It is estimated that there are nearly 2,000 incidents each year where an American child is abducted by a foreign spouse. In many cases, a child taken by parents to visit the foreign spouse’s home country can become a legal nightmare. Couples often decide to go on holiday overseas, taking the children with them to visit relatives or enjoy a summer vacation. One spouse may need to return to the U.S. for work-related purposes leaving the other parent and children behind to enjoy their holiday. When the spouse fails to return with the children, they are guilty of international parental abduction and will be prosecuted upon their return to the U.S. Unfortunately, they often have no intention of returning.
What is the Hague Convention?
The Hague Convention is an international agreement made between participating countries to enforce all judgments and injunctive orders of each member country. This means that if the United States has issued a criminal arrest warrant for an individual, he or she must be extradited back to the U.S. from the foreign country to face those charges.
The October 25, 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction is a multilateral treaty to protect children from parental abduction or wrongful retention across international borders. This agreement was drafted to ensure the prompt return of children who have been abducted from their home country. The goal is to preserve the child custody arrangements that existed before the child was wrongfully removed.
International Parental Kidnapping & Where to Get Help
Once you have learned that your children are victims of illegal abduction or retention in a foreign nation, there are many steps you can take in order to secure their return.
- Contact the local police—Filing a missing persons report with the local authorities allows them to enter the information into several databases. They can request that INTERPOL (international police) conduct a search in the country where you believe your child is being held. The Federal National Child Search Assistance Act of 1990 requires each federal, state and local law enforcement agency to report a missing child under age 18 to the National Crime Information Center (NCIC), which is maintained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
- The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children—This group can provide assistance by circulating a photograph of your child to the media in the foreign country where your child was taken.
- The U.S. State Department—The Department of State (DOS) considers these cases to be a top priority and will aid you by providing both resources and information. They will contact the U.S. Embassy in the foreign country in an effort to locate them.
- Contact Your Child’s School—One of the most commonly overlooked resources is the school where the child was last enrolled. The abducting parent often requests the child’s school records be transferred to their new school.
- Friends and Relatives—Contact any friends or relatives of your spouse who may have information on the whereabouts of your children. Often times, the grandparents may be willing to cooperate with you or the authorities, believing that it is in the best interests of the children.
Getting Expert Legal Assistance
When a child is abducted and taken out of the country or has remained overseas with the other parent, the entire family may be traumatized. Children often miss the parent who has been left behind. If you are the victim of international parental kidnapping, it’s important to stay strong and fight for your kids. One of your top priorities is to contact an attorney to assist you in negotiating these complicated legal waters. Your lawyer can contact attorneys in the foreign country to assist in the search for your missing children.
