Brinek: child abduction to foreign countries on the rise

For some years now, the Austrian Ombudsman Board (AOB) has pointed out the increasingly problematic issue of child abduction to foreign territories. Regrettably, last year this impression was still reinforced. For example, fathers or mothers defect with their child to another country during pending child custody proceedings. In these cases international agreements such as the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction take effect.

There exists an EU regulation covering these often legally complex and emotionally challenging cases. The Courts in the state of refuge decide, in which country the affected child is to reside permanently, hence where it will continue to grow up.

The Austrian Ministry of Justice serves as the central focal point in these cases. According to its statistical data, the number of child abductions to another country has discernibly increased. In 2009 27 mothers and fathers appealed to the authorities for the return of a child from abroad to Austria, in 2010 already 34 mothers and fathers took this step. There are, however, also child abductions towards Austria to be observed, these increased last year as well. While in 2009 19 such cases occurred, in 2010 already 25 were registered.

In spite of the frequently long repatriation proceedings, some happy endings occur like in the case of Ms N.N. who turned to the AOB for help. The father of her daughter, who was legally prosecuted, had left Austria in March 2009 for an unknown destination together with the then five-year-old. After the father of the child had been detected to reside in Brazil in early 2010, the mother of the child successfully involved police authorities, the public prosecutor’s office and the Ministry of Justice. With the support of the authorities she was in the end able to get hold of her child in Brazil. The father of the child was extradited to Austria.