12/04/2012)
(This measure has not been amended since it was reported to the Senate on September 19, 2012. The summary of that version is repeated here.)
Condemns the international abduction of all children.
Urges countries identified by the Department of State as noncompliant or demonstrating patterns of noncompliance with the Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction to fulfill their commitment to implement the Convention.
Calls on all countries: (1) to become a party to the Convention and institute measures to address cases of international parental child abduction, and (2) that have not become a party to the Convention to develop a mechanism for the resolution of cases of international parental child abduction that occur prior to becoming a party to the Convention.
Expresses the sense of the Senate that the United States should: (1) pursue the return of each child abducted by a parent from the United States to another country through all appropriate means, facilitate access by the left-behind parent if the child is not returned, and, where appropriate, seek the extradition of the abductor parent; (2) take all appropriate measures to ensure that a child abducted to a Convention country is returned to the child's country of habitual residence; (3) use diplomacy to encourage other countries to become a party to the Convention and to encourage countries that have not become a party to the Convention to develop a mechanism to resolve cases of international child abduction that occur prior to becoming a party to the Convention; and (4) review the advisory services made available to U.S. citizens by the Department of State, the Department of Justice (DOJ), and other U.S. government agencies to improve the prevention of such child abduction from the United States, and to ensure that effective assistance is provided to U.S. citizen parents of such abducted children.
[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office]
[S. Res. 543 Reported in Senate (RS)]
Calendar No. 528
112th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. RES. 543
To express the sense of the Senate on international parental child
abduction.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
August 2, 2012
Mrs. Boxer (for herself, Mr. Lautenberg, Mr. Kerry, Mr. Lugar, Mr.
Inhofe, Mr. Cardin, Ms. Mikulski, Mrs. Feinstein, Mrs. Gillibrand, Ms.
Landrieu, Mr. Merkley, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Rubio, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Kirk, Mr.
Menendez, Mr. Casey, Mr. Moran, Mr. Wyden, Mr. Blumenthal, Mrs.
Hutchison, Mr. Blunt, Mr. Roberts, Mr. Durbin, and Mr. Reed) submitted
the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on
Foreign Relations
September 19, 2012
Reported by Mr. Kerry, with an amendment and an amendment to the
preamble
[Strike out all after the resolving clause and insert the part printed
in italic]
[Strike the preamble and insert the part printed in italic]
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
To express the sense of the Senate on international parental child
abduction.
Whereas international parental child abduction is a tragic and common
occurrence;
Whereas the abduction of a child by one parent is a heartbreaking loss for the
left-behind parent and deprives the child of a relationship with 2
loving parents;
Whereas, according to the Report on Compliance with the Hague Convention on the
Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction of the United States
Department of State from April 2010, research shows that abducted
children are at risk of significant short- and long-term problems,
including ``anxiety, eating problems, nightmares, mood swings, sleep
disturbances, [and] aggressive behavior'';
Whereas, according to that report, left-behind parents may also experience
substantial psychological and emotional issues, including feelings of
``betrayal, sadness over the loss of their children or the end of their
marriage, anger toward the other parent, anxiety, sleeplessness, and
severe depression'', as well as financial strain while fighting for the
return of a child;
Whereas, since 1988, the United States, which has a treaty relationship under
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 Abduction Convention'') with 69 other countries,
has agreed with its treaty partners to follow the terms of the Hague
Abduction Convention;
Whereas the Hague Abduction Convention provides a legal framework for securing
the prompt return of wrongfully removed or retained children to the
countries of their habitual residence where competent courts can make
decisions on issues of custody and the best interests of the children;
Whereas, according to the United States Department of State, the number of new
cases of international child abduction from the United States increased
from 579 in 2006 to 941 in 2011;
Whereas, in 2011, those 941 cases involved 1,367 children who were reported
abducted from the United States by a parent and taken to a foreign
country;
Whereas, in 2011, more than 660 children who were abducted from the United
States and taken to a foreign country were returned to the United
States;
Whereas 7 of the top 10 countries to which children from the United States were
most frequently abducted in 2011 are parties to the Hague Abduction
Convention, including Mexico, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany,
Ecuador, Brazil, and Colombia;
Whereas Japan, India, and Egypt are not parties to the Hague Abduction
Convention and were also among the top 10 countries to which children in
the United States were most frequently abducted in 2011;
Whereas, in many countries, such as Japan and India, international parental
child abduction is not considered a crime, and custody rulings made by
courts in the United States are not typically recognized by courts in
those countries; and
Whereas Japan is the only member of the Group of 7 major industrialized
countries that has not ratified the Hague Abduction Convention: Now,
therefore, be it
Whereas international parental child abduction is a tragic and common
occurrence;
Whereas the abduction of a child by one parent is a heartbreaking loss for the
left-behind parent and deprives the child of a relationship with 2
loving parents;
Whereas, according to the Report on Compliance with the Hague Convention on the
Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction of the United States
Department of State from April 2010, research shows that abducted
children are at risk of significant short- and long-term problems,
including ``anxiety, eating problems, nightmares, mood swings, sleep
disturbances, [and] aggressive behavior'';
Whereas, according to that report, left-behind parents may also experience
substantial psychological and emotional issues, including feelings of
``betrayal, sadness over the loss of their children or the end of their
marriage, anger toward the other parent, anxiety, sleeplessness, and
severe depression'', as well as financial strain while fighting for the
return of a child;
Whereas, since 1988, the United States, which has a treaty relationship under
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 Abduction Convention'') with 69 other countries,
has agreed with its treaty partners to follow the terms of the Hague
Abduction Convention;
Whereas the Hague Abduction Convention provides a legal framework for securing
the prompt return of wrongfully removed or retained children to the
countries of their habitual residence where competent courts can make
decisions on issues of custody and the best interests of the children;
Whereas, according to the United States Department of State, the number of new
cases of international child abduction from the United States increased
from 579 in 2006 to 941 in 2011;
Whereas, in 2011, those 941 cases involved 1,367 children who were reported
abducted from the United States by a parent and taken to a foreign
country;
Whereas, in 2011, more than 660 children who were abducted from the United
States and taken to a foreign country were returned to the United
States;
Whereas 7 of the top 10 countries to which children from the United States were
most frequently abducted in 2011 are parties to the Hague Abduction
Convention, including Mexico, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany,
Ecuador, Brazil, and Colombia;
Whereas Japan, India, and Egypt are not parties to the Hague Abduction
Convention and were also among the top 10 countries to which children in
the United States were most frequently abducted in 2011;
Whereas, in many countries, such as Japan and India, international parental
child abduction is not considered a crime, and custody rulings made by
courts in the United States are not typically recognized by courts in
those countries; and
Whereas Japan is the only member of the Group of 7 major industrialized
countries that has not yet become a party to the Hague Abduction
Convention: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That--
(1) the Senate--
(A) condemns the unlawful international
abduction of all children;
(B) urges countries identified by the
United States Department of State as noncompliant or
demonstrating patterns of noncompliance with the
Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child
Abduction, done at The Hague October 25, 1980 (TIAS
11670) (referred to in this resolution as the ``Hague
Abduction Convention'') to fulfill their commitment
under international law to expeditiously implement the
provisions of the Hague Abduction Convention;
(C) calls on all countries to accede to or
ratify the Hague Abduction Convention and to promptly
institute measures to equitably and transparently
address cases of international parental child
abduction; and
(D) calls on all countries that have not
acceded to or ratified the Hague Abduction Convention
to develop a mechanism for the resolution of current
and future cases of international parental child
abduction that occur before those countries accede to
or ratify the Hague Abduction Convention in order to
facilitate the prompt return of children abducted to
those countries to the children's countries of habitual
residence; and
(2) it is the sense of the Senate that the United
States should--
(A) aggressively pursue the return of each
child abducted by a parent from the United States to
another country through all appropriate means,
consistent with the Hague Abduction Convention, and
through extradition, when appropriate, and facilitate
access by the left-behind parent if the child is not
returned;
(B) take all appropriate measures to
ensure that a child abducted to a country that is a
party to the Hague Abduction Convention is returned to
the country of habitual residence of the child in
compliance with the provisions of the Hague Abduction
Convention;
(C) continue to use diplomacy to encourage
other countries to accede to or ratify the Hague
Abduction Convention and to take the necessary steps to
effectively fulfill their responsibilities under the
Hague Abduction Convention;
(D) use diplomacy to encourage countries
that have not acceded to or ratified the Hague
Abduction Convention to develop an institutionalized
mechanism to transparently and expeditiously resolve
current and future cases of international child
abduction that occur before those countries accede to
or ratify the Hague Abduction Convention; and
(E) review the advisory services made
available to United States citizens by the United
States Department of State, the United States
Department of Justice, and other United States
Government agencies--
(i) to improve the prevention of
international parental child abduction from the
United States; and
(ii) to ensure that effective and
timely assistance is provided to United States
citizens who are parents of children abducted
from the United States and taken to foreign
countries.
That--
(1) the Senate--
(A) condemns the international abduction of all
children;
(B) urges countries identified by the United States
Department of State as noncompliant or demonstrating
patterns of noncompliance with the Convention on the
Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, done at
The Hague October 25, 1980 (TIAS 11670) (referred to in
this resolution as the ``Hague Abduction Convention'')
to fulfill their commitment under international law to
expeditiously implement the provisions of the Hague
Abduction Convention;
(C) calls on all countries to become a party to the
Hague Abduction Convention and to promptly institute
measures to equitably and transparently address cases
of international parental child abduction; and
(D) calls on all countries that have not become a
party to the Hague Abduction Convention to develop a
mechanism for the resolution of current and future
cases of international parental child abduction that
occur before those countries become a party to the
Hague Abduction Convention in order to facilitate the
prompt return of children abducted to those countries
to the children's countries of habitual residence; and
(2) it is the sense of the Senate that the United States
should--
(A) vigorously pursue the return of each child
abducted by a parent from the United States to another
country through all appropriate means, facilitate
access by the left-behind parent if the child is not
returned, and, where appropriate, seek the extradition
of the parent that abducted the child;
(B) take all appropriate measures to ensure that a
child abducted to a country that is a party to the
Hague Abduction Convention is returned to the country
of habitual residence of the child in compliance with
the provisions of the Hague Abduction Convention;
(C) continue to use diplomacy to encourage other
countries to become a party to the Hague Abduction
Convention and to take the necessary steps to
effectively fulfill their responsibilities under the
Hague Abduction Convention;
(D) use diplomacy to encourage countries that have
not become a party to the Hague Abduction Convention to
develop an institutionalized mechanism to transparently
and expeditiously resolve current and future cases of
international child abduction that occur before those
countries become a party to the Hague Abduction
Convention; and
(E) review the advisory services made available to
United States citizens by the United States Department
of State, the United States Department of Justice, and
other United States Government agencies--
(i) to improve the prevention of
international parental child abduction from the
United States; and
(ii) to ensure that effective and timely
assistance is provided to United States
citizens who are parents of children abducted
from the United States and taken to foreign
countries.
Calendar No. 528
112th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. RES. 543
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
To express the sense of the Senate on international parental child
abduction.
_______________________________________________________________________
September 19, 2012
Reported with an amendment and an amendment to the preamble
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