[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 392 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







108th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 392

Conveying the sympathy of the Senate to the families of the young women 
 murdered in the State of Chihuahua, Mexico, and encouraging increased 
     United States involvement in bringing an end to these crimes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 24, 2004

Mr. Bingaman (for himself, Mrs. Hutchison, and Ms. Landrieu) submitted 
   the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 
                           Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Conveying the sympathy of the Senate to the families of the young women 
 murdered in the State of Chihuahua, Mexico, and encouraging increased 
     United States involvement in bringing an end to these crimes.

Whereas the Mexican border city of Ciudad Juarez has been plagued with the 
        abduction, sexual assault, and brutal murders of more than 370 young 
        women since 1993;
Whereas these abductions and murders have begun to spread south to the city of 
        Chihuahua;
Whereas more than 90 of these murders show signs of being connected to 1 or more 
        serial killers;
Whereas some of the victims are as young as 13 years old, and many were abducted 
        in broad daylight in well-populated areas;
Whereas these murders have brought pain as the families and friends of the 
        victims on both sides of the border struggle to cope with the loss of 
        their loved ones;
Whereas many of the victims have yet to be positively identified;
Whereas the perpetrators of most of these heinous acts remain unknown;
Whereas the Mexican Federal Government has taken steps to prevent these 
        abductions and murders, including setting up a commission to coordinate 
        Federal and State efforts in Mexico, establishing a 40-point plan, 
        appointing a special commissioner, and appointing a special prosecutor;
Whereas in 2003 the El Paso Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation 
        and the El Paso Police Department began providing Mexican authorities 
        with training in investigation techniques and methods;
Whereas the government of the State of Chihuahua has jurisdiction over these 
        crimes;
Whereas Mexico is a party to the following international treaties that relate to 
        abductions and murders: the Charter of the Organization of American 
        States, the American Convention on Human Rights, the Universal 
        Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and 
        Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and 
        Cultural Rights, the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of 
        Discrimination Against Women, the United Nations Declaration on Violence 
        Against Women, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Convention 
        of Belem do Para, the Inter-American Convention to Prevent and Punish 
        Torture, the Inter-American Convention on Forced Disappearance, and the 
        United Nations Declaration on the Protection of All Persons From 
        Enforced Disappearance; and
Whereas impunity for these crimes is a threat to the ability of Mexico to 
        consolidate its growing democracy: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) condemns the abductions and murders of young women in 
        Ciudad Juarez and the city of Chihuahua in the State of 
        Chihuahua, Mexico, since 1993;
            (2) expresses its sincerest condolences and deepest 
        sympathy to the families of the young women killed in the State 
        of Chihuahua, Mexico, since 1993, many of whom appear to be 
        victims of 1 or more serial murderers;
            (3) recognizes the courageous struggle of the victims' 
        families in seeking justice for the victims;
            (4) urges the President and Secretary of State to continue 
        to express concern over these abductions and murders to the 
        Government of Mexico and to request that the investigative and 
        preventative efforts of the Mexican Government become part of 
        the bilateral agenda between the Governments of Mexico and the 
        United States;
            (5) urges the President and Secretary of State to continue 
        to express support for the efforts of the victims' families to 
        seek justice for the victims, to express concern relating to 
        the continued harassment of these families and the human rights 
        defenders with which they work, and to express concern with 
        respect to impediments in the ability of the families to 
        receive prompt and accurate information in their cases;
            (6) supports multilateral efforts to create a DNA database 
        that would allow families to positively identify the remains of 
        the victims and encourages the Secretary of State to facilitate 
        United States participation in such a DNA database;
            (7) encourages the Secretary of State to continue to 
        include in the annual Country Report on Human Rights of the 
        Department of State all instances of improper investigatory 
        methods, threats against human rights activists, and the use of 
        torture with respect to cases involving the murder and 
        abduction of young women in the State of Chihuahua;
            (8) recommends that the United States Ambassador to Mexico 
        visit Ciudad Juarez and the city of Chihuahua to meet with the 
        families of the victims, women's rights organizations, and 
        Mexican Federal and State officials responsible for 
        investigating these crimes and preventing future such crimes;
            (9) condemns the use of torture as a means of investigation 
        into these crimes;
            (10) encourages the Secretary of State to urge the 
        Government of Mexico to ensure fair and proper judicial 
        proceedings for the individuals accused of these abductions and 
        murders and to impose appropriate punishment for those 
        individuals subsequently determined to be guilty of such 
        crimes;
            (11) condemns all senseless acts of violence in all parts 
        of the world and, in particular, violence against women; and
            (12) expresses the solidarity of the people of the United 
        States with the people of Mexico in the face of these tragic 
        and senseless acts.
                                 <all>