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 agreement about the possibility of future work in some areas.” These areas will be the focus of discussion at Part II of the meeting, and the draft agenda for the meeting is available on the Hague Conference web site. Topics to be considered are mediation, direct judicial communications, domestic and family violence, international relocation, the future of the Malta process, and general discussion of forms of instruments such as recommendations, declarations, model laws, principles, guides to good practice and handbooks.