Protect Hague Victims Petition
Right now, we have a unique opportunity for change. In October, the Eighth Special Commission meeting is taking place in the Netherlands, where representatives from around the world will discuss this controversial multilateral treaty. GlobalARRK, together with Hague Mothers and 8 other charities from around the world, are calling on governments to review the Convention and introduce a regulatory body to oversee future implementation of the law. Change is essential to safeguard mothers and children:
“When I packed my bags to study abroad at Uni I could never have anticipated what would happen. I was raped in my first year… I quickly realised after the birth, it wasn’t possible to manage university, my part-time job and looking after my son on my own – so I left and went back home with him.
After I returned home with my son, I was served with international parental child abduction charges. I had never heard of the Hague Convention and was shocked I had broken an international law. I was terrified, I just wanted to support my child.
The judge ruled against me, I lost the case and was ordered back. I couldn’t get a new visa so I had to return on a tourist visa, hoping I would be able to sort out a place to live and work when I got there. A social worker told me perhaps I should just send my baby overseas on his own. I couldn’t believe they could even suggest something like that about my baby, he was breastfeeding and I was his mum…
I am not eligible for any governmental support and I regularly skip meals to feed my son. The Hague Convention is a shambles. It destroys lives.”
