The U.S. State Department has
just issued its 2017 Annual Report on International Parental Child Abduction
under the International Child Abduction Prevention and Return Act (ICAPRA). The
following is the Country Summary and related information from the fifth country
listed as “Noncompliant” in the report, Ecuador:
Country Summary: The United States and Ecuador have
been partners under the Hague Abduction Convention since 1992. In 2016, Ecuador
demonstrated a pattern of noncompliance. While the Ecuadorian Central Authority
improved its performance and responsiveness in 2016, the judicial and law
enforcement authorities in Ecuador persistently failed to implement and abide
by all of the provisions of the Hague Abduction Convention as evidenced by
delays of over nine months in locating abducted children and judicial delays.
As a result of this failure, 11 percent of requests for the return of abducted
children under the Convention have remained unresolved for more than 12 months.
On average these cases have been unresolved for 13 months. Ecuador has been
cited as non-compliant since 2014.
Central Authority: While the United States and the
Ecuadorian Central Authority have a cooperative relationship, periodic delays
in the processing of cases and inconsistent communication impacted the timely
resolution of Convention cases. In 2016, the Ecuadorian Central Authority
improved its performance and responsiveness. However, the Department still
encountered occasional delays in obtaining updates from the Authority.
Voluntary Resolution: The Convention states that
central authorities “shall take all appropriate measures to secure the
voluntary return of the child or to bring about an amicable resolution of the
issues.” In 2016, two abduction cases were resolved through voluntary means.
Location: Ecuador demonstrated a pattern of
noncompliance with the Convention as a result of failure by the competent
authorities to promptly locate a child after a Convention application was
filed. The average time to locate a child was nine months and 23 days. As of
December 31, 2016, there were three cases where the Ecuadorian authorities had
taken a lengthy period of time to locate abducted children. In one of the three
cases, authorities have been unable to successfully locate a child since in
January 2013. Ecuadorian authorities failed to conduct vigorous follow-up
activities to locate children whose taking parents attempt to evade the police.
In Ecuador, cases cannot proceed to court until the children's locations are
confirmed.
Judicial Authorities: The Ecuadorian judicial
authorities demonstrated a pattern of noncompliance with the Convention due to
serious delays in serving summons on alleged taking parents. Cases are
generally pending with the judiciary for more than 16 months.
Enforcement: Unless a parent voluntarily complied
with a return order under the Convention, judicial decisions in Convention
cases in Ecuador were generally not enforced. Moreover, there is one case
(accounting for 11 percent of the total cases filed with the FCA) that has been
pending for more than 12 months where law enforcement failed to locate the
child.
Access: In 2016, there were no open access cases.
Department Recommendations: The Department will
intensify engagement with the Ecuadorian authorities to address significant
issues of concern and expand public diplomacy activities related to the
resolution of cases. The Department will also encourage training with judicial
and administrative authorities on the effective handling of international
parental child abduction cases. The Department also recommends an emphasis on
preventing abductions.