Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 115 Part 3.djvu/407

 CONCURRENT RESOLUTIONS—MAR. 23, 2001 115 STAT. 2481 Whereas on 2 occasions, the International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children have convened professionals and experts in international child abduction to examine their experiences with the Convention; Whereas on both occasions, the participants affirmed their overwhelming commitment to the Convention, but were also unified in the conclusion that there are serious shortcomings in its implementation; Whereas the shortcomings include— (1) a lack of awareness by policy makers and the general public of the Convention and of the problem of international child abduction, making the successful resolution of cases more difficult; (2) the fact that, in too many instances, the process for resolving an international child abduction is too slow; (3) a lack of uniformity in the interpretation of the Convention from nation to nation; (4) the fact that key exceptions provided in the Convention to ensure reason and common sense have in some cases ceased to be viewed as exceptions, have instead become the rule, and are frequently used as justifications for not returning abducted children; (5) the increasing difficulty of enforcing access rights for parents under Article 21 of the Convention; (6) the need of parents for significant personal financial resources to obtain legal representation and proceed under the Convention and, in many places, the lack of assistance for parents who do not have such resources; (7) a serious lack of training, knowledge, and experience for judges in international child abduction cases, because there are too many courts hearing these cases and in most instances few such cases for each court; and (8) in many instances, the lack of enforcement of court orders for the return of children; Whereas the Permanent Bureau of The Hague Conference on Private International Law has made significant contributions to the implementation of the Convention but recognizes that more needs to be done; and Whereas the International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children has promised to support an effort to produce practice guides to provide a framework for applying the Convention: Now, therefore, be it Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), That— (1) it is the sense of the Congress that— (A) the original intent of the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction—to provide a uniform process for resolving international child abduction cases—is more important than ever; (B) practice guides should be developed for the Convention that build on recognized best practices under the Convention and provide a framework for applying the Convention; (C) the Convention itself need not be modified;

�