The Children In The Middle: A Perspective On Human Rights

One of the most exciting aspects of globalization is that it has changed the world into one large international neighborhood. We can develop relationships with people all around the globe and communicate instantly and inexpensively. Internet dating, which was once considered a little weird and potentially dangerous, is now a social norm. Technology has made it possible to romance someone half way around the world and has lead to more binational couples that have children together. Unfortunately, not all love affairs have fairy tale endings. When a parent decides to take his or her child and return to their home country, a destructive and contentious situation can result. International parental child abduction is not a new phenomenon, but its increasing frequency appears to be a by-product of globalization.

Nine-year-old Sean Richard Goldman is at the center of an international custody battle that has brought new, and much needed, attention to a gap in international law. Most countries view international parental child abduction as a civil matter between parents. This view irresponsibly ignores the burdens of the children who are caught in the middle of a disagreement between two adults. The 1980 Hague Convention on Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction is clear in its objective and intent of providing a speedy and efficient process for returning abducted children to their habitual place of residence. Unfortunately, the treaty is filled with bureaucratic loopholes, which leave important standards open for interpretation by each signatory country. These loopholes are the driving force behind the lengthy, monetarily and emotionally costly battles that surround international child custody disputes. The United States should take the lead and establish international parental child abduction as a human rights crime in order to encourage other countries to recognize the seriousness of this crime and its affects upon children.

In 2004 Sean Goldman's mom, Bruna Bianchi, took him from their home in New Jersey on what was supposed to be a two week vacation to her native Brazil. Upon arrival in Brazil, Bianchi informed Sean's father, David that she and her son would not return to the US. Bianchi then divorced Goldman in Brazil and married a prominent lawyer in Rio de Janeiro.

Sean's story is extraordinary and deserving of the media attention that it has received, but unfortunately his circumstance is not unique. According to the US State Department, in 2008 there were about 1,000 new cases of American children who were kidnapped by a parent and taken to another country. Basis for international parental child abduction as a human rights abuse is found in the United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child (CRC). The CRC states that "A child whose parents reside in different States shall have the right to maintain on a regular bases... personal relations and direct contacts with both parents." According to the CRC and the Hague Convention it is illegal to transport a child across international borders for an insincere or illicit purpose. Intentionally depriving a child from a relationship with his or her parent to the extent that the child begins to think that they are unwanted by the left behind parent is clearly an illicit cause.

In 2008, I did a research project on international parental child abduction for a course on international law. A required class in the M.S. Global Affairs program at NYU's Center for Global Affairs, where I am a master's candidate. I developed an interest in this topic years ago when I saw Not Without My Daughter. A film about Betty Mahmoody's struggle to get both her and her daughter out of Iran after her husband took them there under false pretenses. My research paper focused on the disproportionate burden that women and children shoulder due to the gender biased application of the Hague Convention. 53% of children abducted by a family member were taken by their biological father, according to the National Incidence Studies of Missing, Abducted, Runaway and Thrownaway Children report of 2002. There are gendered aspects that make the consequences of abduction more pronounced for women and children, particularly when a child is abducted to an Islamic state. The Goldman's case shows that these cases can be equally devastating for families whether the left behind parent is the mother or the father. The relationship that a child has with each parent is different but both parents are important to the development of a healthy child.

The missing voice in Sean Goldman's story is that of his mother, Bruna. Sadly, Bruna died in childbirth in 2008. We do not really know what motivated her to divorce her husband from afar and separate her child from his father. In recent interviews David Goldman has stated that he never consented to their divorce and that their relationship was intact when Bruna took Sean to Brazil. Five years on, David Goldman is still unable to bring his son back to the U.S. Sean is being cared for by his Brazilian stepfather.

The international community must realize that parental abduction is larger than any individual case, the ramifications stronger than any private family matter. The emotional and mental consequences of parental child abduction are extraordinarily detrimental to children. These cases should be treated as crimes against the human rights of the children that they involve.

Follow Chelsea-Lyn Rudder on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ChelseaLynR

Comments

[SouthpawSass]

It seems we want government intervention in family issues when it's convenient and complain when it's not... You don't know the situation and you can't assume that raising a child in New Jersey was her choice in the ideal environment for her son... Sorry, it's sad, but unless the child is in danger, I don't think government needs any more involvement than it already has.

[NCMEC]

International parental abduction is a difficult subject to discuss because it often involves conflicting moral imperatives. There are the emotional aspects of child custody disputes, ethnic or nationalistic feelings, and the sex aspects. The legal framework is complicated and infused with the realpolitik of international affairs. Consequently, conversations on the subject can often grow heated and even turn quite visceral.

It is wonderful that students of global affairs are encouraged to grapple with this complex topic. What little international research there is, is often too limited in scope, or too parochial in tone. More voices are needed, but Ms. Rudder should consider the implications of her call for increased criminalization.

The application of penal measures may result in violation of the fundamental rights of children by the very persons who are trying to assist them! The most iconic example of criminalization gone awry, detailed at http://www.ncmec.eu, concerns the distribution of "missing children" posters for kids whose whereabouts are actually known. Is it not ironic that the fundamental privacy rights of the child should be violated in the name of supporting their parental relationships?

Criminalization may make for a good sound bite, but it will not address the needs of the affected children. In a global world with diverse views, more civil solutions are needed to address the vicissitudes of interpersonal relationships. The best answer to these problems is unlikely to lie in the blunt power of the State.

For the children's sake, cooler heads must eventually prevail.

[liesl78]

Ms. Rudder, that is a great article. Thank you so much for exposing the harsh reality of International Child Abduction. The ones more affected by it are the children, obviously. It breaks my heart what these children and left-behind parents go through. It is estimated there are currently 66 American kids illegally kept in Brazil.

There's another case making big headlines in Brazil now. An Austrian man, Sascha Zanger, has been trying to get his kids back too. His ex-wife took the kids there, then left them with a sister. The youngest was malnourished and abused, and eded up dying. Now he's trying to get his son back to Austria.

I just wanted to point out something. You mentioned that Bruna has passed and we don't know what motivated her to leave David. Well, before her tragic passing, she was heard in court many times. She said her husband was the best father she could choose for her son, but she was tired of working and living in NJ and wanted to go back to Brazil. Her parents claimed in recent interviews that there was trouble in the marriage, but during their sworn depositions in the NJ court, they said there was nothing wrong with the marriage. Go figure...