[United States Statutes at Large, Volume 120, 109th Congress, 2nd Session]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

 
NOTE: May 3, 2006 -  [H.Con.Res.90]  MURDERS OF YOUNG WOMEN IN CIUDAD
JUAREZ AND CHIHUAHUA, MEXICO--CONDOLENCES

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;


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120 STAT. 3721


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


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120 STAT. 3722


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,

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120 STAT. 3723

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.

Agreed to May 3, 2006.