On September 1, 2021, the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction entered into force between the United States and Seychelles. The United States now has 81 partners under the Convention.
The Convention provides a civil law mechanism for parents seeking the return of or access to children who have been wrongfully removed from or retained in a Convention partner country outside their country of habitual residence. The Convention is important because it establishes an internationally recognized legal framework to resolve international parental child abduction cases. The Convention does not address who should have custody of the child - it addresses where issues of child custody should be decided.
The Department of State's Office of Children's Issues, which serves as the Central Authority for the United States under the Convention, welcomes our partnership with Seychelles and looks forward to working together on this critical issue.
