Child abduction - the problem ignored

The number of child abductions is increasing

Kerstin G. gets to hear from her Syrian husband Haissem M. at the end of the family vacation in Dubai: "You can go, the children stay here!" She refuses and is held captive with the children for eight years.

The Berlin Michael H. has the sole custody of his son - and has not seen him for three and a half years since his Algerian ex-wife abducted the boy to their homeland.

Only two sad examples of many in which binational marriages lead to child abduction and deprivation of liberty. According to the "International Social Service", the number of these cases has more than doubled within the last ten years - probably because there are more and more marriages between partners from different home countries in Germany.



Program tip: "Not without my children" (September 1, NDR, 10 pm)

© NDR

That the German authorities and an opaque legal situation are often to blame for these fates, shows the NDR documentary "Not without my children": The so-called "Hague Child Abduction Convention" states that children abducted by parents are returned to their actual country of residence have to. 92 countries have signed this agreement - but there is no Arab country apart from Iraq and Marrokko. This is a big problem, as around a third of the affected children are abducted to these states.

The consequences of this, and what politicians and authorities would have to do to change that, are discussed in more detail in the documentation. More information and excerpts of the documentary can be found on the film website.

Police Officer Saves a Child From Possible Abduction | ABC World News | ABC News (March 2024).



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