On average around 20 children per year are taken abroad from Luxembourg by a separated parent without permission Pexels

On average around 20 children per year are taken abroad from Luxembourg by a separated parent without permission Pexels

Responding to a parliamentary question from the LSAP MP Franz Fayot, published on 21 September, the Green party justice minister Félix Braz explained there were eight such reported cases involving 12 children during the first eight months of 2017.

Prior to that, on average 20 children had been reported kidnapped by a parent each year since 2011, equivalent to around 15 cases. In terms of children taken from one parent by another to Luxembourg, Braz reported two cases during the first eight months of 2017.

The number appears to be falling, down from eight cases and 12 children in 2011 to six incidents affecting seven children in 2016.

The incidents occur when a separated parent who was not given parental responsibility takes a child outside of Luxembourg without permission from the other parent. Not all incidents are maliciously motivated, however.

To avoid a situation where a parent is wrongly accused of kidnapping their child for which they do not have sole authority, Braz strongly advised that the parent obtains a letter from the commune where the child lives as a supporting document before taking them abroad.

The new law on parental authority, which has yet to enter into force, sets out to ensure responsibility for the child is shared jointly in the instance of a separation or divorce, avoiding such kidnapping scenarios.