If you should be in the unthinkable position that we are at this moment, here are a few tips to start the process of the safe return of your child / children.
Prevention
- Although it is very difficult to prevent parental abduction unless you know it is definately going to happen, there are things you can to de reduce the risk.
- Take the advice of a family lawyer, preferably one that specialises in this area. You may need to get a preventative or residence court order.
- Contact the Identity and Passport service and ask them not to grant a British passport for your child without your permission.
- If the other parent is not British they may be able to obtain a passport for the child from their home country. In this case write to the relevant embassy, High Commission or Consulate of that country and ask them not to issue a passport for your child - they do not have to do this but may do so voluntarily.
- If you think your child may be taken imminently contact your local police as they can contact the National Ports office and ask themto alert all UK points of departure. This is known as a 'Port Alert'.
- Keep your childs passport, birth certificate or anything that could help the childs parent to take the child from the country, safely locked away or at someone elses house.
Advice and Assistance
- Contact the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
- Contact your local MP.
The 1980 ‘Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects ofInternational Child Abduction’ is an agreement between various countries which aims to ensure the return of an abducted child to the country where he or she normally lives, so that issues of residence (custody) and contact (access) can be decided by the courts of that country. You can find out if your child has been taken to a country that has joined the Hague convention by contacting the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
If the country the child has been taken to has joined you must contact International Child Abduction and Contact Unit in the Department for Constitutional Affairs (if you live in England or Wales), the Scottish Executive Justice Department (if you live in Scotland), or the Northern Ireland Courts Service (if you live in Northern Ireland). These authorities will handle your case and make an application on your behalf under the Hague Convention.
The best thing to do if the country has not signed the Hague Convention is to negotiate with the other parent. Although this can be difficult it is the easiest way to get your child home. You can enter legal proceedings in the courts of the country the child has been taken to although in many cases these countries favour the other parent if they are a national of that country, it can also be very costly.