§ Mr. OlnerTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will seek a meeting with the Spanish ambassador regarding the position of British children abducted to Spain.
§ Mr. Lennox-BoydAs Spain is signatory to both the Hague and European conventions on child abduction, cases of British children abducted to Spain are dealt with by the Lord Chancellor's Department.
§ Mr. OlnerTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when measures to prevent child abduction were last discussed at the level of the United Nations.
§ Mr. Lennox-BoydArticle 11 of the United Nations convention on the rights of the child calls upon states to take measures to combat
the illicit transfer and non-return of children abroad".The convention was adopted by the General Assembly on 20 November 1989 after many years of detailed discussions.
§ Mr. OlnerTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what data his Department has on cases of British children being abducted and taken abroad in the last three years.
§ Mr. Lennox-BoydCases of children abducted to countries which are signatory to either or both of the Hague and European conventions are dealt with by the Lord Chancellor's Department, which is the central authority within the United Kingdom under the conventions. No data are available in my Department on such cases.
Statistics involving children taken to non-convention countries which were brought to the attention of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office are as follows:
Children 1990 149 1991 108 1992 98 There may have been others of which we were not made aware.
§ Mr. OlnerTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with other Commonwealth countries on the ratification of international conventions and bilateral agreements for the return of abducted children.
§ Mr. Lennox-BoydIt is our policy to encourage all countries, including Commonwealth countries, to adhere to the Hague convention. The Commonwealth Secretariat is hoping to put his subject on the agenda for the Commonwealth Law Ministers' meeting in November this year.
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§ Mr. OlnerTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will meet the National Council for Abducted Children to consider the appointment of a senior diplomat to mediate and negotiate for the return of abducted children.
§ Mr. Lennox-BoydThis proposal was one of the recommendations in the report of the Parliamentary working party on child abduction, published on 9 March 1993. I wish to study the report before considering such a meeting.
§ Mr. OlnerTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make representations to(a) Italy and (b) Greece regarding signature and ratification of the Hague convention on child abduction.
§ Mr. Lennox-BoydNo. Both countries have signed the convention; Italy is in the process of ratifying; Greece has ratified but has not yet deposited instruments of ratification at the Hague.
§ Mr. OlnerTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what initiatives he will recommend to his European Community partners to prevent child abduction in the European Community.
§ Mr. Lennox-BoydNone: the resolution on custody and abduction of children across national borders was adopted by the European Parliament in March 1984. It stated that the Council of Europe and Hague conventions were the appropriate means of protecting children and called on member states to ratify the conventions as soon as possible.