Delays in communication with Morocco hinder solving parental child abduction cases, US State Department

Morocco is among the countries that adheres to all protocols concerning international parental child abduction (IPCA), according to the US State Department’s annual report.

The Department of State’s 2023 annual report on IPCA was submitted to the US Congress on Tuesday, and said that while the US and the Moroccan Central Authorities have a cooperative relationship, “delays in communication about actions to resolve Convention cases are an area of continuing concern.”

The Hague Convention on Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction (1980), signed by 96 countries, provides for a mechanism to return a child internationally abducted by a parent from one member country to another.

The Convention regarding parental abduction protocols between Morocco and the US has been in force between the United States and Morocco since 2012.

The Convention states that central authorities “shall take all appropriate measures to secure the voluntary return of the child or to bring about an amicable resolution of the issues.”

While the Department did not cite Morocco for demonstrating a pattern of noncompliance in 2022, the Department is concerned about “the lack of a timely response from the Moroccan Central Authority to the requests of the US Central Authority.”

Morocco was previously cited for demonstrating a pattern of noncompliance in the 2018 Annual Report.

In 2022, the Department received two initial inquiries from parents regarding possible abductions to Morocco for which no completed applications were submitted to the Department.

Central US Authorities had one open access case involving one child under the Convention in Morocco, opened in 2020, and has been filed with the Moroccan Central Authority.

No new cases were filed in 2022. By December 31, 2022, this case remained open. “This case has been pending with the Moroccan authorities for more than 12 months,” said the State Department.

In 2022, one abduction case was resolved through voluntary means, says the annual report, while four remaining abduction cases remain open.

Although “delays by the Moroccan judicial authorities impacted cases during 2022,” the US State Department concluded that the US “expects to continue the effective processing and resolution of cases under the Convention with the Moroccan Central Authority and will work to address issues of concern.”

The report cited around 15 countries as “non-complying,” which include India, Argentina, Belize, Brazil, Bulgaria, Ecuador, Egypt, Honduras, Jordan, Peru, the Republic of Korea, Romania and Russia.