III 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 178 

Expressing the sympathy of the Senate to the families of women and girls 

murdered in Guatemala, and encouraging the United States to work 

with Guatemala to bring an end to these crimes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 1, 2007 

Mr. BINGAMAN submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 

Committee on Foreign Relations 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing the sympathy of the Senate to the families of 

women and girls murdered in Guatemala, and encouraging the United States to work with Guatemala to 

bring an end to these crimes. 

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

been murdered in Guatemala has almost doubled, increasing at a higher rate than the murder rate of men 

in Guatemala during the same period; 


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•SRES 178 IS 

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 


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•SRES 178 IS 

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; 


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•SRES 178 IS 

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 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) expresses its sincerest condolences and 

3 deepest sympathy to the families of women and girls 

4 murdered in Guatemala, and recognizes their coura5 geous struggle in seeking justice for the victims; 

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

7 United States with the people of Guatemala in the 

8 face of these tragic and senseless acts; 


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•SRES 178 IS 

1 (3) condemns the ongoing murders of women 

2 and girls in Guatemala, and encourages the Govern3 ment of Guatemala to act with due diligence in order 

4 to promptly investigate these killings, prosecute 

5 those responsible, and continue to work toward 

6 eliminating violence against women; 

7 (4) urges the Government of Guatemala to rec8 ognize domestic violence and sexual harassment as 

9 criminal acts and to provide the resources and com10 mitment necessary to strengthen the integrity of the 

11 prosecutorial and judicial systems; 

12 (5) urges the President and the Secretary of 

13 State to incorporate the investigative and preventa14 tive efforts of the Government of Guatemala regard15 ing the murder of women and girls into the bilateral 

16 agenda between the Governments of Guatemala and 

17 the United States; 

18 (6) encourages the Secretary of State to sup19 port efforts by the Government of Guatemala to 

20 train and equip the special police and prosecutorial 

21 units of the Government of Guatemala to conduct 

22 thorough and proper investigations of crimes of vio23 lence against women, and to implement judicial re24 form and rule of law programs; 


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•SRES 178 IS 

1 (7) encourages the Secretary of State and the 

2 Attorney General to provide assistance in estab3 lishing a comprehensive missing persons system and 

4 an effective state protection program for witnesses, 

5 victims’ relatives, and human rights defenders; 

6 (8) urges the Government of Guatemala to hold 

7 accountable those law enforcement and judicial offi8 cials whose failure to investigate and prosecute the 

9 murders adequately, whether through negligence, 

10 omission, or abuse, has led to impunity for these 

11 crimes; 

12 (9) encourages the Secretary of State to sup13 port efforts to identify perpetrators and unknown 

14 victims through forensic analysis, including assisting 

15 the Government of Guatemala in adequately funding 

16 the National Institute for Forensic Science 

17 (INACIF) and training lab personnel in investiga18 tory and evidence gathering protocols; 

19 (10) urges the Secretary of State— 

20 (A) to express support for the efforts of 

21 the victims’ families and loved ones to seek jus22 tice for the victims, 

23 (B) to express concern relating to any har24 assment of these families and the human rights 

25 defenders with whom they work, and 


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•SRES 178 IS 

1 (C) to express concern with respect to im2 pediments in the ability of the families to re3 ceive prompt and accurate information in their 

4 cases; 

5 (11) encourages the Secretary of State to con6 tinue to include in the Department of State’s annual 

7 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices all in8 stances of improper investigatory methods, threats 

9 against human rights activists, and the use of tor10 ture with respect to cases involving the murder and 

11 abduction of women and girls in Guatemala; 

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

14 families of the victims, women’s rights organizations, 

15 and the officials of the Government of Guatemala 

16 who are responsible for investigating these crimes; 

17 and 

18 (13) recommends that the Secretary of State 

19 develop a comprehensive plan to address and combat 

20 the growing problem of violence against women in 

21 Latin America. 

Æ 


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