FEDERALhearing transcript

High Impact

Reviewing International Parental Child Abduction

Original title: REVIEWING INTERNATIONAL CHILD ABDUCTION

January 1, 2018

international child abduction human rights foreign affairs parental rights Goldman Act

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The Frame

What this does

The hearing highlights the government's role in enforcing international laws to recover children abducted by parents to foreign nations, affecting thousands of U.S. families annually.

Who is mentioned in the record

Potentially affected actors named in the source documents. Mention is not a position.

Left-behind parents

These parents are seeking the recovery of children who have been taken to foreign countries.

U.S. Government

The government is responsible for utilizing legal tools to address international abduction cases.

What changed

Last recorded activity January 1, 2018.

What's next

Next step not available in the current record.

Summary

A House subcommittee hearing held on December 10, 2018, to examine the ongoing crisis of . The hearing focused on the effectiveness of the and the U.S. government's efforts to assist parents in recovering children taken to foreign countries.

Key Facts

The hearing was held on December 10, 2018, by the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations.
More than 450 new children are abducted internationally from the U.S. each year.
Between 2008 and 2017, approximately 11,000 children were abducted internationally from the U.S.
Since 1994, more than 400 U.S. children have been abducted to Japan.
The Japanese government has not returned a single American child to an American parent since 1994.
The hearing featured testimony from three parents: Jeffery Morehouse, Juan Garaicoa, and Michelle Littleton.

Why It Matters

The hearing highlights the government's role in enforcing international laws to recover children abducted by parents to foreign nations, affecting thousands of U.S. families annually.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the purpose of this hearing?

To review the crisis of and discuss how the U.S. government can use existing laws, like the , to help parents recover their children.

How many children are abducted internationally from the U.S. annually?

According to the hearing, more than 450 new children are abducted each year.

News Coverage

No news coverage found yet. Articles are indexed twice daily.

Related Legislation

Federal Bill

Proposed Updates to the Sean and David Goldman International Child Abduction Prevention and Return Act

This bill proposes updates to the 2014 law governing international parental child abduction, including expanding the definition of abduction cases and

Discoveries

Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.

policy shift90% confidence

Focus on Japan

The hearing specifically highlights a long-standing failure to resolve abduction cases involving Japan, noting zero returns since 1994.

Japan

Connected Entities

personChristopher H. Smith“Chairman of the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and ”Map →

personJeffery Morehouse“Executive Director of Bring Abducted Children Home and witness”Map →

personMichelle Littleton“Witness and parent of children abducted to Lebanon”Map →

personJuan Garaicoa“Witness and parent of children abducted to Ecuador”Map →

Sources

Open source document

www.govinfo.gov

Analysis Score

0–100

Significance75
How much this matters to a regular citizen
Controversy40
Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
Entertainment20
Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
Buzz15
Current news / social attention level

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