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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 thirteenth
country listed as “Noncompliant” in the report, Tunisia:
Country Summary: Tunisia does not adhere to any protocols with
respect to international parental child abduction. In 2016, Tunisia
demonstrated a pattern of noncompliance. Specifically, the competent
authorities in Tunisia failed to work with us to successfully resolve open
cases. As a result of this failure, 50 percent of requests for the return of
abducted children have remained unresolved for more than 12 months. On average
these cases have been unresolved for more than 4 years. Tunisia has been cited
as non-compliant since 2014.
Central Authority: In 2016, the competent authorities in Tunisia
worked closely with the United States to discuss ways to improve the resolution
of pending abduction cases. Nonetheless, none of the pending abduction cases
were able to reach resolution through the Tunisian legal system in 2016.
Moreover, the competent authorities repeatedly failed to reply to requests from
the Department of State to explain Tunisia’s system of law regarding IPCA
cases.
Location: The Department of State did not request assistance with
location from the Tunisian authorities.
Judicial Authorities: While some abduction cases were adjudicated
in favor of the U.S. citizen left-behind parent, the lack of clear legal
procedures for addressing international parental child abduction cases under
Tunisian law makes it very difficult for Tunisia to address these cases
successfully.
Enforcement: Judicial decisions in IPCA cases in Tunisia were not
enforced unless the taking parent voluntarily complied with a local court
order. Moreover, there were two cases (accounting for 100 percent of the cases
filed with the FCA) where Tunisian law enforcement authorities have failed to
enforce a court order for over two years.
Department Recommendations: The Department will continue its
efforts to persuade Tunisia to accede to the Convention. The Department also
recommends an emphasis on preventing abductions.
