The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction is a multilateral treaty developed by the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH) that provides an expeditious method to return a child internationally abducted by a parent from one member country to another. The Convention was entered into force between the signatories on December 1, 1983. The primary intention of the Convention is to preserve whatever status quo child custody arrangement existed immediately before an alleged wrongful removal or retention thereby deterring a parent from crossing international boundaries in search of a more sympathetic court. As of March 2016, ninety-four States are party to the convention. Many more countries still do not recognize the treaty. Formed in 1998, The International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children (ICMEC), headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia is a private non-governmental, nonprofit global organization. It combats child sexual exploitation, child pornography, and child abduction. Annually, over four hundred children are abducted from their primary custodial parent or guardian in the United States before taken out of the country.