[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 41 (Tuesday, March 11, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1890-S1891]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 EXPRESSING THE SYMPATHY OF THE SENATE TO FAMILIES OF WOMEN AND GIRLS 
                         MURDERED IN GUATEMALA

  On Monday, March 10, 2008, the Senate passed S. Res. 178, as amended, 
with its preamble, as amended, as follows:

                               S. Res. 178

       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
       Resolved, 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

[[Page S1891]]

     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.

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