Updated
Accession of Morocco to the Hague Abduction Convention
US State Department/Media Note (Washington, DC, Nov. 29, 2012) — On December 1, 2012, the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction (Convention) will enter into force between the United States and Morocco. The United States now partners with 70 countries under the Convention.
The Convention is the primary civil law mechanism for parents seeking the return of children who have been abducted from or retained outside their country of habitual residence by another parent or family member. Parents seeking access to children residing in treaty partner countries may also invoke the Convention. The Convention is critically important because it establishes a formalized diplomatic channel through which partner countries can cooperate on international parental child abduction and establishes an internationally recognized framework to resolve parental abduction cases. The Convention does not address who should have custody of the child; it addresses where the custody case should be heard.
The Office of Children’s Issues, as the Central Authority for the United States, congratulates the Ministry of Justice, Morocco’s Central Authority, for this accomplishment. We welcome Morocco to the Convention and look forward to working together on this critical issue.
For more information about international parental child abduction, please visit: ChildrensIssues.state.gov
For press inquiries please contact CAPRESSREQUESTS@state.gov or (202) 647-1488.