The Hague Convention Child Abduction Act

If you are a parent living in a foreign country, please watch BBC1 tonight at 11.35p.m. (German time).

One Life tonight is about an international law that does not consider the welfare of children and is inhumane and outdated.

Please watch, and KNOW your children can be in danger.

Believe it or not some of us don't have BBC so please spill the beans about what it is that's so important.

"One Life" tonight is following the story of a little boy called Dylan Gunn, born to a Northern Irish mother and American father.

The mother went to live in the USA with her husband where she suffered control and abuse and so decided to leave and return to her home country in order to protect her child.

There is an international law called the Hague Convention Child Abduction Act that makes sure that parents who have lost their children through child abduction can have them returned, if the other parent has fled to a country where the HC is in force. Generally, this is a good thing. But what happens is that many parents fleeing abusive relationships are forced to return to a place where they and their children can be in very real danger.

This act is inhumane because at no time does it take the welfare of the child into consideration.

So any parents thinking of taking their families to a foreign country should be aware that if you leave, you can be forced to return to the country you left, regardless of your own or the childrens nationality or welfare.

I'm getting the feeling theres more to this than meets the eye, Tinkerbell have you fled from somewhere?

You feel very strong about this programme, has a friend/family member of yours come a cropper to this HC ... or am I wide of the mark?

i can see that a parent can be forced back if there is no danger

but surely not to go back to danger...

but under article 13 b of the convention a child cannot be returned if it is danger!!
i think i have read it correctly

the link is here Convention

yes, it has happened to me, to reply to both Slackmack and bbulldog.

bbulldog - it is a well known fact that the British courts in these cases "pass the buck", by demanding that the child be sent back to their place of "habitual residence", and the way they get around the 'grave danger' angle is to make the other partner move out of the 'family' home. I have spoken at some length to the UK's National Domestic Violence Hotline, and they agree that this action does NOT remove any danger.

So, let's say for example a mother, with a violent husband, has to return to a place where she, and quite often, the child too, have been abused. Also, in most cases the returning party will not have any sort of support network and will be ostracised within the community.

The idea behind the HC is to let the country where the child was residing sort it out. This puts people with only a basic knowledge of the local language at a distint disadvantage and they will often not know where to turn to for help. This also seems particularly harsh when all parties concerned are not nationals of the country the legal issues will be dealt with.

I don’t quite understand how a court in the UK can dictate to a man in Germany that he has to move out of the “habitual residence!�

What happens if he does not?

Who will enforce this move out is obeyed?

Any move out will be ineffective without a court prohibition order on the man against the residence address, if he does come back will the German Polizei take any notice of anything written in English from an English court.

I bet there are any number of lawyers queuing up to fleece you over this.

Slackmack, I don't know about German Law, I wasn't in Germany when this happened but another European country.

All I do know is that the law needs to be changed to represent the interests of the child and reflect to some extent their nationality.

The programme last night was certainly interesting, although I was disappointed that it not tell more about the Hague Convention and what it really means for parents living abroad.

Let me tell you another story that was in the Daily Mail in the UK last week.

A British mother and father had gone to live in Dubai because of the fathers work. They have 2 small children together and he already has 2 by a previous marriage. He was controlling and abusive and was having affairs, and she did what anyone else in her situation would do, went back to her parents (in the UK ) with her children. The Hague Convention, through the UK courts, ordered the children back to Dubai for the custody issues to be sorted out there. The husband, the mother says, lied under oath and said she had had an abortion. This is an imprisionable offence in Dubai so she cannot return with her children, who are being looked after by a maid as their father is never home - he is a pilot. Is this a good life for the children? I think not.

Doesn't really seem right does it?

This law needs to be changed, and parents abroad need to be aware that they cannot just go back to their home country with their children, for whatever reason, even if it is the only safe haven for them.

The law will NOT protect them.

just got through reading all the threads in my absent...
i agree with Slackmack who will enforce the law, the german authorities wont.
but i still think there must be a way out of this even if there is the convention.
safety should be top priority.

i just cant believe that with dubai, now if both parent are brits and
...no words can describe the stupidity of it all.
reminds me of 'not without my daughter'

there must be someone that can help...

yes I think its ludicrous...makes me think of my own situation but having read through the Convention rulings (which are ridiculous) I am still planning to go ahead with my move. Hope it will all turn out ok, its a chance I am willing to take

good on yer Hellie

Tinkerbell what bothers me is that your British (I assume) and your being effectivly deported from your home country

Slackmack - what you are saying is right, but that is just because of the Hague Convention. It seems to me it is the only law in Britain where the rights and welfare of the child are not put first. In fact, it seems to me they are not really considered at all. Yes, I am British. However, I would mention that the Court seemed to have very little option but to send us back, they do in 99% of these cases. The Hague Convention Child Abduction and Custody Act needs to be modified. In principle it is correct, but the way it is applied needs to be changed.

If anyone does find themselves in this situation it is worth knowing that you can contact the British Embassy in the country to which you are being sent. They will, and in my case, did, offer much sympathy and practical help.

Bbulldog, it seems that if you are remaining within the EU then court orders from one country can be upheld in any other member state. I've read "not without my daughter", an incredible story, and an inspiration. Thank God my situation was never that dire!

Thank you all for taking the time to read about this. My main aim in life now is to let people know that this law exists and what it can mean for people living away from their home country. And ultimately to have it changed for the benefit of the child.

Where does The European Court of Human Rights stand in all of this? And where can we expect to read about your story? To make such a bold statement Tink, you are going to have to start a press campaign to inform more people than just us here, or have you already done that and we don’t know about it due to not reading the daily’s?

Ok, you’re British, in Britain, who is your Euro MP? Who is your local MP (hope she's a woman)? If you don't know who these people are you need to find out, as their help will be needed. And for heavens sake don't start a petition; they are a waste of time and energy, no serious politician cares if there are 20 or 20,000 signatures on a piece of paper, you end up wasting all your time and resources in a cause that is doomed to fail from the word go