Article 11: Child abduction

Convention text

1. 

The countries that have signed the Convention must take measures to prevent children from being unlawfully transferred to another country and from not being returned.

2.

To ensure this, these countries must promote the conclusion of agreements between two or more countries or encourage participation in existing agreements.

Key point

Children have the right to be protected against child abduction.

Explanation

In cases of child abduction, one parent takes a child to another country without the other parent’s consent and against their wishes. This often happens in situations where parents are separated and come from different countries.

Children who have been abducted no longer see the parent who has been left behind. They are also taken away from their familiar environment, where they go to school and have friends. If a child has been abducted, the government must do everything it can to ensure that the child is returned. In doing so, the Netherlands must also comply with the rules of the Hague Child Abduction Convention (Haags Kinderontvoeringsverdrag).