Child Abductions

This is the season for child abductions. Summer, with the holidays and trips abroad, is the prime time for children to be abducted, usually by the non-custodial parent. Winter holidays are also a significant time for abductions.

In order to travel abroad, all Canadians, including newborns and children, require a passport. Click here for Passport Canada.

If you are concerned that a non-custodial parent might try to get a passport for your child, you can take preventative action. If you fear the abduction of your child, you may notify any passport office in Canada (or the nearest Canadian embassy or consulate if you are abroad) to have your child’s name placed on the Passport Control List, a list that puts officials on alert. Before your child’s name is included on this list, you will be asked to provide the names and birth dates of both parents and the child, as well as copies of any custody-related documents. Any attempt by another person to get a passport for that child will trigger an alarm, and the custodial parent will be notified. No passport will be issued in these circumstances.

However, many children are abducted, and there are only limited ways and means of securing their return to Canada.

Canada is a party to the Hague Convention of 25 October 1980 on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. This is a multilateral treaty which seeks to protect children from the harmful effects of abduction and retention across international boundaries by providing a procedure to bring about their prompt return. Click here for the Hague Convention.

The objects of the Convention are to secure the prompt return of children wrongfully removed to or retained in any Contracting State; and to ensure that rights of custody and of access under the law of one Contracting State are effectively respected in the other Contracting States.

The problem is that while most of the state members of the convention are western developed countries with stable governments and common or civil law systems, the difficult countries of common destination for abducted children tend to be less-developed countries, often under the rule of Islamic or Sharia legal systems. This means there is usually no recognition of maternal parental rights of custody or control. Since the majority of mixed marriages between Muslims and non-Muslims involves a Muslim father and non-Muslim mother, abductions to Muslim countries either go unanswered, or are decided in the Islamic courts in favour of the father who lost custody in a Western country. Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are notoriously difficult countries from which to recover an abducted child.

As part of an effort to remedy this situation, Canada has signed to family consular agreements with western-oriented nations: Egypt and Lebanon. Neither is a member of the Hague Convention, but both work with Canada on child abudction cases.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade of Canada has developed a public information booklet called "International Child Abductions: A Manual for Parents" that can be seen on the Internet. This booklet comprises all relevant information on how to prevent and to handle abductions in Canada. It also refers to useful websites on the matter, including those of some of the provinces and territories.

If your child has been abducted to or is being retained in a country other than Canada and you are aware of the location, you should contact the office of your provincial or territorial Attorney General and/or Minister of Justice. These departments have special sections designated as the central authority for your province or territory, which are responsible for the administration of the Hague Convention. Your central authority will provide you with a copy of the Convention-approved application form and other information about issues under the Convention.