IV 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. RES. 1081 

Expressing the sympathy of House of Representatives to the families of 

women and girls murdered in Guatemala and encouraging the Government of Guatemala to bring an end to these crimes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 14, 2006 

Mr. BURTON of Indiana (for himself, Mr. LANTOS, Mr. ENGEL, Ms. SOLIS, 

and Ms. LEE) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 

the Committee on International Relations 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing the sympathy of House of Representatives to 

the families of women and girls murdered in Guatemala 

and encouraging the Government of Guatemala to bring 

an end to these crimes. 

Whereas Guatemalan women were among the victims during 

the 36-year Guatemalan internal armed conflict which 

ended with the signing of the 1996 Peace Accords and 

ushered in the process of reconciliation; 

Whereas since 2001, more than 2,000 women and girls have 

been murdered in Guatemala often proceeded by abduction, sexual assault, or brutal mutilation; 

Whereas from 2001 to 2006, the rate at which women have 

been murdered in Guatemala has increased sharply, at a 


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•HRES 1081 IH 

higher rate than the murder rate of men in Guatemala 

during the same period; 

Whereas the specific crime of femicide (the act of killing a 

woman where gender is a significant motivation in the 

killing) increased from 303 in 2001 to 395 in the first 

eight months of 2006, and based on well-established patterns, it appears that this number could surpass 600 by 

the end of 2006; 

Whereas, according to reports from Guatemalan officials, 

most of the victims are women ranging in age from 18 

to 30 and many were abducted in broad daylight in wellpopulated areas; 

Whereas those murders 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 according to data from Guatemala’s Public Prosecutors Office, few arrests and fewer convictions have taken 

place, leading to accusations that police, prosecutors, 

forensics experts, and other state justice officials have 

not brought the perpetrators to justice; 

Whereas inadequate financial, human, and technical resources, as well as a lack of forensic and technical expertise, has complicated the arrest and prosecution of suspects; 

Whereas the Guatemalan Human Rights Ombudsman reports 

that on ten separate occasions police officers have been 

implicated in the murder of Guatemalan women and recommends that such officers and other officials be held accountable for their acts; 


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•HRES 1081 IH 

Whereas the Guatemalan Special Prosecutor for Crimes 

Against Women, in her statements regarding the Guatemalan murder cases, reported that her office has reviewed approximately 800 reports of domestic violence 

per month, with some of those cases ending in murder; 

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, the United Nations Convention on 

the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against 

Women, the Convention of Belem do Para, 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 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 the Government of Guatemala has created special 

police and prosecutorial units to address the brutal murders of Guatemalan women; 

Whereas Guatemalan legislators from various parties have 

joined lawmakers from Mexico and Spain to form the 

Interparliamentary Network against ‘‘Femicide’’; 

Whereas the Government of Guatemala has taken steps to renegotiate an agreement with the United Nations for the 

establishment of a Commission for Investigation of Illegal 

Bodies and Clandestine Security Organizations in Guatemala (CICIACS); and 


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•HRES 1081 IH 

Whereas continuing impunity for the crime of murder is a 

threat to the rule of law, democracy, and stability in 

Guatemala: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) expresses its sincerest condolences and 

3 deepest sympathy to the families of women and girls 

4 murdered in Guatemala; 

5 (2) expresses the solidarity of the people of the 

6 United States with the people of Guatemala in the 

7 face of these tragic and senseless acts; 

8 (3) condemns the ongoing abductions and mur9 ders of women and girls in Guatemala which have 

10 been occurring with increasing brutality and fre11 quency; 

12 (4) recognizes the courageous struggle of the 

13 victims’ families in seeking justice for the victims; 

14 (5) urges the Government of Guatemala to rec15 ognize domestic violence and sexual harassment as 

16 criminal acts; 

17 (6) encourages the Government of Guatemala 

18 to act with due diligence in order to investigate 

19 promptly the killings of women, prosecute those re20 sponsible, and eliminate the tolerance of violence 

21 against women; 

22 (7) supports efforts to identify perpetrators and 

23 unknown victims through forensic analysis, including 


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1 DNA testing, such as the National Institute for Fo2 rensic Science in Guatemala (INACIF) and encour3 ages such efforts to be conducted by independent, 

4 impartial experts; 

5 (8) urges the President and Secretary of State 

6 to continue to express support for the efforts of the 

7 victims’ families and loved ones to seek justice for 

8 the victims, to express concern relating to the con9 tinued harassment of these families and the human 

10 rights defenders with whom they work, and to ex11 press concern with respect to impediments in the 

12 ability of the families to receive prompt and accurate 

13 information in their cases; 

14 (9) encourages the Secretary of State to urge 

15 the Government of Guatemala to honor and dignify 

16 the victims of the brutal murders and to continue to 

17 include in the Department of State’s annual Country 

18 Reports on Human Rights Practices all instances of 

19 improper investigatory methods, threats against 

20 human rights activists, and the use of torture with 

21 respect to cases involving the murder and abduction 

22 of women and girls in Guatemala; 

23 (10) encourages the Secretary of State to urge 

24 the Government of Guatemala to hold accountable 

25 those law enforcement and judicial officials whose 


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1 failure to investigate and prosecute the murders ade2 quately, whether through negligence, omission, or 

3 abuse, has led to impunity for these crimes; 

4 (11) encourages the Secretary of State to sup5 port and urge the Government of Guatemala to take 

6 measures to ensure that the special Guatemalan po7 lice and prosecutorial units have an adequate num8 ber of appropriately trained personnel with sufficient 

9 resources to conduct thorough and proper investiga10 tions and prosecutions that reflect the gravity and 

11 magnitude of this national security crisis; 

12 (12) recommends that the United States Am13 bassador to Guatemala meet with the families of the 

14 victims, women’s rights organizations, and Guate15 malan officials responsible for investigating these 

16 crimes and preventing such future crimes; and 

17 (13) recommends that the Secretary of State 

18 develop a comprehensive plan to address and combat 

19 the growing problem of violence against women in 

20 Latin America. 

Æ 


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