Author and advocate speaks out about human rights violations in Liam McCarty case

Liam McCarty - Photo used with permission

Peter Thomas, author of the upcoming novel Chasing the Cyclone, successful Chasing Parent, and advocate for abducted children and Chasing Parents recently spoke out about the rights of children who have been illegally abducted by a parent and what happens when the authorities fail to protect these children.

The failure of courts and government agencies to properly protect the welfare of a child who may be or who has been abducted borders on these very same parties participating in a breach of the child's Human Rights.

--Peter Thomas, Author of Chasing the Cyclone

Consider the case of Liam McCarty. When Liam was 5 years old, his mother abducted him from New York, in direct violation of a court order, and relocated him to Italy.

The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Parental Child Abduction is the international treaty, ratified by both the United States and Italy, that determines which nation's courts should have jurisdiction in cases like this.

Normally, under the Hague Convention, the child should be returned to the country of "habitual residence" until the custody dispute is settled by the courts of that country. However, Article 13(b) of the Hague treaty states that a child should not be returned to the country of original jurisdiction if there is clear indication that such return would be harmful and not in the best interests of the child.

While this clause is reasonable and necessary, it sets up a situation where an abducting parent almost has to make outrageous accusations against the other parent in an attempt to justify the abduction.

In Liam's case, his mother made serious allegations of inappropriate conduct against his father. These allegations were thoroughly investigated by courts, law enforcement, and child protective agencies in both New York and Italy, as they should be. In both countries, the courts, law enforcement, and child protective agencies came to the conclusion that the accusations were false and that it was, in fact, the mother who posed a serious risk to the safety and wellbeing of the child.

When the courts in New York determined that Michael McCarty was a fit and loving father and Manuela Antonelli was mentally ill and posed a threat to her son, the courts awarded custody to the father. When the courts in Italy determined that there was no evidence that Michael had ever acted inappropriately toward his son and Manuela was dangerous, they took custody of the boy and placed him in an orphanage.

For nearly three years, Michael has fought for custody of his son. In the meantime, the young boy has been back and forth between an orphanage and his mother's extended family, all of whom have participated in the psychological warfare aimed at severing the bond between father and son. During this time, Liam has also been subjected to psychological "treatment" for abuse that Italian Social Services admits never happened.

Denying Liam access to the only fit and loving parent he has - his father - is clearly a violation of Liam's Human Rights. Subjecting him to "treatment" for abuse that never occured goes a step further by placing him at risk for an iatrogenic response where he actually begins to show symptoms of the condition he is being inappropriately treated for. Not only has the Italian legal system failed to protect Liam from harm, they are now contributing to the violation of his Human Rights and placing him in danger.

Sadly, Liam's case is not unique. Tens of thousands of other children around the world are internationally abducted by a parent each year. Many of these children have their human rights trampled on by the very people - parents, family courts, and child protective agencies - who have been entrusted to protect them.

The terrible ordeal of the McCartys demonstrates that the lack of research, education, and understanding of the tragic circumstances of abducted children everywhere leads to the question of whether a child's Human Rights are violated when the legal agencies created to protect their welfare either through negligence or through failure to act properly, actually jeopardize the child.

--Peter Thomas, Author of Chasing the Cyclone

When Michael McCarty last traveled to Italy, he was unable to visit with his son. Instead, he was met by a circus of reporters, security guards, lawyers, and his ex-wife and her family. He will return to Rome next week for another hearing on Liam's custody. According to international law and the laws of human decency, this innocent child should be returned to his loving father and allowed to heal and get on with his childhood.