Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Chairman of the House Global Human Rights Subcommittee, will hold a hearing on reviewing international child abduction on Monday, December 10. Parents of internationally abducted children will testify, as well as the executive director of a non-profit dedicated to returning children wrongfully abducted by a parent to Japan.

“Left-behind parents, whose children have been abducted to a foreign country by an estranged spouse, were heartened when the Sean and David Goldman Act was signed into law,” Smith stated. “Five years later, the most recent State Department report on international child abduction—the best to date—shows that progress has been made, yet more work still needs to be done to fully implement the Goldman Act.”

“Gaps and inconsistencies in enforcement of the policy not only put children at risk of abduction, but fail to pressure countries that are failing to resolve abduction cases for years on end,” Smith said. “I look forward to hearing from our witnesses on what more can be done in the coming months to implement fully the Congressional intent behind the Goldman Act.”

Who:               Chairman Smith (NJ-04), Senior Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and Chairman of the the House Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations; other members of the Committee

Witness:         

Mr. Jeffery Morehouse
Executive Director
Bring Abducted Children Home

Mr. Juan Garaioca
Father of Two Children Abducted to Ecuador

Ms. Michelle Littleton
Mother of Three Children Abducted to Lebanon

What:              House hearing on reviewing international child abduction

When:             Monday, December 10, 2018 2:00 PM

Where:            Rayburn House Office Building, Room 2172 (first floor)