III 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D 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 (for himself, Mr. LEAHY, Mr. DURBIN, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. 

DODD, Mr. SANDERS, Mr. FEINGOLD, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. CASEY, Mr. 

LAUTENBERG, Mrs. BOXER, Mrs. LINCOLN, Ms. SNOWE, and Mr. SMITH) 

submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 

on Foreign Relations 

MARCH 10, 2008 

Committee discharged; considered, amended, and agreed to with an amended 

preamble 

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; 


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SRES 178 ATS 

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 


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SRES 178 ATS 

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 creVerDate Aug 31 2005 05:26 Mar 12, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR178.ATS SR178

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SRES 178 ATS 

ation 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 

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; 


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SRES 178 ATS 

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

2 United States with the people of Guatemala in the 

3 face of these tragic and senseless acts; 

4 (3) condemns the ongoing murders of women 

5 and girls in Guatemala, and encourages the Govern6 ment of Guatemala to act with due diligence in order 

7 to promptly investigate these killings, prosecute 

8 those responsible, and continue to work toward 

9 eliminating violence against women; 

10 (4) urges the Government of Guatemala to 

11 strengthen laws with respect to domestic violence 

12 and sexual harassment, to improve the integrity of 

13 the prosecutorial and judicial systems, and to pro14 vide the resources and commitment necessary to 

15 adequately enforce justice for crimes against women; 

16 (5) urges the President and the Secretary of 

17 State to continue to incorporate the investigative 

18 and preventative efforts of the Government of Gua19 temala regarding the murder of women and girls 

20 into the bilateral agenda between the Governments 

21 of Guatemala and the United States; 

22 (6) encourages the Secretary of State to con23 tinue to support efforts by the Government of Gua24 temala to train and equip the special police and 

25 prosecutorial units of the Government of Guatemala 


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SRES 178 ATS 

1 to conduct thorough and proper investigations of 

2 crimes of violence against women, and to implement 

3 judicial reform and rule of law programs; 

4 (7) encourages the Secretary of State and the 

5 Attorney General to provide assistance in estab6 lishing a comprehensive missing persons system and 

7 an effective state protection program for witnesses, 

8 victims’ relatives, and human rights defenders; 

9 (8) urges the Government of Guatemala to hold 

10 accountable those law enforcement and judicial offi11 cials whose failure to investigate and prosecute the 

12 murders adequately, whether through negligence, 

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

14 crimes; 

15 (9) encourages the Secretary of State to sup16 port efforts to identify perpetrators and unknown 

17 victims through forensic analysis, including assisting 

18 the Government of Guatemala in adequately funding 

19 the National Institute for Forensic Science 

20 (INACIF) and training lab personnel in investiga21 tory and evidence gathering protocols; 

22 (10) urges the Secretary of State— 

23 (A) to express support for the efforts of 

24 the victims’ families and loved ones to seek jus25 tice for the victims, 


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SRES 178 ATS 

1 (B) to express concern relating to any har2 assment of these families and the human rights 

3 defenders with whom they work, and 

4 (C) to express concern with respect to im5 pediments in the ability of the families to re6 ceive prompt and accurate information in their 

7 cases; 

8 (11) encourages the Secretary of State to con9 tinue to include in the Department of State’s annual 

10 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices in11 stances of failure to investigate and prosecute 

12 crimes, threats against human rights activists, and 

13 the use of torture with respect to cases involving the 

14 murder and abduction of women and girls in Guate15 mala; 

16 (12) recommends that the United States Am17 bassador to Guatemala continue to meet with the 

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

19 and the officials of the Government of Guatemala 

20 who are responsible for investigating these crimes; 

21 and 

22 (13) recommends that the Secretary of State 

23 develop a comprehensive plan to address and combat 


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SRES 178 ATS 

1 the growing problem of violence against women in 

2 Latin America. 

Æ 


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