A Montreal mother hoping for the swift return of her five-year-old son, who was reportedly taken to Iraq by his father, may be in for a complicated legal battle, one expert says.
Karar Al-Meliky's mother may be hampered in her efforts to get her son back because of the limits of the Hague Convention, said Pina Arcamone, director General of the Missing Children's Network, a humanitarian organization in Quebec dedicated to the search for missing children.
Al-Meliky was reportedly abducted by his father and may be headed to Iraq.
"Usually if a country is a signatory member of the Hague treaty we usually have much rapid success in that the foreign country will respect the legal custody that was granted in Canada," Arcamone told CTV's Canada AM.
"If the child is indeed in Jordan bound for Iraq, those are two countries that are not signatory members of the Hague treaty, therefore we expect that this can be a little more complicated."
Ratifications on child abduction were reached at the 1980 Hague Convention, which provides for the co-ordination of legal systems across countries.
Despite the fact that the boy may hold dual citizenship, the ability of the Canadian government to intervene in the case is also constrained, Arcamone said.
"It will be difficult for the government to intervene directly, because again, the child may be headed for a non-Hague country and that's where complications arise."
The boy's mother contacted Montreal police last Tuesday after he failed to return from a weekend visit with his father. The parents of the boy are divorced.
After images of the man and his son became public, investigators were contacted by an airline employee who said the man, Kesir Al-Meliky and his son Karar, boarded a flight headed for Jordan last Monday.
Police spokesman Oliver Lapointe said Al-Meliky had previously expressed a desire to return to his native country of Iraq.
Investigators have been working with Interpol in their efforts to locate the five-year-old boy.
Armacone said the mother's next steps will be to secure experienced international legal representation that can establish the child's location and welfare and attempt to seek secure sole custody of the child in Canada.
While it is recommended that one parent secures permission from the other parent before they travel with their child, it is not required by law.
With files from the Canadian Press
