By KEILE CAMPBELL

Tribune Staff Reporter

kcampbell@tribunemedia.net

NATIONAL Security Minister Wayne Munroe says he is unaware of any failure by The Bahamas to meet its obligations under an international child abduction treaty following a US report listing the country among the worst offenders.

He denied any known violations under the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction and said his ministry oversees the Trafficking in Persons Secretariat and has seen no such issues.

“Abduction cases, I’m not aware of that,” Mr Munroe said. “I know that my ministry coordinates the Trafficking in Persons Secretariat, and we maintain the highest level of compliance for that.”

He speculated that the US assessment might stem from custody battles involving parents rather than human trafficking.

“It may be based on things like, there’s a case where they say someone abducts their own child, comes there and then you have to act, engage the co-op process to address it,” he said.

He added that The Bahamas is a Hague Convention signatory and said he previously worked on such matters in private legal practice.

He said as a lawyer, “there were a number of cases that I was involved in that involved cases under the Hague Convention on child abduction type, the children being here in The Bahamas, and children who were taken from The Bahamas to the US or to Canada”.

“So I don’t know what would cause that to be said about us,” he added.

The US State Department’s 2025 Annual Report on International Child Abduction designated The Bahamas as one of 15 nations showing “a pattern of noncompliance,” citing chronic delays, lack of legal action, and poor communication with US authorities. The report highlighted an average delay of over seven months in locating children once applications were filed.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio noted The Bahamas was the only new addition this year.

The US government said it would continue intensive engagement with Bahamian officials to resolve the compliance issues.