Families Across Borders | law, policy, news and views
New Child Abduction bill introduced in the House
Rep. Christopher Smith has introduced H.R. 1940, the International Child Abduction Prevention and Return Act of 2011. Among other provisions, the bill would extend new authority to the President and the State Department to respond to countries deemed to have a “pattern of noncompliance” with the Hague Child Abduction Convention. Information on the bill is available here.
Sex-selective abortions in India
This study, published in The Lancet, concludes that “Selective abortion of girls, especially for pregnancies after a firstborn girl, has increased substantially in India.” The authors sought to explain increasingly large differences between the census numbers of young girls and boys reported in 1991 (4.2 million), 2001 (6 million) and 2011 (7.1 million). Based on their investigation, [...]
New Attention to Child Sex Trade in Immigrant Communities
This story in the New York Times reports on new programs in Oakland, California taking a public health approach to working with children from immigrant communities forced or recruited into prostitution. See Patricia Leigh Brown ”In Oakland, Redefining Sex Trade workers as Abuse Victims” (May 23, 2011). The story notes that “[a]n estimated 100,000 to 300,000 American-born children [...]
Cert Petition on Habitual Residence Issue
Citing the emerging split within the U.S. Court of Appeals on the test for determination of habitual residence, lawyers have filed a petition for certiorari in the Supreme Court in Heydt-Benjamin v. Heydt-Benjamin. The case was decided by the Second Circuit in an unpublished decision in December 2010 (available at 2010 WL 5294639). The court cited [...]
Will Japan Ratify the Abduction Convention?
The Japanese Cabinet announced plans today to introduce legislation by the end of the year to ratify the Hague Child Abduction Convention. Here’s the coverage in the New York Times: Norimitsu Onishi, “Japan Closer to Joining International Child Custody Pact;” the Wall Street Journal: Yoree Koh, “Japan Moves to Join Child Custody Accord;” and the Associated [...]
House Plans Hearing on Child Abduction
The House Foreign Affairs Committee’s Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health and Human Rights, chaired by Christopher Smith (R-NJ) has scheduled a hearing on Tuesday, May 24, 2011 at 2 pm, called “International Child Abduction: Broken Laws and Bereaved Lives.” The announcement, including a list of witnesses, is here. The timing of this hearing is interesting – it [...]
