III 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. CON. RES. 16

Conveying the sympathy of Congress 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 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 9, 2005

Mr. BINGAMAN (for himself, Mr. CORNYN, Mr. CORZINE, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. 

ENSIGN, Mr. FEINGOLD, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Ms. LANDRIEU, Mr. LEAHY, 

Mr. LEVIN, Ms. MIKULSKI, and Mrs. MURRAY) submitted the following 

concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 

Relations 

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 

Conveying the sympathy of Congress 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 cities of Ciudad Jua ́rez and Chihuahua 

have been plagued with the abduction, sexual assault, and 

brutal murders of more than 370 young women since 

1993; 

Whereas there have been at least 30 murders of women in 

Ciudad Jua ́rez and the city of Chihuahua since 2004; 

Whereas at least 137 of the victims were sexually assaulted 

prior to their murders; 
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•SCON 16 IS 

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; 

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 Jua ́rez, 

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 Federal special prosecutor, in her ongoing review of the Ciudad Jua ́rez 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 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; 
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•SCON 16 IS 

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 

Whereas continuing impunity for these crimes is a threat to 

the rule of law in Mexico: Now, therefore, be it

1 Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 

2 concurring), That Congress— 

3 (1) condemns the ongoing abductions and mur4 ders of young women in Ciudad Jua ́rez and the city 
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•SCON 16 IS 

1 of Chihuahua in the State of Chihuahua, Mexico, 

2 since 1993; 

3 (2) expresses its sincerest condolences and 

4 deepest sympathy to the families of the victims of 

5 these murders; 

6 (3) recognizes the courageous struggle of the 

7 victims’ families in seeking justice for the victims; 

8 (4) urges the President and Secretary of State 

9 to incorporate the investigative and preventative ef10 forts of the Mexican Government in the bilateral 

11 agenda between the Governments of Mexico and the 

12 United States and to continue to express concern 

13 over these abductions and murders to the Govern14 ment of Mexico; 

15 (5) urges the President and Secretary of State 

16 to continue to express support for the efforts of the 

17 victims’ families to seek justice for the victims, to 

18 express concern relating to the continued harass19 ment of these families and the human rights defend20 ers with whom they work, and to express concern 

21 with respect to impediments in the ability of the 

22 families to receive prompt and accurate information 

23 in their cases; 

24 (6) supports efforts to identify unknown victims 

25 through forensic analysis, including DNA testing, 
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•SCON 16 IS 

1 conducted by independent, impartial experts who are 

2 sensitive to the special needs and concerns of the 

3 victims’ families, as well as efforts to make these 

4 services available to any families who have doubts 

5 about the results of prior forensic testing; 

6 (7) condemns the use of torture as a means of 

7 investigation into these crimes; 

8 (8) encourages the Secretary of State to con9 tinue to include in the annual Country Report on 

10 Human Rights of the Department of State all in11 stances of improper investigatory methods, threats 

12 against human rights activists, and the use of tor13 ture with respect to cases involving the murder and 

14 abduction of young women in the State of Chi15 huahua; 

16 (9) encourages the Secretary of State to urge 

17 the Government of Mexico and the State of Chi18 huahua to review the cases of murdered women in 

19 which those accused or convicted of murder have 

20 credibly alleged they were tortured or forced by a 

21 state agent to confess to the crime; 

22 (10) strongly recommends that the United 

23 States Ambassador to Mexico visit Ciudad Jua ́rez 

24 and the city of Chihuahua for the purpose of meet25 ing with the families of the victims, women’s rights 
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1 organizations, and Mexican Federal and State offi2 cials responsible for investigating these crimes and 

3 preventing future such crimes; 

4 (11) encourages the Secretary of State to urge 

5 the Government of Mexico to ensure fair and proper 

6 judicial proceedings for the individuals who are ac7 cused of these abductions and murders and to im8 pose appropriate punishment for those individuals 

9 subsequently determined to be guilty of such crimes; 

10 (12) encourages the Secretary of State to urge 

11 the State of Chihuahua to hold accountable those 

12 law enforcement officials whose failure to adequately 

13 investigate the murders, whether through negligence, 

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

15 crimes; 

16 (13) recognizes the special prosecutor has 

17 begun to review cases and encourages the expansion 

18 of her mission to include the city of Chihuahua; 

19 (14) strongly supports the work of the special 

20 commissioner to prevent violence against women in 

21 Ciudad Jua ́rez and Chihuahua City; 

22 (15) condemns all senseless acts of violence in 

23 all parts of the world and, in particular, violence 

24 against women; and 
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•SCON 16 IS 

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

2 United States with the people of Mexico in the face 

3 of these tragic and senseless acts.

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