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Committee Advances Child Abduction, Food Aid Bills

On March 27, the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, and Human Rights approved en bloc, by unanimous consent, the Sean and David Goldman International Child Abduction Prevention and Return Act (H.R. 1940), as amended, and the Donald M. Payne International Food Assistance Improvement Act (H.R. 4141). The subcommittee held a hearing on the issue of international child abduction on July 28 (see The Source, 7/29/11).

International Child Abduction

According to the bill’s findings, there are nearly 1,800 open cases involving nearly 2,500 children abducted by parents or legal guardians from the United States to other countries. H.R. 1940, sponsored by Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), would authorize “such sums as may be necessary” for FY2010-2013 to establish within the State Department an Office on International Child Abductions, which would be headed by a newly established Ambassador-at-Large for International Child Abductions. The office would promote measures to prevent international child abduction, advocate on behalf of abducted children who are habitual residents of the United States, assist “left-behind” parents in the resolution of abduction or refusal of access cases, and advance mechanisms to prevent and resolve international child abduction cases.

The ambassador would advise the president and the secretary of State regarding such abduction cases. The ambassador also would make recommendations with regard to U.S. policies towards governments that do not cooperate with The Hague Convention; coordinate with other federal agencies on matters of criminal prosecution, Interpol assistance, training for U.S. forces, and negotiating agreements to protect U.S. forces abroad; and recommend additional policies to address international child abduction globally.

In addition, the measure would establish a toll-free number to the office and a language line for “left-behind” parents who do not speak English. The bill would train federal judges and state judges likely to receive Hague Convention cases. Four specifically trained judges would be retained by the office and available on an as-needed basis.

The ambassador would be required to provide an annual report that includes, among other data, the number of pending child abduction cases in Hague Convention-compliant countries, countries with whom the U.S. has entered into a memorandum of understanding with regard to international child abduction, and countries that are not signatories to The Hague Convention.

In response to countries that do not cooperate with international child abduction, the bill would authorize the president to promote resolution through, among other means, private or official demarche; public condemnation; the delay or cancellation of scientific and cultural exchanges and working, official, or state visits; or the withdrawal of U.S. foreign assistance.

As amended, the bill would require the secretary of State to designate at least one official in each diplomatic and consular mission to assist parents from the U.S. who are visiting the country to resolve an abduction case. The measure also would establish requirements for the secretary of State to enter into a memorandum of understanding with countries that are not signatories to The Hague Convention.

International Food Assistance

Sponsored by the late Rep. Donald Payne (D-NJ), H.R. 4141 would require the administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to improve the nutritional quality of international food assistance, “particularly for vulnerable groups, such as pregnant and lactating mothers; children under the age of five, with a focus on the cost-effective 1,000 days between pregnancy and age two, when appropriate; and beneficiaries under the President’s Emergency Fund for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).”

The bill would establish a consultative group “to increase coordination and oversight of food assistance programs established and implemented…with a primary focus on improving quality control and cost effectiveness.”