,,iii #aaith ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 ,,res4 #aej ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,april #a 7legislative day1 ,march #ca71 #bjbe,mr4 ,tillis 7for himself and ,mr4 ,murphy7 submitted the following resolution2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,foreign ,relations ,,resolution ,supporting the goals and ideals of ,countering ,international ,parental ,child ,abduction ,month and expressing the sense of the ,senate that ,congress should raise awareness of the harm caused by international parental child abduction4 ,whereas thousands of children have been abducted from the ,united ,states by parents1 separating those children from their parents who remain in the ,united ,states2 ,whereas it is illegal under section #abjd of title #ah1 ,united ,states ,code1 to remove1 or attempt to remove1 a child from the ,united ,states or to retain a child 7who has been in the ,united ,states7 outside of the ,united ,states with the intent to obstruct the lawful exercise of parental rights2 ,whereas #i1haf children were reported abducted from the ,united ,states between #bjaj and #bjbj2 ,whereas1 during #bjbc1 #a or more cases of international parental child abduction involving children who are citizens of the ,united ,states were identified in #aje countries around the world2 ,whereas the ,united ,states is a party to the ,convention on the ,civil ,aspects of ,international ,child ,abduction1 done at ,the ,hague1 ,october #be1 #aihj 7,,tias #aafgj7 7referred to in this preamble as the ,hague ,convention on ,abduction71 which-- 7#a7 supports the prompt return of wrongly removed or retained children2 and 7#b7 calls for all participating parties to respect parental custody rights2 ,whereas the majority of children who were abducted from the ,united ,states have yet to be reunited with their custodial parents2 ,whereas1 in #bjbc1 ,argentina1 ,belize1 ,brazil1 ,bulgaria1 ,ecuador1 ,egypt1 ,honduras1 ,india1 ,jordan1 the ,republic of ,korea1 ,montenegro1 ,peru1 ,poland1 ,romania1 the ,russian ,federation1 and the ,united ,arab ,emirates were identified pursuant to the ,sean and ,david ,goldman ,international ,child ,abduction ,prevention and ,return ,act of #bjad 7#bb ,u4,s4,c4 #iaja et seq47 as engaging in a pattern of noncompliance 7as defined in section #c of that ,act 7#bb ,u4,s4,c4 #iaja772 ,whereas1 between #bjae and #bjbc1 a total of #ai countries were previously identified as engaging in a pattern of noncompliance 7as so defined71 including ,austria1 the ,bahamas1 the ,people's ,republic of ,china1 ,colombia1 ,costa ,rica1 the ,dominican ,republic1 ,guatemala1 ,japan1 ,lebanon1 ,morocco1 ,nicaragua1 ,oman1 ,pakistan1 ,panama1 ,saudi ,arabia1 ,slovakia1 ,trinidad and ,tobago1 and ,tunisia1 showing the importance of continued enforcement of ,united ,states law by the executive branch to ensure the return of abducted children2 ,whereas the ,supreme ,court of the ,united ,states has recognized that family abduction-- 7#a7 is a form of child abuse with potentially devastating consequences for a child1 which may include negative impacts on the physical and mental well-being of the child2 and 7#b7 may cause a child to experience a loss of community and stability1 leading to loneliness1 anger1 and fear of abandonment2 ,whereas1 according to the #bjaj ,report on ,compliance with the ,hague ,convention on the ,civil ,aspects of ,international ,child ,abduction by the ,department of ,state1 an abducted child is at risk of significant short- and long-term problems1 including anxiety1 eating problems1 nightmares1 mood swings1 sleep disturbances1 and aggressive behavior2 ,whereas international parental child abduction has devastating emotional consequences for the child and for the parent from whom the child is separated2 ,whereas the ,united ,states has a history of promoting child welfare through institutions1 including-- 7#a7 the ,children's ,bureau of the ,administration for ,children and ,families of the ,department of ,health and ,human ,services2 and 7#b7 the ,office of ,children's ,issues of the ,bureau of ,consular ,affairs of the ,department of ,state2 ,whereas the ,coalition to ,end ,international ,parental ,child ,abduction1 through dedicated advocacy and regular testimony1 has highlighted the importance of this issue to ,congress and called on successive administrations to take concerted action to stop international parental child abduction and repatriate kidnapped ,united ,states children2 ,whereas ,bring ,abducted ,children ,home1 ,bring ,our ,kids ,home1 i,stand ,parent ,network1 and the ,coalition to ,end ,international ,parental ,child ,abduction have been recognized by the ,department of ,justice as nonprofit organizations specializing in international parental child abduction2 ,whereas ,congress has signaled a commitment to ending international parental child abduction by enacting-- 7#a7 the ,international ,child ,abduction ,remedies ,act 7#bb ,u4,s4,c4 #ijja et seq472 7#b7 the ,international ,parental ,kidnapping ,crime ,act of #aiic 7,public ,law #ajc-agc2 #ajg ,stat4 #aiih71 which enacted section #abjd of title #ah1 ,united ,states ,code2 and 7#c7 the ,sean and ,david ,goldman ,international ,child ,abduction ,prevention and ,return ,act of #bjad 7#bb ,u4,s4,c4 #iaja et seq472 ,whereas the ,senate adopted ,senate ,resolution #edc 7#aabth ,congress71 agreed to ,december #d1 #bjab1 condemning the international abduction of children2 ,whereas the ,senate adopted ,senate ,resolution #dca 7#aaeth ,congress71 agreed to ,april #ai1 #bjah1 to raise awareness of1 and opposition to1 international parental child abduction2 ,whereas the ,senate adopted ,senate ,resolution #bc 7#aafth ,congress71 agreed to ,april #aa1 #bjai1 to raise awareness of the harm caused by international parental child abduction2 ,whereas the ,senate adopted ,senate ,resolution #efh 7#aagth ,congress71 agreed to ,july #ba1 #bjbb1 to raise awareness of the harm caused by international parental child abduction2 ,whereas the ,senate adopted ,senate ,resolution #aae 7#aahth ,congress71 agreed to ,may1 #aj #bjbc1 to raise awareness of the harm caused by international parental child abduction2 ,whereas ,congress calls on the ,department of ,state to fully use the tools available under the ,sean and ,david ,goldman ,international ,child ,abduction ,prevention and ,return ,act of #bjad 7#bb ,u4,s4,c4 #iaja et seq47 to negotiate1 and make publicly available1 bilateral agreements or memorandums of understanding-- 7#a7 with countries not parties to the ,hague ,convention on ,abduction to resolve abduction and access cases2 and 7#b7 regarding open abduction and access cases predating the ,hague ,convention on ,abduction with countries that have thereafter become parties to the ,hague ,convention on ,abduction2 ,whereas all #ej ,states and the ,district of ,columbia have enacted laws criminalizing parental kidnapping2 ,whereas1 in #bjbc1 the ,prevention ,branch of the ,office of ,children's ,issues of the ,department of ,state-- 7#a7 fielded more than #d1fjj inquiries from the general public relating to preventing a child from being removed from the ,united ,states2 and 7#b7 enrolled more than #c1gjj children in the ,children's ,passport ,issuance ,alert ,program1 which-- 7,a7 is #a of the most important tools of the ,department of ,state for preventing international parental child abduction2 7,b7 allows the ,office of ,children's ,issues to contact the enrolling parent or legal guardian to verify whether the parental consent requirement has been met when a passport application has been submitted for an enrolled child2 and 7,c7 has enrolled a total of over #ff1fjj children in the program since its inception2 ,whereas the ,department of ,state cannot track the ultimate destination of a child through the use of the passport issued by the ,department of ,state if the child is transported to a third country after departing from the ,united ,states2 ,whereas a child who is a citizen of the ,united ,states may have another nationality and may travel using a passport issued by another country1 which-- 7#a7 increases the difficulty of determining the whereabouts of the child2 and 7#b7 makes efforts to prevent abduction more critical2 ,whereas1 during #bjbc1 #bje children were returned to the ,united ,states1 and an additional #aai abduction cases1 involving #adg children1 were resolved without the children being returned to the ,united ,states2 and ,whereas1 in #bjbc1 the ,department of ,homeland ,security1 in coordination with the ,prevention ,branch of the ,office of ,children's ,issues of the ,department of ,state1 enrolled #cda children in the ,prevent ,abduction ,program1 which is aimed at preventing international parental child abduction through coordination with ,u4,s4 ,customs and ,border ,patrol officers at the airport1 seaport1 or land border ports of entry by intercepting the child before departure3 ,now1 therefore1 be it ,that the ,senate-- 7#a7 recognizes and observes ,countering ,international ,parental ,child ,abduction ,month during the period beginning on ,april #a1 #bjbe1 and ending on ,april #cj1 #bjbe1 to raise awareness of1 and opposition to1 international parental child abduction2 and 7#b7 urges the ,united ,states to continue playing a leadership role in raising awareness about the devastating impacts of international parental child abduction by educating the public about the negative emotional1 psychological1 and physical consequences to children and parents victimized by international parental child abduction4