Campaign Against International Child Abduction

International child abduction is a phenomenon that occurs on a daily basis and affects every nation. Abducted children can suffer physical and emotional harm and find themselves isolated from the environment to which they have become accustomed and from a parent, family members, friends, and school. Victim parents often encounter difficult legal, financial, cultural, and linguistic barriers when trying to recover their child or even in gaining access to their child. While awareness of the issue of international child abduction is increasing, there is still a great deal left to do. Legal and social systems must be improved in order to assist in the resolution of these cases in a swift and consistent manner.

Partnership with the Permanent Bureau

In April 2003, the International Centre Centre for Missing & Exploited Children (ICMEC)and the Permanent Bureau of the Hague Conference on Private International Law entered into a formal partnership to focus on the following strategies to bring about positive changes for the benefit of children and families:

(1) A more consistent and uniform implementation of the Hague Convention;
(2) Creation of "Good Practice Guides" for Hague Convention Contracting States. These guides provide information on how countries should organize their judiciary and systems that deal with international child abduction to best fulfill obligations under the Hague Convention and the goal of the swift return of abducted children;
(3) Cooperation between countries that have signed the Hague Convention and those that have not, with a focus on Islamic countries; and
(4) Development of a Legal Training Institute to educate judges on the unique legal concepts necessary to resolve these complex international disputes. The International Centre's formal working relationship with the Permanent Bureau allows us to coordinate two essential outreach efforts: international conferences and good practice guides.

ICMEC's conferences bring together experts from all over the world to analyze the Hague Convention and find ways to improve its operation. In September 1998, we hosted an International Forum on Parental Child Abduction in which we assembled a small working group of experts on Hague Convention practice and developed a resulting "Call to Action", a 12-point Action Agenda that helps to strengthen the implementation of the Hague Convention. And amid mounting concern about the growing problems of, among other things, child abduction ICMEC convened the first-ever U.S./European Summit on Missing and Exploited Children in October 2005. Top officials from the United States and 19 European countries who attended the Summit adopted an aggressive 15-point Action Plan.

Conference recommendations are used to compile Good Practice Guides for signatory nations and potential new participants. These publications provide guidance on how to implement the Hague Convention more effectively. To date, we have published 14 such guides, including a Good Practice Report and 13 Country Reports.

The Good Practice Report assesses the strengths and needed areas of improvement for key countries that process return applications under the Hague Convention, offers practical recommendations for reform in the countries investigated, and offers possible models to countries considering accession to this Hague Convention. The Country Reports are individual analyses of the procedures and systems of countries with the highest numbers of caseloads pertaining to this Hague Convention. Country Reports are available for Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain, United Kingdom, and United States.

As nations, as organizations, and as individuals, we need to come together and build an international network to protect children's rights. Support us in our mission to protect the rights of some of the world's most vulnerable citizens.

Good Practice Report and Country Reports Related to the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.

Good Practice Report on Access Under the Hague Convention of 25 October 1980 on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.

Good Practice Report on Enforcement Under the Hague Convention of 25 October 1980 on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.

International Forum on Parental Child Abduction: Hague Convention Action Agenda

Please use English, French, and Spanish Versions.

The Koons Family International Law and Policy Institute will be a permanent tribute to world-renowned artist Jeff Koons(man who has lived the pain and anguish of international child abduction firsthand as a victim parent) and his family.

The Koons Family Institute will combat child exploitation in all its forms, including child trafficking, child pornography, and child abduction. More....