Key facts
- U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced a new policy to restrict visa issuance to individuals responsible for or complicit in impeding international parental child abduction cases.
- The policy targets individuals who intentionally obstruct the prompt resolution of these cases, prolonging family separations.
- South Korea and 13 other countries were cited in a State Department report for a pattern of noncompliance with the 1980 Hague Abduction Convention.
- South Korea has been cited for noncompliance in annual reports since 2022.
- The report specifically noted Korean authorities' failure to enforce court-ordered returns of children to the U.S.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Monday a new policy to restrict visa issuance to individuals who impede the resolution of international parental child abduction (IPCA) cases. This action follows the State Department's issuance of an annual report that identified South Korea and 13 other nations as demonstrating a pattern of noncompliance with the 1980 Hague Abduction Convention. The convention requires countries to expeditiously return children to their habitual country of residence when abducted by a parent.
Rubio stated that protecting American children abducted across international borders is a top priority for the Trump administration. He explained that foreign government officials, judges, and law enforcement who intentionally obstruct these cases prolong family separations and hinder the return of children to the United States. The new policy specifically targets individuals who fail to implement or comply with laws, policies, or court orders aimed at resolving IPCA cases.
This marks the latest instance of South Korea being cited for noncompliance, having been included in similar reports from 2022 through last year. The IPCA report detailed instances where Korean authorities allegedly failed to enforce court-ordered returns of children to the U.S., including a case pending since 2019 where authorities did not take appropriate steps to locate the abducted child. The report also mentioned that the State Department will continue engagement with Korean authorities and consider using tools from the Goldman Act, designed to resolve IPCA cases.
In addition to South Korea, the report named Argentina, The Bahamas, Belize, Brazil, Ecuador, Egypt, Honduras, India, Jordan, Peru, Poland, Serbia, and the United Arab Emirates as countries exhibiting a pattern of noncompliance with the convention.