Brasilia, August 23, 2024
The Brazilian Federal Government has officially declared domestic violence an exception to repatriation under the 1980 Hague Convention on International Child Abduction.
According to the Presidential statement, domestic violence can be included in the Article 13b exception considering it is “a grave risk of danger to the child, even if the child is not the direct victim of the violence”.
The document highlights that claimants must provide “proof of domestic violence committed against the parent” and/or the children, which means that allegations only are not enough to prevent repatriation.
In accord with the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, the Government has however demonstrated awareness of the struggles of victims to prove abuse in private situations. Therefore it also states that promptness shall not be a priority to foster “restitution without a reasonable probationary delay when there is suspicion of domestic violence”.
According to the official press release, about half of the 173 judicial processes led by the Brazilian Federal Attorney in the last six years contained domestic violence allegations.
Last May, the Ministry of Justice already issued unprecedented rules for the Central Authority to follow in administrative procedures whenever another State party of the Hague Convention requests a child’s repatriation. These include an exception within this process that requires the Central Authority to warn its peer in the requesting country that the demand must be filed directly with the Brazilian Justice system.
Brazil defended this position at the international level last June during the 1st official Domestic Violence Forum under The 1980 Hague Convention in South Africa.
The Brazilian Government concluded that “‘it is up to the competent authorities – considering the gender issues involved and including the evidentiary standards – to assess whether domestic violence has been established’ in order to decide whether to apply the exception provided for in the Hague Convention in each specific case”.
The statement was sent to the Brazilian Supreme Court to review the treaty’s constitutionality in its ongoing trial.
Now, Brazil has become the fifth country to officially reckon domestic violence as a cause of international child abductions, after Uruguay (2017), Australia (2022), Mexico and Colombia (2023).
- Check the press release available in Portuguese here: https://www.gov.br/agu/pt-br/comunicacao/noticias/presidencia-da-republica-defende-no-supremo-que-violencia-domestica-comprovada-pode-impedir-repatriacao-de-criancas
- The new rules for the Brazilian Central Authority, issued by the Ministry of Justice, can be found in Portuguese here: https://dspace.mj.gov.br/bitstream/1/12953/1/PRT_GM_2024_688.html