[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 27 (Wednesday, March 9, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2402-S2403]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 16--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

  Mr. BINGAMAN (for himself, Mr. Cornyn, Mr. Corzine, Mr. Durbin, Mr. 
Ensign, Mr. Feingold, Mrs. Feinstein, Ms. Landrieu, Mr. Leahy, Mr. 
Levin, Ms. Mikulski, and Mrs. Murray) submitted the following 
concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 
Relations:

                            S. Con. Res. 16

       Whereas the Mexican cities of Ciudad Juarez and Chihuahua 
     have been plagued with the abduction, sexual assault, and 
     brutal murders of more than 370 young women since 1993;
       Whereas there have been at least 30 murders of women in 
     Ciudad Juarez and the city of Chihuahua since 2004;
       Whereas at least 137 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 Federal special prosecutor, in her ongoing 
     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 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,

[[Page S2403]]

     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 Senate (the House of Representatives 
     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 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) recognizes the special prosecutor has begun to review 
     cases and encourages the expansion of her mission to include 
     the city of Chihuahua;
       (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.

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