[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 15]
[House]
[Page 22157]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



AMERICA MUST PRESSURE HAGUE CONVENTION SIGNATORIES TO COMPLY WITH CHILD 
                          ABDUCTION PROVISIONS

  (Mr. LAMPSON asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. LAMPSON. Mr. Speaker, today my story is about Mitchell Goldstein 
and his daughter, Kelly, age 8. Kelly was abducted from Atlanta, 
Georgia, to Switzerland when she was 4 years old by her mother, Sandra 
Gyr Pfisterer, during a court-ordered visitation in 1996.
  Since this time, Mr. Goldstein has been trying to have Kelly returned 
from Switzerland via the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of 
International Child Abduction. Despite numerous court orders from the 
Swiss court, including from the Supreme Court, officials in Switzerland 
have refused to enforce the court orders and Kelly remains abroad 
without any contact from her father.
  Switzerland is our ally. Mr. Goldstein has full custody of Kelly. He 
has numerous court orders from Switzerland and the United States 
ordering Kelly's return home. Switzerland and the U.S. are parties to 
the Hague Convention, yet Kelly remains separated from her father.
  Mr. Speaker, children like Kelly deserve to have a relationship with 
both their parents, and parents deserve a relationship with their 
children. The


House should make sure that the most sacred of bonds, that between a 
parent and child, is preserved. We must pressure signatory countries to 
comply with the Hague Convention, especially in cases such as these, 
where their own courts have ordered a return.

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