US targets foreign officials prolonging parental child abduction cases

The United States has moved against people responsible for, or complicit in, impeding the resolution of international parental child abduction cases, as well as their family members.

The action targets individuals who intentionally obstruct the prompt resolution of such litigation by prolonging family separations and blocking the return of children to the U.S.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in a statement on Monday, announced a visa ban on culpable foreign government officials, judges, judicial administrators, and law enforcement officials.

It also affects those who intentionally fail to implement or comply with laws, policies, or court orders to resolve child cases and return them to their country of habitual residence.

“This policy gives the Department a new accountability tool to press non-compliant countries to meet their obligations,” the top diplomat noted.

Rubio said that protecting American children abducted across international borders and reuniting them with their parents remains a top priority for the Trump administration.

Parental child abduction is a felony offense under state laws across all 50 U.S. states, and a federal crime under the International Parental Kidnapping Crime Act when a child is illegally taken abroad.

The global community also tackles the issue under the framework of the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, which was ratified in the U.S. in July 1988.

Adopted by 103 contracting parties (countries and territories), the treaty requires the immediate return of children who have been wrongfully removed from, or retained outside of, their country.