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International Parental Child Abduction

With increasing mobility and international marriages, international parental child abductions have skyrocketed, including in the OSCE region.  Parental child abduction occurs when one parent removes a child from the child’s home country or retains a child abroad in violation of the other parent’s custodial rights.  Parental child abduction is considered by many experts to be a form of child abuse, and have been linked to life-long emotional and relational difficulties.  Left behind parents also encounter tremendous emotional and financial difficulties as they are bereaved of their child and forced to participate in foreign lawsuits.

In order to deter child abductions, minimize disruption and emotional damage to children, and ensure that custody decisions of one country are respected in other countries, the international community developed the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. The Convention entered into force in 1983 and currently has 89 signatory states. States party to the Convention  must quickly return a child to the jurisdiction of the child’s home country for further proceedings, unless an exception to return applies.  The Convention also provides for rights of access, so that a child lawfully living abroad can still have access to and visit the other parent.

Currently, 50 of 57 OSCE participating States, and five of 11 partner States have acceded to the Hague Convention. Unfortunately, judges in many states party to the Convention reward the abductor and fail to limit their judicial role in Convention cases to determining jurisdiction, or exceptions to return. Less than 40 percent of American children abducted to states party to the Convention are returned to the United States.

A supplementary item calling for implementation of or accession to the Hague Convention was adopted by consensus at the Belgrade OSCE Parliamentary Assembly meeting in 2011.

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Press Releases

Helsinki Commission Commemorates 45 Years of Advanci...

Jun 03, 2021

WASHINGTON—To commemorate the 45th anniversary of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, also known as the U.S. Helsinki Commission, on June 3, Chairman Sen. Ben Cardin (MD) and commission leaders Sen. Roger Wicker (MS) and Rep. Joe Wilson (SC-02) issued the following statements: “The Helsinki Commission has played a vital role in elevating […]

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Hearings

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Press Releases

Helsinki Commission to Review Role of Professional E...

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Publications

The Helsinki Process: A Four Decade Overview

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Articles

The Ongoing Tragedy of International Parental Child ...

Jan 11, 2018

Each year, between 600 and 800 American children are taken from the United States by one parent without the consent of the other.  The parent left behind can only wonder if the children are safe, warm, well-fed, and loved, and what – if anything – their precious children are being told about them.  Many children […]

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Briefings

The Crime of International Parental Child Abduction

Oct 27, 2017

Nearly 1,000 American children a year are victims of international parental child abduction. International parental child abduction occurs when one parent removes a child from the child’s country of habitual residence, or retains a child outside the country of habitual residence, in contravention of the other parent’s custody rights.  The experience of the abduction and […]

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Press Releases

Helsinki Commission to Highlight International Paren...

Oct 23, 2017

WASHINGTON—The Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, also known as the Helsinki Commission, today announced the following briefing: “THE CRIME OF INTERNATIONAL PARENTAL CHILD ABDUCTION” Friday, October 27, 2017 10:00AM Rayburn House Office Building Room 2103 Live Webcast: www.facebook.com/HelsinkiCommission Nearly 1,000 American children a year are victims of international parental child abduction. International parental […]

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Press Releases

Helsinki Commission Urges Prime Minister Abe to Addr...

Apr 15, 2015

WASHINGTON—Ahead of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s address to Congress on Wednesday, Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04), Chairman of the Helsinki Commission, urged Prime Minister Abe to help the many American victims of international parental child abduction in Japan. “It is tragic that hundreds of American children have been parentally abducted to Japan – and it’s […]

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Press Releases

CHAIRMAN SMITH’S BILL TO HELP VICTIMS OF INTERNATION...

Mar 29, 2012

WASHINGTON – With David Goldman and other left-behind parents from around the country at a congressional markup Tuesday, Chairman Smith’s bill to empower the U.S. State Department with more tools to achieve the return of children abducted from the U.S. and to enforce the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction was […]

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Articles

The OSCE 2011 Human Dimension Implementation Meeting

Dec 26, 2011

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