[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 90 Received in Senate (RDS)]


109th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. CON. RES. 90


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 3, 2006

                                Received

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
 Conveying the sympathy of Congress 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 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.

            Passed the House of Representatives May 2, 2006.

            Attest:

                                                 KAREN L. HAAS,

                                                                 Clerk.