International Parental Kidnapping: Combatting Abduction through Prevention
Loading...
Authors
Dowd, Ashley
Issue Date
2017-05
Volume
8
Issue
2
Type
Journal Article
Language
Keywords
Alternative Title
Abstract
INTRODUCTION
"My children were gone," recalled Kristine Uhlman, who had lived a parent's worst nightmare. Kristine fled the Middle East and a violent husband in 1981, escaping to the United States with her children, two-year old Hani and three-year old Maisoon. Less than a year later, her children were professionally abducted from their home in Colorado. After months of unsuccessful attempts to reclaim her children, she was given some painful but pointed advice and came to a realization:| "I could spend all my money trying to prosecute the professional kidnappers hired by my husband, with little hope of actually having my children returned, or I could use my money to fight for my children here, leaving a trail of letters and works of advocacy to show my children how much I loved them. Eventually, they would come looking for me. Why not make it easier for them to find me?''| Nearly 20,000 international abductions take place each year. The United States routinely experiences the largest percentage of these international abductions, and as result, there are an estimated 10,000 United States children abroad. This Article claims that the United States should focus on further preventative measures to stop international parental abduction, supporting the idea that "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." Prevention is vital to the protection of children who are at risk of abduction because the United States Federal Government has little power to prosecute an abductor outside the United States or return a child once he or she is brought to a foreign country.|This Article proceeds in three sections. First, the Background examines the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction of 1980 and United States domestic law on international parental kidnappings. This Article then advances the Argument that due to the difficulty in securing the return of a child from either signatory or non-signatory nations to the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction Convention, the United States should focus on preventative measures rather than post-abduction consequences and reclamation efforts. This Argument also addresses and responds to common objections, including the rights of parents and the right to travel. Finally, this Article concludes with a brief synopsis of the Argument and proposes several options that policymakers could pursue to further current preventative measures domestically and supplement international parental kidnapping legislation.
Description
Citation
Publisher
Creighton University School of Law
License
Copyright