H. Con. Res. 90
Agreed to May 3, 2006
One Hundred Ninth Congress
of the
United States of America 
AT THE SECOND SESSION 
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday, 
the third day of January, two thousand and six 
Concurrent Resolution
Whereas the Mexican cities of Ciudad Jua´rez and Chihuahua have 
been plagued with the abduction, sexual assault, and brutal mur-
ders of over 400 young women since 1993;
Whereas there have been at least 56 murders of women in Ciudad 
Jua´rez and the city of Chihuahua since 2004;
Whereas at least 152 of the victims were sexually assaulted prior 
to their murders;
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 pre-
vent 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 Mexican Federal special prosecutor’s review of the 
Ciudad Jua´rez murder investigations found evidence that over 
100 police, prosecutors, forensics experts, and other State of Chi-
huahua 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 the Government of Mexico has recognized the importance 
of the work of the Mexican Federal special prosecutor and has 
shifted the mission of the prosecutor’s office to assist local authori-
ties in investigating and prosecuting crimes of violence against 
women throughout the country;
Whereas in 2003 the El Paso Field Office of the Federal Bureau 
of Investigation and the El Paso Police Department began pro-
viding 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;
H. Con. Res. 90—2
Whereas the government of the State of Chihuahua has jurisdiction 
over these crimes;
Whereas the Governor and Attorney General of the State of Chi-
huahua have expressed willingness to collaborate with the Mexi-
can 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 Cul-
tural Rights, the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms 
of Discrimination Against Women, the United Nations Declara-
tion 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 Dis-
appearance; and
Whereas continuing impunity for these crimes is a threat to the 
rule of law in Mexico: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concur-
ring), That Congress—
(1) condemns the ongoing abductions and murders of young 
women in Ciudad Jua´rez and the city of Chihuahua in the 
State of Chihuahua, Mexico, since 1993; 
(2) expresses its sincerest condolences and deepest sym-
pathy to the families of the victims of these murders; 
(3) recognizes the courageous struggle of the victims’ fami-
lies in seeking justice for the victims; 
(4) urges the President and Secretary of State to incor-
porate the investigative and preventative efforts of the Mexican 
Government in the bilateral agenda between the Governments 
of Mexico and the United States and to continue to express 
concern over these abductions and murders to the Government 
of Mexico; 
(5) urges the President and Secretary of State to continue 
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 whom 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 ongoing efforts to identify unknown victims 
through forensic analysis, including DNA testing, conducted 
by independent, impartial experts who are sensitive to the 
special needs and concerns of the victims’ families, as well 
as efforts to make these services available to any families 
who have doubts about the results of prior forensic testing; 
(7) condemns the use of torture as a means of investigation 
into these crimes;
H. Con. Res. 90—3
(8) encourages the Secretary of State to continue to include 
in the annual Country Report on Human Rights of the Depart-
ment of State 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; 
(9) encourages the Secretary of State to urge the Govern-
ment of Mexico and the State of Chihuahua to review the 
cases of murdered women in which those accused or convicted 
of murder have credibly alleged they were tortured or forced 
by a state agent to confess to the crime; 
(10) strongly recommends that the United States Ambas-
sador to Mexico visit Ciudad Jua´rez and the city of Chihuahua 
for the purpose of meeting with the families of the victims, 
women’s rights organizations, and Mexican Federal and State 
officials responsible for investigating these crimes and pre-
venting future such crimes; 
(11) encourages the Secretary of State to urge the Govern-
ment of Mexico to ensure fair and proper judicial proceedings 
for the individuals who are accused of these abductions and 
murders and to impose appropriate punishment for those 
individuals subsequently determined to be guilty of such crimes; 
(12) encourages the Secretary of State to urge the State 
of Chihuahua to hold accountable those law enforcement offi-
cials whose failure to adequately investigate the murders, 
whether through negligence, omission, or abuse, has led to 
impunity for these crimes; 
(13) encourages the Secretary of State to urge the Govern-
ment of Mexico to ensure that the Mexican Federal special 
prosecutor’s office, responsible for assisting local authorities 
in investigating and prosecuting crimes of violence against 
women throughout the country, gives particular attention to 
the murders of women in Ciudad Jua´rez and Chihuahua City; 
(14) strongly supports the work of the special commissioner 
to prevent violence against women in Ciudad Jua´rez and Chi-
huahua City; 
(15) condemns all senseless acts of violence in all parts 
of the world and, in particular, violence against women; and
H. Con. Res. 90—4
(16) expresses the solidarity of the people of the United 
States with the people of Mexico in the face of these tragic 
and senseless acts. 
Attest:
Clerk of the House of Representatives.
Attest:
Secretary of the Senate.