International Criminal Court Against Child Kidnapping: October 2018

Monday 22 October 2018

Is The Government About To Address Child Abduction In India?

In recent times, stories that underline the need for improved rights for children in India have rippled across the media, with voices around the globe calling for stronger reforms. Yet, in an unprecedented move, it would appear that India might be open to working with the United States to tackle parental child abduction.

The Hague Convention of 25 October 1980 on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction is a multilateral treaty developed by the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH) that provides an expeditious method to return a child internationally abducted by a parent from one country to another.

India is currently not one of the signatories of the treaty, which makes it an untouched and unspoiled haven for parental kidnapping.

The Economic reported that in a meeting with Indian officials, Suzanne Lawrence, Special Advisor Children's Issues Bureau of Consular Affairs at the Department of State, highlighted the need for the country to join The Hague convention. She said:

"India is beginning to work with us to find practical solutions for children who are being abducted between our two countries.

"In February of this year, I travelled to India to encourage government officials there to resolve the numerous abduction cases they have, and for India to join the Convention.

“While in the US it is called abduction, most of such cases are a result of marital dispute wherein one of the parents stays with the child in India and quite often gets a court order in their favor.”

Since there are no laws against parental child abduction in India, it is not regarded as a criminal offense. The only solution for “left behind” parents is to proceed with legal action–which, in the Indian judicial system, could take years to resolve. And amidst court hearings, it is also likely that there can be an order placed which restricts the “left behind” parent from having contact with their child until the court issues a ruling.

According to recent figures, in 2016 there were as many as 83 cases of alleged parental child abduction of American children.

A statement from the State Department outlined India’s failings:

"Parental child abduction is not a crime in India. Parents may wish to consult with an attorney in the United States and in the country to which the child has been removed or retained to learn more about how filing criminal charges may impact a custody case in the foreign court.”

"The competent authorities in India persistently failed to work with the Department of State to resolve abduction cases. As a result of this failure, 66 per cent of requests for the return of abducted children have remained unresolved for more than 12 months. India has been cited as non-compliant since 2014.”

For over a decade, the Indian government has been working towards signing The Hague convention, yet there have been no further developments as it would require amendments and changes to Indian laws.

As there are no bilateral agreements between the US and India regarding parental child abduction in India, there is an undisputed prerequisite for such a policy to be implemented.

International Criminal Court Against Child Kidnapping

Schenkkade 50

The Hague - 2595 AR

The Netherlands

Tel: +31 - 70-800-2093

Fax: +31 - 70-808-0254

Email: admin@childabductioncourt.eu

https://www.childabductioncourt.eu/

Saturday 20 October 2018

Dark Secrets: How Foster Agencies Profit From Taking Children Away From Their Parents

Like a bluster that leaves a cold chill down the spine, more and more parents are waking up to the harrowing truth about how foster agencies profit from removing their children. Times have flourished into a contagion where states vigilantly pursue children–not necessarily for the benefits of the child, but for the benefits of the child's financial merits.

Voltaire said it best when he said: “Every abuse ought to be reformed, unless the reform is more dangerous than the abuse itself.”

There are no words that resonate more truthfully when aligned with the copious amounts of children who are being unlawfully torn away from their law-abiding parents in loving homes.

Child abuse has become a lucrative money-making business, seeing foster agencies profit from the bounty that glintsabove each child’s head. Laws that were initially designed to safeguard children, now endanger the very rights of the children they were meant to protect.

The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) is a federal law from 1988 that was introduced to address child abuse and neglect in the United States. Its initial purpose was to have one federal law to oversee the prevention and response to such cases.

CAPTA directs the way The U.S. Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children & Families issues funding for child abuse prevention schemes in each state.Yet, despite all these laws and billions of dollars spent annually, child abuse continues to be on the rise.

In a disturbing twist, more children are being taken away from their homes–often times, erroneously and with little consequence to those making these“judicial mistakes”.

Spurred by financial incentives, foster agencies profit by as much as $8,000 or even more, for every child placed in adoption. Furthermore, the figure increases significantly if the child is put on medications after being removed by means of “medical kidnapping”.

Brian Shilhavy, the Editor of Health Impact News, said in an article on MedicalKidnap:

“If you live in the United States of America today, and you have children in your home under the age of 18, every day you are in danger of losing your children to the State through medical kidnapping. Something as simple as bringing your child to the local emergency room to care for an injury or sickness puts you at risk for being accused of medically abusing or neglecting your child, and having a doctor direct a social worker to remove the child or children from your custody by force.

Medical kidnapping is defined as the State taking away children from their parents and putting them into State custody and the foster care system, simply because the parents did not agree with a doctor regarding their prescribed medical treatment for the family. In some cases it is as simple as telling a doctor you are going to seek a second opinion on a suggested medical procedure, and then ending up being charged with “medical abuse” and losing your children.

The parents lose their children immediately, often without any warrant being issued by a judge. They are assumed guilty by social services of something worthy of losing their children, usually with no formal charges filed in a court of law, and no trial by a jury of peers as is afforded by the Constitution of the United States of America. They must spend significant resources to try and get their children back from a family court system that is cloaked in secrecy with little to no accountability. Sometimes the parents are able to get their children back, but sometimes they do not, and the children are adopted out. Even in the instances where the children are allowed to return home to their parents, they are severely traumatized.