Countries in the 1980 Hague Child Abduction Convention
103 Contracting Parties, verified against the official HCCH status table on 2026-07-05. Membership alone isn't the whole story — use the pair checker to see whether the Convention operates between two specific countries.
Notable: for China, the Convention applies only in the Hong Kong SAR (1997) and Macao SAR (1999) — not mainland China. India and the UAE are not Contracting Parties.
Verified Central Authority contacts
The official government office that processes return applications in each country — free of charge. Verified individually against HCCH pages on 2026-07-05. More countries are being added; the full official directory is always at HCCH.
Full member list
| Country | Status | In force since | Joined by | Article 38 check needed? |
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This information is for general educational purposes only and is not legal advice. Laws and procedures vary by country and case. If a child may be at risk or has already been taken across borders, contact the relevant Central Authority, local police where appropriate, consular officials, and a qualified lawyer immediately.
Source: HCCH status table & Central Authority pages · verified 2026-07-05.
Source: HCCH status table & Central Authority pages · verified 2026-07-05.