[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 90 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]


        H.Con.Res.90
                                           Agreed to May 3, 2006        

                       One Hundred Ninth Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America


                          AT THE SECOND SESSION

          Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,
             the third day of January, two thousand and six


                          Concurrent Resolution

Whereas the Mexican cities of Ciudad Juarez and Chihuahua have been 
  plagued with the abduction, sexual assault, and brutal murders of 
  over 400 young women since 1993;

Whereas there have been at least 56 murders of women in Ciudad Juarez 
  and the city of Chihuahua since 2004;

Whereas at least 152 of the victims were sexually assaulted prior to 
  their murders;

Whereas more than half of the victims are women and girls between the 
  ages of 13 and 22, and many were abducted in broad daylight in well-
  populated areas;

Whereas these murders have brought pain to the families and friends of 
  the victims on both sides of the border as they 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 in Ciudad Juarez, including setting up a 
  commission to coordinate Federal and State efforts, establishing a 
  40-point plan, appointing a special commissioner, and appointing a 
  special prosecutor;

Whereas the Mexican Federal special prosecutor's review of the Ciudad 
  Juarez murder investigations found evidence that over 100 police, 
  prosecutors, forensics experts, and other State of Chihuahua justice 
  officials failed to properly investigate the crimes, and recommended 
  that they be held accountable for their acts of negligence, abuse of 
  authority, and omission;

Whereas the Government of Mexico has recognized the importance of the 
  work of the Mexican Federal special prosecutor and has shifted the 
  mission of the prosecutor's office to assist local authorities in 
  investigating and prosecuting crimes of violence against women 
  throughout the country;

Whereas in 2003 the El Paso Field Office of the Federal Bureau of 
  Investigation and the El Paso Police Department began providing 
  Mexican Federal, State, and municipal law enforcement authorities 
  with training in investigation techniques and methods;

Whereas the United States Agency for International Development has 
  begun providing assistance to the State of Chihuahua for judicial 
  reform;

Whereas the government of the State of Chihuahua has jurisdiction over 
  these crimes;

Whereas the Governor and Attorney General of the State of Chihuahua 
  have expressed willingness to collaborate with the Mexican Federal 
  Government and United States officials in addressing these crimes;

Whereas the Department of State has provided consular services on 
  behalf of the American citizen and her husband who were tortured into 
  confessing to one of the murders;

Whereas Mexico is a party to the following international treaties and 
  declarations 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 continuing impunity for these crimes is a threat to the rule of 
  law in Mexico: Now, therefore, be it

    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That Congress--
        (1) condemns the ongoing 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 victims of these murders;
        (3) recognizes the courageous struggle of the victims' families 
    in seeking justice for the victims;
        (4) urges the President and Secretary of State to incorporate 
    the investigative and preventative efforts of the Mexican 
    Government in the bilateral agenda between the Governments of 
    Mexico and the United States and to continue to express concern 
    over these abductions and murders to the Government of Mexico;
        (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 whom 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 ongoing efforts to identify unknown victims 
    through forensic analysis, including DNA testing, conducted by 
    independent, impartial experts who are sensitive to the special 
    needs and concerns of the victims' families, as well as efforts to 
    make these services available to any families who have doubts about 
    the results of prior forensic testing;
        (7) condemns the use of torture as a means of investigation 
    into these crimes;
        (8) 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;
        (9) encourages the Secretary of State to urge the Government of 
    Mexico and the State of Chihuahua to review the cases of murdered 
    women in which those accused or convicted of murder have credibly 
    alleged they were tortured or forced by a state agent to confess to 
    the crime;
        (10) strongly recommends that the United States Ambassador to 
    Mexico visit Ciudad Juarez and the city of Chihuahua for the 
    purpose of meeting 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;
        (11) encourages the Secretary of State to urge the Government 
    of Mexico to ensure fair and proper judicial proceedings for the 
    individuals who are accused of these abductions and murders and to 
    impose appropriate punishment for those individuals subsequently 
    determined to be guilty of such crimes;
        (12) encourages the Secretary of State to urge the State of 
    Chihuahua to hold accountable those law enforcement officials whose 
    failure to adequately investigate the murders, whether through 
    negligence, omission, or abuse, has led to impunity for these 
    crimes;
        (13) encourages the Secretary of State to urge the Government 
    of Mexico to ensure that the Mexican Federal special prosecutor's 
    office, responsible for assisting local authorities in 
    investigating and prosecuting crimes of violence against women 
    throughout the country, gives particular attention to the murders 
    of women in Ciudad Juarez and Chihuahua City;
        (14) strongly supports the work of the special commissioner to 
    prevent violence against women in Ciudad Juarez and Chihuahua City;
        (15) condemns all senseless acts of violence in all parts of 
    the world and, in particular, violence against women; and
        (16) expresses the solidarity of the people of the United 
    States with the people of Mexico in the face of these tragic and 
    senseless acts.
  Attest:

                                 Clerk of the House of Representatives.

  Attest:

                                               Secretary of the Senate.