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The Department of State’s Office of Children’s Issues
serves as the U.S. Central Authority for the Hague Convention and leads U.S.
government efforts to combat international parental child abduction within the
State Department and with other U.S. government agencies. Their annual report was just released.
This report provides Congress
with extensive information regarding compliance with the Hague Convention. Countries
that did not have an open abduction or access case in 2017 are not listed in
the report.
Each country data page includes a country summary, a
table containing data on cases open with the Office of Children’s Issues in
2016 and 2017, and an evaluation of the foreign central authority. This Report
presents a snapshot of abduction and access cases in a country during calendar
year 2017. For 2017, the Report has designated 12 countries as “demonstrating
patterns of noncompliance” (as defined in the Sean and David Goldman
International Child Abduction Prevention and Return Act of 2014). We will publish on this blog the relevant info
regarding all 12 of these countries, beginning today with Argentina.
Argentina
Country
Summary: The Hague Abduction Convention has been in force
between the United States and Argentina since 1991. In 2017, Argentina
demonstrated a pattern of noncompliance. Specifically, Argentina’s judicial
branch regularly fails to implement and comply with the provisions of the Hague
Abduction Convention. As a result of this failure, 40 percent of requests for
the return of abducted children under the Convention remained unresolved for
more than 12 months. On average these cases were unresolved for five years and
five months. Argentina has been cited as noncompliant since 2014.
Initial
Inquiries: In 2017, the Department received three initial
inquiries from parents regarding possible abductions to Argentina where no
completed applications were submitted to the Department.
Significant
Developments: Argentina enforced the return of two
children to the United States in one case in 2017, resolving a seven-year-long
Convention application. The Argentine Central Authority, together with the
broader Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Worship and the Argentine Embassy in
Washington, D.C., coordinated with the Department to ensure the safe return of
the children. Additionally, Argentina's International Hague Network Judge
regularly engages with judicial authority colleagues and the Argentine Congress
on the implementation of the Convention in Argentina. In 2017, the Argentine
Network Judge collaborated on the text of a draft law seeking to expedite
Convention cases and reduce the number of appeals prior to enforcing return
orders. The International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (ICMEC)
trained Argentine law enforcement officials on the subject of missing children
and collaborated with Argentine interlocutors to prevent and respond to missing
children cases.
Central
Authority: The United States and the Argentine Central
Authorities have a strong and productive relationship that facilitates the
resolution of abduction cases under the Convention. The Department has enjoyed
a good, working partnership with the Argentine Central Authority in 2017 and
has observed a commitment by the executive branch of the Government of
Argentina to attempt to improve Convention performance in the country.
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 2017,
one abduction case was resolved through voluntary means.
Location:
In some cases, the competent authorities delayed taking appropriate steps to
locate a child after a Convention application was filed. The average time to
locate a child was 34 days. In one notable case, the Argentine authorities have
failed to confirm the child’s location on multiple occasions. As a result, the
Convention case has not advanced.
Judicial
Authorities: The Argentine judicial authorities
demonstrated a pattern of noncompliance with the Convention due to serious
delays in deciding Convention cases. As a result, cases may be pending with the
judiciary for well over one year. Two open cases have been before the courts
for three and eight years, respectively, with final resolution still pending.
Enforcement:
While courts in Argentina ordered returns under the Convention, the Argentine
authorities did not always enforce these orders, apparently due to conflicts in
orders from other Argentine courts. In this reporting period, after significant
delays, Argentina enforced the court-ordered return of two children in one
case.
Department
Recommendations: The Department will continue intense
engagement with the Argentine authorities to address issues of concern and
expand public diplomacy activities related to the resolution of cases.
Access:
In 2017, the U.S. Central Authority had one open access case under the
Convention in Argentina. This case has been filed with the Argentine Central
Authority. No new cases were filed in 2017. By December 31, 2017, this case
(100 percent) had been resolved.
