In the past, and I know this first-hand due to my own experiences, but society generally did not understand the abuse and danger a child faces when they are parentally kidnapped. The misconceived notion that parental abduction was simply a child custody issue was wide-spread seven years ago. Truth is - as loudly declared by the United States Senate this past December 4th, 2012 - international parental child abduction is a highly abusive, destructive, and dangerous act directed at a targeted parent by typically an out-of-control, vengeful parent who demonstrates narcissism and sociopathic behavior.
On Tuesday evening, December 4th, 2012, inside the United States Capitol Building, United States Senators Unanimously took a defiant stand against international parental child abduction.
The I CARE Foundation is pleased
to share that U.S. Senator Barbara Boxter’s International Parental Child Abduction Resolution (Senate Resolution 543) first introduced
to the Senate on August 2nds, 2012 passed unanimously yesterday, December 4th,
2012 a Senate vote. Previously, Senator
Boxter stated before a Senate Foreign Relations Committee Business Meeting
presided over Chairman John Kerry (D-MA) that, “The International Parental Child Abduction Resolution condemns the
abduction of a child by one parent to another country. It also calls on our nation
and the international community to do more to resolve current and future
abduction cases.” Senator Boxter also stated she “Introduced this resolution to
help shine a light on child abduction and to urge immediate and sustained
action to address it.”
Senator Boxter’s comments made
before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee unequivocally shed light as to
the great difficulties targeted children and parents face. Senator Boxter, a known child advocate stated
before Senator Kerry’s Foreign Relations Committee that, “The resolution (Senate
543) condemns the abduction of a child by one parent to another country. It
also calls on our nation and the international community to do more to resolve
current and future abduction cases. By approving this resolution, we are
sending a clear, bipartisan message that the United States Senate stands united
in its condemnation of child abduction and its commitment to help end this
injustice.”
The U.S. Senate unanimously
passed a Senate Resolution 543 by a
voice vote yesterday. Impressively, the resolution garnered 28 original
cosponsors, and is a clear indication that the voices of the community of
activists are reaching the halls of our nation’s Capitol.
Senate Resolution 543 reinforces several critical issues that are
expected to come to the aid of targeted children and parents, as is discussed
in a step-by-step summary analysis provided below. However, on the surface, and with great light
on the subject needed, Resolution 543 names Japan, India and Egypt as the worst
offenders in the kidnappings of children from the United States to countries
abroad.
Equally importantly, Senate Resolution 543 calls for several
critical actions to be taken that will open up new avenues of child
protection. Specifically, Senator Boxter’s
resolution calls for the immediate review of the protocols previously established
by the United States Congress when our lawmakers agreed to become a signatory
member of the Hague Convention on the
Civil Aspects of International Parental Child Abduction. Specifically, Senate Resolution 543 (Article 2) (Section II) (Part E) states:
(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.
What (Article 2) (Section II) (Part E) (iI) makes
it clear that:
A review of Congress’ existing
declaration when it annexed the Hague
Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction whereas it
declined to financially assist targeted parents who have had their child
criminally kidnapped (International Kidnapping Crimes Act) reunite with their
children.
According to an I CARE Foundation recent study, parents who
have their children internationally abducted face severe and overwhelming costs
in attempting to reunite with their kidnapped children, and the financial costs
and economic impact on the U.S. economy over the next 10 years is expected to
reach over 5 Billion U.S. Dollars.
Clearly the resolution’s (2)(E)(ii) is specifying that the United States
government must “ensure that effective and timely assistance is provided to
Untied States citizens” who have their children kidnapped – and this means
financial assistance that may be required to locate an internationally
kidnapped child, financial assistance for litigation expenses and any activity
associated with a child’s recovery, including reunification assistance. How important is this? Enormous, particularly when we must consider
that many of targeted parents fail to reunite with their abducted child because
the stealing parent knows that so long as they can financially drain the other
parent’s resources, and tie up the litigation into a long process, they should
be successful in achieving their criminal act of abduction. Should this portion of the Senate’s resolution
be upheld, not only will it change the ability of a targeted parent to protect
their child, but it will alter the dynamics of an abductor’s litigation
strategy because they will not be able to financially drain the targeted
parent.
Equally important, (Article 2)
(Section II) (Part E) does something that could potentially make the greatest
difference of all aspects of the resolution.
Specifically, the Department of State’s Office of Children’s Issues
(OCI), which I believe is made up of some of the most dedicated and caring
child advocates on the planet, presently have extreme limitations on what it
can and cannot do to assist American parents who have had their child
abducted. Which leads to great
frustration by the nation’s citizens who turn to OCI for assistance.
By calling to “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”, the Senate Resolution 543 is not only clearly identifying but acknowledging that the existing agencies charged with protecting our nation’s children need to be overhauled in that there is a need to provide OCI with more power to act on behalf of kidnapped children. Surely, when this definitive review is conducted, there will be a clear disposition that OCI is underfunded, understaffed, and given limited power, which means as part of the Department of State, it is underutilized.
By calling to “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”, the Senate Resolution 543 is not only clearly identifying but acknowledging that the existing agencies charged with protecting our nation’s children need to be overhauled in that there is a need to provide OCI with more power to act on behalf of kidnapped children. Surely, when this definitive review is conducted, there will be a clear disposition that OCI is underfunded, understaffed, and given limited power, which means as part of the Department of State, it is underutilized.
(Article 2) (Section II) (Part E)
importantly states since international parental child abduction is a federal
criminal act of kidnapping – this is not a child custody disagreement but a
brutal act against a child – that review of existing protocols on how our
national law enforcement agency may assist a targeted parent who has had a
child abducted.
This section of Senate Resolution 543 is critical because
today, and in the past, the vast majority of parental child kidnappers did not
fear any retribution for the scheming, abusive, and destructive criminal act of
cross-border abduction. Without concern
that they would be held accountable for their act, and with the financial
playing field heavily tilted in their favor, there has been a sharp increase of
child abductions that could see as many as 100,000 to 125,000 American childrenabducted abroad if we consider the current number of reported cases of
abduction, the forecasted number of unreported cases of abduction, the growth
rate of abduction, and underlying conditions such as immigration migration to
the United States as well as general population growth as factors.
Critically supporting (Article 2)
(Section II) (Part E) is (Article 2) (Section II) (Part A), whereas the
resolution calls for:
(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.
Did you notice the key words, “Vigorously
pursue the return of each child abducted by a parent from the United States?”
This is clearly indicating that
the United States Senate is sending a message that children will no longer be
considered collateral political damage and that the United States government
will protect and defend its defenseless, innocent children who are kidnapped
and held hostage overseas.
How?
By seeking “the extradition of
the parent that abducted the child.”
As previously stated, parental
child abductors have little concern that there actions will be prosecuted even
though the acts of international parental child abduction violates federal laws
including criminal codes on kidnapping, and, at times, laws prohibiting the
aiding and abetting of a fugitive. In
addition, a state’s laws on abduction are also violated, as well as criminal
codes of child abuse and child neglect.
Of course contempt of court and perjury are rampant in these cases, and
are punishable by contempt of court charges.
However, now it is clear that a
parent can and should seek criminal remedy in
conjunction with civil remedy available to them under the Hague
Convention.
For a long time now, child
abduction prevention advocates and chasing parents have all shared a very
important message: by having an arrest warrant issued against a child abductor,
by extraditing the abductor on kidnapping charges, by prosecuting abductors,
and by having them sentenced, a strong message that will serve as a deterrent
against abduction will be issued, and many would-be abductors will think
carefully before they abuse their child.
Extradition means in many cases
that in the simplest terms an abductor will have limited ability to hide under
the rules of law of another nation.
Granted, part of the challenge is that each country has its own rules as
to what type of crime it will allow extradition of; however, the underpinnings of Senate Resolution 543 is to use
diplomacy that enables the laws of a child’s country of original jurisdiction
to allow the child’s custodial parent the ability of protecting their child.
Obviously, it is critical that
international parental child abduction occurs.
Which means new abduction prevention laws must be created while certain
existing policies must be modified. Clearly,
new laws and policy modifications that occur will become worthless if judges
presiding over courts of jurisdiction of a targeted child do not enforce the
laws they are governed to uphold. Furthermore, it must become a mandatory
policy for each child protective agency to develop a special division of
trained personnel familiar with international parental child abduction in order
to protect a child from abuse, including the common-place false claims made by
a taking parent against a targeted parent.
Over the past 15 years the U.S.
Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention,
funded a study on child abduction murder cases. The number of cases of filicide
– the murder of a child by one of their parents – was alarming. A recent report issued by the I CARE
Foundation provides acute insight as to the grave risk of murder associated
with international child abduction cases.
Perhaps shedding light as to just
how important Senate Resolution 543 is are the comments of Mr. Joel Walter,Esq., a Board of Director of the I CARE Foundation when he shared his insight
on parental chld abduction and the threat of parental child murder. “Once
removed from their home, the child becomes a hostage who is put into more
danger than being alienated from their other parent and family, being forced to
live the life as a fugitive, having their identity stripped away – no, there is
much more at risk than all of this: there is the risk that filicide – the
murder of a child at the hands of one of their parents – will occur. And this
is the reality that we all keep in the forefront of our thoughts: child
abductors have demonstrated their cleverness and willingness to scheme and
break the law as exhibited by their criminal act of kidnapping, the vast
majority of abductors kidnap their child because they have lost control of
their emotions and use the child as a pawn for revenge against the other parent
and are willing to go to nearly any length to cause pain and suffering to their
target, even if it is at the expense of their own child, and conceivably, as
has been demonstrated in various forms and ways as exhibited by the number of
filicide cases, a parental child abductor could murder their own child as the
ultimate act of revenge – especially when a child’s return to their country of
original jurisdiction has been ordered or is imminent.”
For targeted parents who have had
their children abducted to countries such as Japan, India, and Egypt, who are
not members of the Hague Abduction Convention, Senate Resolution 543 made it clear that the United States legislative
branch no longer is willing to sit idle while American children are kidnapped
or illegally detained abroad while laws in their country and courts that
oversee these laws do nothing to uphold the legitimate claims of law based upon
a child’s original jurisdiction and the prevailing laws and court orders issued
from such jurisdiction.
A portion of the preamble of
Senate Resolution 543 reads:
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 –
Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA)
sponsored Senate Resolution 543, which garnered 28 original cosponsors and
passed the Senate by voice vote Tuesday evening. Senator Boxer has been the
Congressional leader on this issue since 2006, consistently raising legislative
awareness. The renown child advocate Senator Boxter said, “I am so proud that
today (Tuesday evening, December 4th, 2012) the Senate took a stand
to condemn the tragic and devastating crime of child abduction,” Senator Boxer
said. “This resolution is a resounding call to the international community to
join together to prevent and resolve abduction cases.”
Sentiment from several key United
States Senators demonstrates a reshaping of Congress’ view on international
parental child abduction with an intent to act.
“International child abduction is a tragic
situation that impacts not only the parents who are left behind but also the
children who have been illegally separated from them and denied any contact,”
Senator Lugar said. “Bringing greater attention to this issue is important if
we are to change other governments' attitudes to these abductions.”
Senator Inhofe said, “Unfortunately, some countries around the
world are complicit in allowing these unacceptable acts. The heart wrenching stories I have heard from
parents is not just devastating for them, but destructive for the
children. It is time for the Senate to
act in a way that will help end this injustice.
This well written measure is a high priority. I encourage my colleagues on both sides of
the aisle to join in this effort.”
“International child abductions
aren't faceless crimes, they're real and they're tragic,” Senator Kerry said. “The
United States must condemn international abductions and work to resolve
them. The international community must
stand up and do all it can to make this right."
New Jersey Senator Lautenberg
said, “We need to gain the support of countries around the world in condemning
this practice and agreeing to cooperate in the return of abducted children.
This resolution will help us prevent these tragedies in the future."
So now where do we go?
Well, obviously Senate Resolution
543 clearly indicates that the way our government, courts, and law enforcement
handle international parental child abduction is not enough. More – much more must be done as
international child kidnapping spreads.
Prevention of abduction is
critical. This means that judges
presiding over cases of abduction risk or act must become fully aware of the
laws they oversee as well as the seriousness of this crime against children. Education is critical.
The United States Senate has
shared a very strong message: international parental child abduction is not a
child custody case: it is criminal kidnapping, and it must be treated as such.
In addition, we need new laws
that will help prevent abduction. Two
immediate legislative initiatives the I CARE Foundation is currently working on
is to:
1. Create
a secondary secure screening list so that individuals possessing a right of
U.S. citizenship and who are determined by courts or law enforcement to be
high-risk child abductors may be vetted
prior to travel to ensure they are not abducting a child. This proposal is similar
to the current Prevent Departure Program, which presently only permits the
listing of individuals onto a secure screening list that do not possess a right
of U.S. citizenship and who are in the United States.
2. Under
the current Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative Policy, American children are permitted
to travel outside of the country by land or sea to adjoining nations such as
Mexico, Canada, and certain Caribbean-Island nations by presenting only a
photocopy of a naturalization document such as a photocopy of a birth
certificate. We call upon the mandatory
use of valid passports for all children entering into or traveling from the
United States.
Obviously, bolstering the Officeof Children’s Issues resources and capability are critical. And using direct and ongoing diplomatic
efforts to bring countries to the table of the Hague Abduction Convention, and
ensuring that they comply with the treaty are also critical.
Senator Boxter’s Senate Resolution
543 Cosponsors was a bipartisan effort and included Senators Feinstein,
Blumenthal, Rubio, Durbin, Kirk, Lugar, Moran, Roberts, Landrieu, Kerry,
Cardin, Mikulski, Blunt, Lautenberg, Menendez, Gillibrand, Inhofe, Merkley,
Wyden, Casey, Toomey, Reed, Whitehouse, Johnson, Hutchinson, Leahy, Cantwell,
and Murray.
We applaud and thank Senator
Boxter and all the Senators who passed Resolution 543 yesterday. This is a major step in the right direction
toward protecting our nation’s children, and equally, in doing so, sending a
message to other nations that they too, must protect their child citizens.
We do take note that the
statistical numbers of the number of cases of abduction cited in the
legislative resolution are not accurate in that the cited 2011 numbers reflect
the number of reported abductions that occurred in the year 2010. We also take note that it is believe that the
number of unreported cases of international parental child abduction are
between 100% and 125% of the reported cases of abduction. Finally, we believe that it is important to
note that to state that international parental child abduction is on the
aggregate rise of over 25% per year from the last known cited reporting years
of 2006 through 2010. The represented number
of abduction cases in the senate resolution demonstrates that there is a
critical need for more current research and shared updated information
concerning just how severe international child abduction is today.
Again, we are thankful for everyone's efforts in making Senate Resolution 543 a reality.
Again, we are thankful for everyone's efforts in making Senate Resolution 543 a reality.
The full text of Senate Resolution
543 is below.
RESOLUTION
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 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.
