The United Kingdom has deposited its instruments of ratification for the 1996 Hague Child Protection Convention, bringing the total number of Contracting States to 36, including most members of the European Union. The Convention will enter into force for the U.K
New Projects for the Hague Conference
The Conclusions and Recommendations adopted by the Hague Conference General Affairs Council at its meeting in April 2012 include two interesting new projects in connection with the Child Abduction and Child Protection Conventions. The Council authorized a new Working Group to develop a Guide to Good Practice on the interpretation and application of Article 13(b) of the Abduction Convention which allows a court to deny a return order where there is a s
Special Commission Makes Recomendations
Winding up its work on January 31, the Special Commission on the practical operation of the Hague Child Abduction and Child Protection Conventions, made a series of recommendations including these:
International Journal of Law, Policy and the Family
The December 2011 issue of the International Journal of Law, Policy and the Family is available online; articles include a very thought-provoking article by Peter Hayes on The Legality and Ethics of Independent Intercountry Adoption Under the Hague Convention,which argues against the movement to eliminate independent intercountry adoption under the 1993 Hague Adoption Convention.
Agenda Set for Hague Special Commission Meeting
The Hague Conference has announced details for Part II of the Special Commission meeting, which began in June 2011, on the operation of the 1980 Child Abduction Convention and the 1996 Child Protection Convention. Part II of the meeting, which will focus on policy issues rather than the practical operation of the conventions, will take place in The Hague from Wednesday, January 25 to Tuesday, January 31, 2012. Based on consultations with member countries, the Hague Conference reports that “although there is no consensus for a protocol to the 1980 Convention, there is significant agreeme
Maternal and Child Health in Africa
Here are two stories from the New York Times considering maternal and child health issues in Africa:
Special Commission on the Abduction Convention
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 are sold for sex each year.”
Resolution attacks genital cutting and other gender-based persecution
House Joint Resolution 12, currently pending in the U.S. Congress, denounces “the practices of female genital mutilation, domestic violence, `honor’ killings, acid burnings, dowry deaths, and other gender-based persecutions” and expresses the sense of Congress that “participation, protection, recognition, and equality of women is crucial to achieving a just, moral and peaceful society.” The resolution is sponsored by Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D. Tex).
New Issue: International Law, Policy and the Family
The April 2011 issue of International Law, Policy and the Family is available online here. The articles include: Lynn Welchman, A Husband’s Authority: Emerging Formulations In Muslim Family Laws; Maznah Mohamad, Malaysian Sharia Reforms in Flux: The Changeable National Character of Islamic Marriage; Jill Howieso