Number of child abductions rises by 39 per cent in a year – Foreign Office

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/7914799/Number-of-child-abductions-rises-by-39-per-cent-in-a-year-Foreign-Office.html

Number of child abductions rises by 39 per cent in a year – Foreign Office
The number of British children abducted by one of their parents and taken abroad is set to double as the summer holidays start, the Foreign Office has warned.

By Caroline GammellBST 28 Jul 2010
Pakistan tops the list of countries where children are taken without consent and cannot be legally brought back, because it is not part of The Hague Convention.
Under the 1980 Convention, 60 countries have agreed that a child at the centre of a custodial dispute must be returned to their original country.

New Foreign Office figures show that the number of children being abducted to non-Hague countries has risen by 39 % in the last year.
A rise in the number of mixed marriages and the increasing ease of global travel is thought to be partly to blame.

In 2006, Louise Campbell claimed her 12-year-old daughter Molly had been taken to Pakistan by her father Sajad Ahmed Rana against her will.
A protracted custody battle ensued between the divorced parents, with Molly ultimately staying in Pakistan and changing her name to Misbah Rana.
According to the Foreign Office, 24 children were abducted by a parent and taken to Pakistan in the last year, compared to 18 the year before.
The number of children taken by a parent to Thailand stood at 13 over the last year, compared to just two the previous year.

Significant increases in abductions have also occurred in India, Nigeria and Ghana.
Abduction most commonly occurs when a parent pretends to take their child on holiday and then fails to return.
Figures released by the FCO showed the number of new cases in 2009 rose from 13 in April to 29 in August.

Sharon Cooke from the abduction support charity Reunite, said:
“Parental child abduction is becoming an increasing problem as the world is getting smaller and there are more mixed national relationships and marriages.
“The psychological effects on the children that have been taken away from the other parent, their environment, normal routine, family and friends can be both devastating and traumatic.
“This can even affect them in later life. For the left-behind parent, the shock and the loss are unbearable, particularly if they don’t know where their children have been taken to.
“Even after they have been found, the fear and pain of not knowing if their children will return home is unimaginable.”

A Foreign Office survey of 4,700 adults found a third of people did not know that taking a child abroad without the other parents’ permission was considered abduction under UK law.
Jeremy Browne, minister for consular policy, said:
“If a parent wishes to take their child to live in a new country they will normally need either the permission of the other parent or the British courts.
“Cases of parental child abduction increase in the summer holiday period.
“We also see cases where British nationals simply return to the UK with their child after their relationship breaks down whilst living abroad – this is still likely to be considered abduction.
“A parent will normally require the consent of the other parent and possibly permission from the courts of the country concerned.”

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