QCOSTARICA — On Monday, the United States issued its yearly report on International Child Abduction, examining the situation in various countries, including Costa Rica.
The report centers on incidents where a parent brings a child to a different country without the other parent’s consent, in accordance with the Hague Convention. The goal is to promptly address these cases while prioritizing the welfare of the children involved.
In 2023, the Department of State, responsible for handling such cases, received four initial inquiries from parents regarding possible abductions to Costa Rica where no completed applications were submitted to the Department.
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The report cited the first successful judicially ordered return under the Convention occurred in early 2022.
US concern over judicial issue
The Convention has been in force between the United States and Costa Rica since 2008. While the Department did not cite Costa Rica for demonstrating a pattern of noncompliance in 2023, the Department is concerned about prior delays in the judicial process.
Costa Rica was previously cited for demonstrating a pattern of noncompliance in the 2011-2016 and 2020-2022 Annual Reports
The report assesses the regulatory compliance of countries and includes a list of non-cooperative nations, which currently has 16 members. Costa Rica was included in this list from 2011 to 2016, and again from 2020 to 2022.
“The competent authorities periodically took appropriate measures to locate children after a Convention application has been submitted,” highlights the report. “On average, it took
less than one month to locate a child. As of December 31, 2023, there were no cases where the Costa Rican authorities remained unable to locate a child,” the report points out.
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On the other hand, they highlight an area for improvement in terms of judicial procedures. “In previous reports there were delays by judicial authorities in deciding Convention cases. Given the previous pattern of delays, judicial delays remain a potential cause for concern.”
205 abductions worldwide
The total count of children repatriated by the United States for 2023 was 205. The majority (146) returned from countries where an agreement existed.
The State Department emphasized in its publication the need for cross-government work to complete protection tasks.
Of course, there are nations that still have not signed the protocols and others have implementation problems.
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Across Central America
The report states that while Nicaragua became a party to the Convention in 2000, the Convention is not in force between Nicaragua and the United States.
“In 2023, the competent authorities in Nicaragua occasionally declined to communicate or work with the Department of State to resolve a pending abduction case. Moreover, the options for resolving IPCA cases under Nicaraguan law are limited,” states the report.
In 2023, the U.S. received three initial inquiries from parents regarding possible abductions to Panama for which no completed applications were submitted to the Department of State. In 2023, one abduction case was resolved through voluntary means.
The U.S. and Panama have a productive relationship that facilitates the resolution of abduction cases under the Convention.
In 2023, the U.S. received three initial inquiries from parents regarding possible abductions to Guatemala for which no completed applications were submitted.
As of December 31, 2023, there were no cases in which El Salvador authorities were
unable to initially locate a child.
In 2023, the U.S. received three initial inquiries from parents regarding possible abductions to Honduras for which no completed applications were submitted. The report states that Honduras continued to demonstrate a pattern of noncompliance. Specifically, the Honduran Central Authority regularly failed to fulfill its responsibilities pursuant to the Convention. Honduras was previously cited for demonstrating a pattern of noncompliance in the 2022-2023 Annual Reports.
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