International child abduction in Brazil comprises cases in which the removal of a child by one of the joint holders of custody or non-custodial or contested parents to Brazil in contravention of other laws of other countries and/or the desires of other custody claimants. The phenomenon of international child abduction is defined in international law and legislated on by the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, which entered into force in Brazil on January 1, 2000 and aims to trace abducted children, secure their prompt return to the country of habitual residence and organize or secure effective rights of access. In 2010 Brazil was accused by the US State Department of being non-compliant with the Hague Convention.
The International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children (ICMEC), a nonprofit global organization that combats child sexual exploitation, child pornography, and child abduction, has a regional presence in Brazil.
Brazilian non-compliance with the Hague Convention
Articles 12 and 13
Accusations that Brazil does not comply with the Hague Convention hinge on conflicting interpretations of Article 12 and Article 13 of the Convention. According to Article 12, "The judicial or administrative authority, even where the proceedings have been commenced after the expiration of the period of one year [...] shall also order the return of the child, unless it is demonstrated that the child is now settled in its new environment," It is the second part of this article that is used as a defence in all Hague disputes in Brazil and one of the reasons why they are held up for so long. Brazilian federal courts routinely accept evidence from Brazilian abducting parents to the effect that the abducted child has become settled in his/her new environment and the U.S. State Department has claimed that Brazilian Courts erroneously treat Hague cases as custody disputes, unnecessarily delaying cases and demonstrating an unfair bias toward Brazilian citizens, especially mothers. In addition to this, Article 13 of the Convention states, “The judicial or administrative authority may also refuse to order the return of the child if it finds that the child objects to being returned and has attained an age and degree of maturity at which it is appropriate to take account of its views,” while Article 13(b) states that children should not be returned to their habitual residence if “there is a grave risk that his or her return would expose the child to physical or psychological harm or otherwise place the child in an intolerable situation.” Brazilian abducting parents often present evidence to the court in the form of statements from the abducted child to the effect that they wish to stay in Brazil. A 1999 report by Prof. Nigel Lowe of the Cardiff University Centre for International Family Law Studies in the U.K. raised concerns about children not being returned to their place of habitual residence because of a misunderstanding of what the term 'habitual residence' meant (i.e., rather than referring to restoration of the status quo ante the abduction, abducting parents argue that it refers to the status quo and they are more likely to be able to argue this point if they can delay the judicial process long enough). Lowe states, "courts need also to consider any undue parental influence on the child, either through deliberate indoctrination by the abducting parent or simply by the natural inclination of many children to support a present parent against an absent parent." The report stresses that abducted children's wishes should not override the spirit and the intent of the Convention and implies that the part of Article 13 that affirm "The judicial or administrative authority may also refuse to order the return of the child if it finds that the child objects to being returned and has attained an age and degree of maturity at which it is appropriate to take account of its views." should be considered null and void by making that part of the Article not have any use, because for children to be considered to have the maturity to decide where they want to be they should have reached the age of 16 - the cut-off point for Hague Convention cases.