Whereas
since 2001, more than 2,000 women and girls have been murdered in
Guatemala;
Whereas
most of the victims are women ranging in age from 18 to 30, with many of the
cases involving abduction, sexual violence, or brutal mutilation;
Whereas
while the overall murder rate in Guatemala has increased substantially, the
rate at which women have been murdered in Guatemala has increased at an
alarming rate, almost doubling from 2001 to 2006;
Whereas
according to data from Guatemala’s Public Prosecutors Office, few arrests and
fewer convictions have occurred, and prosecutors, forensics experts, and other
state justice officials have not brought the perpetrators to justice;
Whereas
from 2001 to 2006, there were only 20 convictions for the murders of women and
girls;
Whereas
the Human Rights Ombudsman of the Government of Guatemala has reported that in
1 year alone police officers were implicated on 10 separate occasions in the
murder of women in Guatemala, and recommended that such officers and other
officials be held accountable for their acts;
Whereas
an effective, transparent, and impartial judicial system is key to the
administration of justice, and the failure to ensure proper investigations and
prosecutions hampers the ability to solve crimes and punish
perpetrators;
Whereas
inadequate financial, human, and technical resources, as well as a lack of
forensic and technical expertise, have impeded the arrest and prosecution of
suspects;
Whereas
the Special Prosecutor for Crimes Against Women of the Government of Guatemala
has reported that her office has reviewed approximately 800 incidents of
domestic violence per month, with some of those cases ending in murder, and
that deaths could have been prevented if the legal system of Guatemala provided
for prison sentences in cases of domestic violence;
Whereas
the murders of women and girls in Guatemala have brought pain to the families
and friends of the victims as they struggle to cope with the loss of their
loved ones and the fact that the perpetrators of these heinous acts remain
unknown to the proper authorities;
Whereas
many countries in Latin America face significant challenges in combating
violence against women, and international cooperation is essential in
addressing this serious issue;
Whereas
the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has provided
assistance to the Government of Guatemala to implement judicial reform and rule
of law programs, and in fiscal year 2006, Congress provided $1,500,000 for
programs to combat impunity, corruption, and crimes of violence, of which
$500,000 is to be allocated to strengthen the special prosecutorial units
charged with investigating the murders of women in Guatemala;
Whereas
the Government of Guatemala has undertaken efforts to prevent violence against
women, as evidenced by its ratification of the United Nations Convention
Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment,
done at New York December 10, 1984, the United Nations Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, done at New York
December 18, 1979, the Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment,
and Eradication of Violence Against Women, done at Belem do Para, Brazil June
9, 1994, and other international human rights treaties, and the enactment of
laws and the creation of state institutions to promote and protect the rights
of women;
Whereas
the Government of Guatemala has created special police and prosecutorial units
to address the brutal murders of women in Guatemala;
Whereas
in June 2006, the Government of Guatemala successfully abolished the
Rape Law
which had absolved perpetrators of criminal
responsibility for rape and certain other crimes of violence upon the
perpetrator’s marriage with the victim;
Whereas
legislators from various parties in Guatemala have joined lawmakers from Mexico
and Spain to form the Interparliamentary Network against
Femicide
;
Whereas
the Government of Guatemala and the United Nations recently entered into an
agreement to establish the International Commission Against Impunity in
Guatemala (CICIG), which has a mandate to investigate and promote the
prosecution of illegal security groups and clandestine security organizations
that function with impunity and are suspected of attacking human rights
defenders, justice officials, and other civil society actors; and
Whereas
continuing impunity for crimes against women is a threat to the rule of law,
democracy, and stability in Guatemala: Now, therefore, be it
That the Senate—
(1)expresses its sincerest condolences and
deepest sympathy to the families of women and girls murdered in Guatemala, and
recognizes their courageous struggle in seeking justice for the victims;
(2)expresses the solidarity of the people of
the United States with the people of Guatemala in the face of these tragic and
senseless acts;
(3)condemns the ongoing murders of women and
girls in Guatemala, and encourages the Government of Guatemala to act with due
diligence in order to promptly investigate these killings, prosecute those
responsible, and continue to work toward eliminating violence against
women;
(4)urges the
Government of Guatemala to strengthen laws with respect to domestic violence
and sexual harassment, to improve the integrity of the prosecutorial and
judicial systems, and to provide the resources and commitment necessary to
adequately enforce justice for crimes against women;
(5)urges the President and the Secretary of
State to continue to incorporate the investigative and preventative efforts of
the Government of Guatemala regarding the murder of women and girls into the
bilateral agenda between the Governments of Guatemala and the United
States;
(6)encourages the Secretary of State to
continue to support efforts by the Government of Guatemala to train and equip
the special police and prosecutorial units of the Government of Guatemala to
conduct thorough and proper investigations of crimes of violence against women,
and to implement judicial reform and rule of law programs;
(7)encourages the Secretary of State and the
Attorney General to provide assistance in establishing a comprehensive missing
persons system and an effective state protection program for witnesses,
victims’ relatives, and human rights defenders;
(8)urges the Government of Guatemala to hold
accountable those law enforcement and judicial officials whose failure to
investigate and prosecute the murders adequately, whether through negligence,
omission, or abuse, has led to impunity for these crimes;
(9)encourages the Secretary of State to
support efforts to identify perpetrators and unknown victims through forensic
analysis, including assisting the Government of Guatemala in adequately funding
the National Institute for Forensic Science (INACIF) and training lab personnel
in investigatory and evidence gathering protocols;
(10)urges the Secretary of State—
(A)to express support for the efforts of the
victims’ families and loved ones to seek justice for the victims,
(B)to express concern relating to any
harassment of these families and the human rights defenders with whom they
work, and
(C)to express concern with respect to
impediments in the ability of the families to receive prompt and accurate
information in their cases;
(11)encourages the Secretary of State to
continue to include in the Department of State’s annual Country Reports on
Human Rights Practices instances of failure to investigate and prosecute
crimes, threats against human rights activists, and the use of torture with
respect to cases involving the murder and abduction of women and girls in
Guatemala;
(12)recommends that the United States
Ambassador to Guatemala continue to meet with the families of the victims,
women’s rights organizations, and the officials of the Government of Guatemala
who are responsible for investigating these crimes; and
(13)recommends that the Secretary of State
develop a comprehensive plan to address and combat the growing problem of
violence against women in Latin America.