In total 249 children were taken out of the Netherlands by a parent last year, an increase of 30% on 2010, according to new figures from the child kidnap information centre Centrum IKO.

In 69% of cases, the children are taken by their mothers. In addition, there has been an increase in mothers taking children to countries where there is no formal agreement on resolving child kidnapping with the Netherlands, the organisation said.
Just 17 children were returned to the Netherlands last year.