Child Abduction Central Authority Figures for 2006

Dutch Justice Minister Ernst Hirsch Ballin has provided the Lower House of Parliament with information on the number of cases processed by the Central Authority for Child Abduction (CA) in 2006. The CA is responsible for implementing the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction and for ensuring the return of children to their country of origin in cases of child abduction and has the authority to act when parental rights of access are compromised.

The Authority processed a total number of 150 cases in 2006, including 21 cases involving international access arrangements. The other 129 cases concerned international child abduction. These 129 cases are divided between abductions into the Netherlands (34 incoming cases involving 48 children) and abductions from the Netherlands to other countries (95 outgoing cases involving 128 children). The CS has finalised 43 of the 95 outgoing cases (figures as they stand at 23 March 2007) involving the return of 56 children to their country of habitual residence.

Compared to the previous year, the CA received fewer incoming cases, both in relation to return cases as in relation to access cases. The number of abduction cases was 34, compared to 38 for 2005, the number of incoming access cases was 10, compared to 13 for 2005. The total number of outgoing cases increased from 87 to 106, mainly due to a rise in the number of abduction cases, from 75 in 2005 to 95. The number of outgoing access cases was 12 in 2005 and 11 in 2006. Just as in the previous year, the abducting parent is more often the mother than the father for both incoming and outgoing cases.Again, the highest number of abductions were to countries in Western Europe: France(9), Belgium(8), Spain(5), Germany(5), Englandand Scotland(7). The incoming cases also included a lot of abductions from countries in this region: Belgium (6), Spain (4) and Germany (3).

Compared to 2005, the number of cases where children were taken to non-member states remained almost identical: 23 applications in 2005 compared to 22 applications in 2006. Although the number of outgoing cases increased considerably (a rise of 27%), the number of abductions to non-member states did not. Ten of the 22 abduction cases to non-member states involved a predominantly Islamic country. Morocco tops the list with 5 cases, Iraq 2, Iran 2, while the CA only received one return application for abduction Egypt, compared to 5 in 2005.

Source: Ministry of Justice, 22 August 2007