[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 466 Introduced in House (IH)]
108th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. RES. 466
Conveying the sympathy of the House of Representatives 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.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
November 21, 2003
Ms. Solis (for herself, Mr. Reyes, Mr. Ramstad, Ms. Slaughter, Mrs.
Capito, and Mr. Rodriguez) submitted the following resolution; which
was referred to the Committee on International Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Conveying the sympathy of the House of Representatives 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 border city of Ciudad Juarez has been plagued with the
abduction, sexual assault, and brutal murders of more than 370 young
women since 1993;
Whereas these abductions and murders have begun to spread south to the city of
Chihuahua;
Whereas more than 90 of these murders show signs of being connected to one or
more serial killers;
Whereas some of the victims are as young as 13 years old, and many were abducted
in broad daylight in well-populated areas;
Whereas these murders have brought pain as the families and friends of the
victims on both sides of the border struggle to cope with the loss of
their loved ones;
Whereas many of the victims have yet to be positively identified;
Whereas to date the perpetrators of most of these heinous acts remain unknown;
Whereas the Mexican Federal Government has taken steps to prevent these
abductions and murders, including setting up a commission to coordinate
Federal and State efforts in Mexico, establishing a 40-point plan, and
appointing a special commissioner;
Whereas in 2003 the Federal Bureau of Investigation's El Paso Field Office and
the El Paso Police Department began providing Mexican authorities with
training in investigation techniques and methods;
Whereas the Government of the State of Chihuahua has jurisdiction over these
crimes;
Whereas Mexico is a party to the following international treaties 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 impunity for these crimes is a threat to Mexico's ability to consolidate
its growing democracy: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) condemns the 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 young women killed in the State
of Chihuahua, Mexico, since 1993, many of whom appear to be
victims of one or more serial murderers;
(3) recognizes the courageous struggle of the victims'
families in seeking justice for the victims;
(4) urges the President and Secretary of State to express
concern over these abductions and murders to the Government of
Mexico and to request that the investigative and preventative
efforts of the Mexican Government become part of the bilateral
agenda between the Governments of Mexico and the United States;
(5) urges the President and Secretary of State 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 which 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 multilateral efforts to create a DNA database
that would allow families to positively identify the remains of
the victims and encourages the Secretary of State to facilitate
United States participation in such a DNA database;
(7) encourages the Secretary of State to include in the
Department of State's annual Country Report on Human Rights 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;
(8) recommends that the United States Ambassador to Mexico
visit Ciudad Juarez and the city of Chihuahua to meet 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;
(9) condemns the use of torture as a means of investigation
into these crimes;
(10) encourages the Secretary of State to urge the
Government of Mexico to ensure fair and proper judicial
proceedings for the individuals accused of these abductions and
murders and to impose appropriate punishment for those
individuals subsequently determined to be guilty of such
crimes;
(11) condemns all senseless acts of violence in all parts
of the world and violence against women in particular; and
(12) 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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