Child Custody

International Parental Child Abduction

For assistance and information, please visit the State Department International Parental Child Abduction site.  You may also contact our American Citizen Services Unit at the Embassy.

If your child has been abducted from the United States to The Gambia:  You can obtain guidance and instructions from the Department of State’s Office of Children’s Issues .

If you are a resident of The Gambia and fear your United States citizen child might be taken abroad by the other parent without the mutual consent of both parents:  The child’s name can be put in the U.S. passport namecheck system.  Then, if an application is received, the requesting parent will be informed before issuance of the passport.  Please click here for Prevention Resources.  You may also contact our American Citizen Services Unit at the Embassy.

Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction:  The Gambian is not a member country of the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction; therefore, Hague Convention provisions would not apply to children abducted or retained in The Gambia.  For in depth information on the workings of the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, please visit the State Department’s: International Parental Child Abduction Page.