PRIA, Government Policy, Made Personal

Summary

The Secretary of State must send Congress and post online an Annual Report on international child abduction by April 30 each year. The report lists every country that had at least one case involving a child who normally lives in the United States and says whether each country follows the Hague Convention, has a special U.S. bilateral process, uses other methods, or has no agreement. For any country with 5 or more open cases in the prior year, the report gives numbers of new cases and children, how many cases the U.S. Central Authority sent to the other country and how many it did not send (with reasons), how many cases are still unresolved and how long they have been open, whether law enforcement failed to find children or enforce return orders, the share of cases resolved, recommendations to improve handling, and the average time to locate a child. The report also shows how many children were returned to the U.S. from each category of country, lists countries that failed to meet their obligations or show a pattern of noncompliance (and explains the criteria for that finding), describes efforts to get non‑Convention countries to join or make agreements and to address pending cases, counts cases resolved without returning children, lists countries that became Convention partners during the year, covers pre‑Convention abductions, and gives totals of cases assigned to U.S. case officers by country and overall. The report cannot include any personal identifying details about a left‑behind parent, child, or other parties unless the left‑behind parent gives written permission. It must also include separate sections on cases involving military parents and the help offered to them, how airlines are linked to abductions and recommended airline practices, training given to judges and to military legal, chaplain, and family support staff, and a separate finding for each country about whether it showed a pattern of noncompliance during the past 12 months. That separate finding must list any actions taken against the country, explain the reasons for the finding, and say whether non‑punitive options (including required consultations) were reasonably exhausted.

Title 22, §9111

Foreign Relations and Intercourse, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)In general

Not later than April 30 of each year, the Secretary of State shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees an Annual Report on International Child Abduction. The Secretary shall post the Annual Report to the publicly accessible website of the Department of State.

(b)Contents

Each Annual Report shall include—

(1)a list of all countries in which there were 1 or more abduction cases, during the preceding calendar year, relating to a child whose habitual residence is the United States, including a description of whether each such country—

(A)is a Convention country;

(B)is a bilateral procedures country;

(C)has other procedures for resolving such abductions; or

(D)adheres to no protocols with respect to child abduction;

(2)for each country with respect to which there were 5 or more pending abduction cases, during the preceding year, relating to a child whose habitual residence is the United States—

(A)the number of such new abduction and access cases, respectively, reported during the preceding year and the number of children involved;

(B)for Convention and bilateral procedures countries—

(i)the number of abduction and access cases that the Central Authority of the United States transmitted to the Central Authority of such country; and

(ii)the number of abduction and access cases that were not submitted by the Central Authority to the judicial or administrative authority, as applicable, of such country;

(C)the reason for the delay in submission of each case identified in subparagraph (B)(ii) by the Central Authority of such country to the judicial or administrative authority of that country;

(D)the number of unresolved abduction and access cases, respectively, the number of children involved, and the length of time each case has been pending;

(E)the number and percentage of unresolved abduction cases in which law enforcement authorities have—

(i)not located the abducted child;

(ii)failed to undertake serious efforts to locate the abducted child; and

(iii)failed to enforce a return order rendered by the judicial or administrative authorities of such country;

(F)the total number and the percentage of the total number of abduction and access cases, respectively, resolved during the preceding year;

(G)recommendations to improve the resolution of abduction and access cases; and

(H)the average time it takes to locate a child;

(3)the number of abducted children whose habitual residence is in the United States and who were returned to the United States from—

(A)Convention countries;

(B)bilateral procedures countries;

(C)countries having other procedures for resolving such abductions; or

(D)countries adhering to no protocols with respect to child abduction;

(4)a list of Convention countries and bilateral procedures countries that have failed to comply with any of their obligations under the Hague Abduction Convention or bilateral procedures, as applicable, with respect to the resolution of abduction and access cases;

(5)a list of countries demonstrating a pattern of noncompliance and a description of the criteria on which the determination of a pattern of noncompliance for each country is based;

(6)information on efforts by the Secretary of State to encourage non-Convention countries—

(A)to ratify or accede to the Hague Abduction Convention;

(B)to enter into or implement other bilateral procedures, including memoranda of understanding, with the United States; and

(C)to address pending abduction and access cases;

(7)the number of cases resolved without abducted children being returned to the United States from Convention countries, bilateral procedures countries, or other non-Convention countries, and number of children involved in such cases;

(8)a list of countries that became Convention countries with respect to the United States during the preceding year;

(9)information about efforts to seek resolution of abduction cases of children whose habitual residence is in the United States and whose abduction occurred before the Hague Abduction Convention entered into force with respect to the United States; and

(10)the total number of pending cases the Department of State has assigned to case officers and number of children involved for each country and as a total for all countries.

(c)Exceptions

Unless a left-behind parent provides written permission to the Central Authority of the United States to include personally identifiable information about the parent or the child in the Annual Report, the Annual Report may not include any personally identifiable information about any such parent, child, or party to an abduction or access case involving such parent or child.

(d)Additional sections (e) Omitted

Each Annual Report shall also include—

(1)information on the number of unresolved abduction cases affecting military parents;

(2)a description of the assistance offered to such military parents;

(3)information on the use of airlines in abductions, voluntary airline practices to prevent abductions, and recommendations for best airline practices to prevent abductions;

(4)information on actions taken by the Central Authority of the United States to train domestic judges in the application of the Hague Abduction Convention; and

(5)information on actions taken by the Central Authority of the United States to train United States Armed Forces legal assistance personnel, military chaplains, and military family support center personnel about—

(A)abductions;

(B)the risk of loss of contact with children; and

(C)the legal means available to resolve such cases.

(f)Notification to Congress on countries in noncompliance

(1)In general

The Secretary of State shall include, in a separate section of the Annual Report, the Secretary’s determination, pursuant to the provisions under section 9122(b) of this title, of whether each country listed in the report has engaged in a pattern of noncompliance in cases of child abduction during the preceding 12 months.

(2)Contents

The section described in paragraph (1)—

(A)shall identify any action or actions described in section 9122(d) of this title (or commensurate action as provided in section 9122(e) of this title) that have been taken by the Secretary with respect to each country;

(B)shall describe the basis for the Secretary’s determination of the pattern of noncompliance by each country;

(C)shall indicate whether noneconomic policy options designed to resolve the pattern of noncompliance have reasonably been exhausted, including the consultations required under section 9123 of this title.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Codification Section is comprised of section 101 of Pub. L. 113–150. Subsec. (e) of section 101 of Pub. L. 113–150 repealed section 11611 of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare.

Amendments

2021—Subsec. (b)(2)(A). Pub. L. 117–81, § 5702(1)(A), inserted “, respectively,” after “access cases” and “and the number of children involved” before semicolon at end. Subsec. (b)(2)(D). Pub. L. 117–81, § 5702(1)(B), inserted “respectively, the number of children involved,” after “access cases,”. Subsec. (b)(7). Pub. L. 117–81, § 5702(2), inserted “, and number of children involved in such cases” before semicolon at end. Subsec. (b)(10). Pub. L. 117–81, § 5702(3)–(5), added par. (10).

§9111 Annual Report

Summary

Title 22, §9111

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

Citations & Metadata