 U.S.C. 9101 et seq.) as engaging in a pattern of noncompliance 
        (as defined in section 3 of that Act (22 U.S.C. 9101));
Whereas the Supreme Court of the United States has recognized that family 
        abduction--

    (1) is a form of child abuse with potentially ``devastating 
consequences for a child'', which may include negative impacts on the 
physical and mental well-being of the child; and

    (2) can cause a child to ``experience a loss of community and 
stability, leading to loneliness, anger, and fear of abandonment'';

Whereas, according to the 2010 Report on Compliance with the Hague Convention on 
        the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction by the Department of 
        State, research shows that an abducted child is at risk of significant 
        short- and long-term problems, including ``anxiety, eating problems, 
        nightmares, mood swings, sleep disturbances, [and] aggressive 
        behavior'';
Whereas international parental child abduction has devastating emotional 
        consequences for the child and for the parent from whom the child is 
        separated;
Whereas the United States has a history of promoting child welfare through 
        institutions including--

    (1) in the Department of Health and Human Services, the Children's 
Bureau of the Administration for Children and Families; and

    (2) in the Department of State, the Office of Children's Issues of the 
Bureau of Consular Affairs;

Whereas Congress has signaled a commitment to ending international parental 
        child abduction by enacting the International Child Abduction Remedies 
        Act (22 U.S.C. 9001 et seq.), the International Parental Kidnapping 
        Crime Act of 1993 (Public Law 103-173), which enacted section 1204 of 
        title 18, United States Code, and the Sean and David Goldman 
        International Child Abduction Prevention and Return Act of 2014 (22 
        U.S.C. 9101 et seq.);
Whereas the Senate adopted Senate Resolution 543, 112th Congress, on December 4, 
        2012, condemning the international abduction of children;
Whereas the Senate adopted Senate Resolution 431, 115th Congress, on April 19, 
        2018, to raise awareness of, and opposition to, international parental 
        child abduction;
Whereas all 50 States and the District of Columbia have enacted laws 
        criminalizing parental kidnapping;
Whereas, in 2018, the Prevention Branch of the Office of Children's Issues of 
        the Department of State--

    (1) fielded more than 5,200 inquiries from the general public relating 
to preventing a child from being removed from the United States; and

    (2) enrolled more than 4,700 children in the Children's Passport 
Issuance Alert Program, which--

    G    (A) is one of the most important tools of the Department of State 
for preventing international parental child abductions; and

    G    (B) allows the Office of Children's Issues to contact the 
enrolling parent or legal guardian to verify whether the parental consent 
requirement has been met when a passport application has been submitted for 
an enrolled child;

Whereas the Department of State cannot track the ultimate destination of a child 
        through the use of the passport of the child issued by the Department of 
        State if the child is transported to a third country after departing 
        from the United States;
Whereas a child who is a citizen of the United States may have another 
        nationality and may travel using a passport issued by another country, 
        which--

    (1) increases the difficulty in determining the whereabouts of the 
child; and

    (2) makes efforts to prevent abductions more critical;

Whereas, during 2018, 232 children were returned to the United States and an 
        additional 174 cases were resolved in other ways; and
Whereas, in 2018, the Department of Homeland Security, in coordination with the 
        Prevention Branch of the Office of Children's Issues of the Department 
        of State, enrolled 236 children in a program aimed at preventing 
        international parental child abduction: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) recognizes and observes ``Countering International 
        Parental Child Abduction Month'' during the period beginning on 
        April 1, 2020, and ending on April 30, 2020, to raise awareness 
        of, and opposition to, international parental child abduction; 
        and
            (2) urges the United States to continue playing a 
        leadership role in raising awareness about the devastating 
        impacts of international parental child abduction by educating 
        the public about the negative emotional, psychological, and 
        physical consequences to children and parents victimized by 
        international parental child abduction.
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