[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 125 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 125

Calling on the central authority of Brazil to immediately discharge all 
 its duties under the Hague Convention by facilitating and supporting 
 Federal judicial proceedings as a matter of extreme urgency to obtain 
the return of Sean Goldman to his father, David Goldman, for immediate 
                      return to the United States.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            February 4, 2009

 Mr. Smith of New Jersey submitted the following resolution; which was 
              referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Calling on the central authority of Brazil to immediately discharge all 
 its duties under the Hague Convention by facilitating and supporting 
 Federal judicial proceedings as a matter of extreme urgency to obtain 
the return of Sean Goldman to his father, David Goldman, for immediate 
                      return to the United States.

Whereas, on May 25, 2000, Sean Goldman was born in Red Bank, New Jersey, the son 
        of David Goldman and Bruna Bianchi Ribeiro Goldman who were married in 
        New Jersey in 1999;
Whereas Sean Goldman lived with his parents the first four years of his life in 
        Tinton Falls, New Jersey;
Whereas, on June 16, 2004, Sean and his mother Mrs. Goldman left together with 
        Mrs. Goldman's parents for a planned vacation to Mrs. Goldman's parents' 
        home in Brazil;
Whereas upon her arrival in Brazil, Mrs. Goldman called Mr. Goldman to advise 
        him that their marriage was over and that she would not be returning 
        Sean to his home in New Jersey;
Whereas Mr. Goldman has been trying unsuccessfully since June 17, 2004, to 
        secure the return of his son from Brazil;
Whereas, on August 26, 2004, the Superior Court of New Jersey awarded custody to 
        Mr. Goldman, ordered Mrs. Goldman and her parents to immediately return 
        Sean to the United States, and indicated to Mrs. Goldman and her parents 
        that their continued behavior under United States law constituted 
        parental kidnapping;
Whereas, on September 3, 2004, Mr. Goldman filed an application for the 
        immediate return of Sean to the United States under the 1980 Hague 
        Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction (the 
        ``Hague Convention'');
Whereas the Federal Republic of Brazil acceded to the Hague Convention on 
        October 19, 1999, and the Hague Convention entered into force between 
        Brazil and the United States on December 1, 2003;
Whereas, pursuant to article 12 of the Hague Convention, the judicial authority 
        of Brazil was required to order Sean's return to the United States 
        ``forthwith,'' customarily defined under international law as within six 
        weeks after an application for return has been filed;
Whereas, on October 13, 2005, the Brazilian court refused to return Sean in 
        contravention of Brazil's obligations under the Hague Convention even 
        though it found that Sean was a habitual resident of the United States 
        and, pursuant to international law, had been wrongfully removed and 
        retained in Brazil;
Whereas, on August 19, 2005, the Superior Court of New Jersey found both Mrs. 
        Goldman and her parents to be in willful contempt of the court's orders 
        and further found Mrs. Goldman's continued retention of Sean actionable 
        under the International Parental Kidnapping and Crime Act of 1993 as 
        well as New Jersey's criminal statutes;
Whereas the contempt of Ms. Goldman and her family continued after the court's 
        August 19, 2005, order and Mr. Goldman was afforded no contact with his 
        son;
Whereas Mrs. Goldman obtained a divorce from Mr. Goldman without notice through 
        the Brazilian courts and soon thereafter married Joao Paulo Lins e 
        Silva;
Whereas, on August 22, 2008, Mrs. Goldman tragically passed away during 
        childbirth leaving Sean without a mother and separated from his 
        biological father in the United States;
Whereas in September 2008, Mr. Goldman traveled to Brazil to visit and 
        rightfully reclaim full custody of his son, Sean;
Whereas, upon his arrival, Mr. Goldman learned that Mr. Lins e Silva had 
        petitioned the Brazilian courts for custody rights over Sean and also 
        had secretly petitioned the Brazilian courts to replace Mr. Goldman's 
        name with his own name on a new birth certificate to be issued to Sean 
        Goldman, despite the fact that Mr. Goldman, not Mr. Lins e Silva, is 
        Sean's biological father;
Whereas in October 2008, Mr. Lins e Silva failed to make Sean available for a 
        visitation ordered by the Brazilian Federal Court with his father, and 
        absconded with Sean for the duration of the scheduled visitation;
Whereas Brazilian law enforcement did not provide Mr. Goldman with Sean's 
        location during the visitation ordered by the Brazilian court and did 
        not enforce the visitation order, even though they were informed about 
        Mr. Lins e Silva's failure to make Sean available for the visitation;
Whereas, the Government of Brazil, through the Hague Convention, is obligated to 
        ``take all appropriate measures to secure within [its territory] the 
        implementation of the objects of the Convention,'' and ``to use the most 
        expeditious procedures available'';
Whereas the judicial authority of Brazil has failed to comply with its 
        obligations under article 11 of the Hague Convention to expeditiously 
        order the return of Sean to the United States;
Whereas, the United States and Brazil, through the Hague Convention, have 
        expressed the firm conviction that ``the interests of children are of 
        paramount importance in matters relating to their custody'';
Whereas, furthermore, the United States and Brazil have expressed their desire, 
        through the Hague Convention, ``to protect children internationally from 
        the harmful effects of their wrongful removal or retention and to 
        establish procedures to ensure their prompt return to the State of their 
        habitual residence'';
Whereas the U.S. State Department determined in its 2008 Compliance Report to 
        Congress for the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of 
        International Child Abduction, as required under Public Law 105-277, 
        section 2803 (the ``Hague Convention Compliance Report''), that Brazil 
        ``continued to demonstrate patterns of noncompliance with the Convention 
        in its judicial performance'';
Whereas it is reported that there are nearly 50 cases in which children who were 
        habitual residents of the United States have been wrongfully abducted to 
        Brazil and have not been returned to the United States as required under 
        the Hague Convention; and
Whereas Sean is being deprived of his rightful opportunity to live and be raised 
        by his biological father, Sean could suffer developmental and 
        psychological consequences because of this unjust separation, and it is 
        consistent with international law to be reunited with his father in New 
        Jersey following the death of his mother: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That--
            (1) the House of Representatives--
                    (A) calls on the central authority of Brazil to 
                immediately discharge all its duties under the Hague 
                Convention by facilitating and supporting Federal 
                judicial proceedings as a matter of extreme urgency to 
                obtain the return of Sean Goldman to his father, David 
                Goldman, for immediate return to the United States; and
                    (B) calls upon the Brazilian government to fulfill 
                its obligation under international law to take all 
                other appropriate measures to secure within its 
                territory the implementation of the objects of the 
                Hague Convention, and to use the most expeditious 
                procedures available, pursuant to article 2 of the 
                Convention, in the case of Sean Goldman as well as all 
                other children from the United States whose rights are 
                not being respected under the Convention; and
            (2) it is the sense of the House of Representatives that 
        the United States should--
                    (A) make the determination, through the United 
                States Department of State in its 2009 Hague Convention 
                Compliance Report, that Brazil is a ``Country Not 
                Compliant with the Convention'', given that Brazil 
                failed in all three performance areas of central 
                authority performance, judicial performance, and law 
                enforcement performance for fiscal year 2008;
                    (B) review its diplomatic procedures and the 
                operations available to United States citizens through 
                its central authority under the Hague Convention to 
                ensure that effective assistance is provided to Mr. 
                Goldman and other United States citizens in obtaining 
                the expeditious return of their children from Brazil 
                and other countries that have entered into the 
                reciprocal obligations with the United States under the 
                Hague Convention; and
                    (C) take any and all other appropriate measures to 
                ensure that Hague Convention partners return abducted 
                children to the United States in compliance with the 
                Hague Convention's provisions.
                                 <all>