OEA/Ser.L/V/II.117
Doc. 44
7 march 2003
Original: Spanish
THE SITUATION OF THE RIGHTS OF WOMEN IN CIUDAD JUÁREZ, MEXICO:
THE RIGHT TO BE FREE FROM VIOLENCE AND DISCRIMINATION
A.
Overview of the issues to be addressed
C.
The on-site visit to Ciudad Juárez and Mexico City of February,
2002
E.
The scope of the present report, its approval and follow-up
C.
An overview of the violence that affects women in Ciudad Juárez
D.
Threats against those involved in search for justice
III.
THE LAW AND SYSTEMS OF PROTECTION APPLICABLE TO VIOLENCE
AGAINST WOMEN IN CIUDAD JUÁREZ
A.
International law
B.
National law
C.
Role of national entities
A.
General considerations
B.
The obligation of the Mexican State to apply due diligence to
respond to such violence when it occurs so as to ensure the
investigation, prosecution and punishment of those responsible
THE SITUATION OF THE
RIGHTS OF WOMEN IN CIUDAD JUÁREZ, MEXICO:
THE RIGHT TO BE FREE FROM VIOLENCE AND DISCRIMINATION
1. This report
addresses the right of women in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico to be free from
violence and discrimination. It reports on the grave situation of
violence faced by the women and girls of Ciudad Juárez, including
murder and disappearance, as well as sexual and domestic violence, and
offers recommendations designed to assist the United Mexican States (“State”
or “Mexican State”) in amplifying its efforts to respect and ensure
those rights.
2.
The impetus for this report and the on-site visit that preceded it was a
series of communications directed to the Special Rapporteur on the
Rights of Women (“Special Rapporteur”) of the Inter-American
Commission on Human Rights (“Commission” or “IACHR”) in late
2001, signed by hundreds of organizations and individuals. They
reported that more than two hundred women had been brutally murdered in
Ciudad Juárez since 1993, complained of the inefficacy of law
enforcement, and requested that the Special Rapporteur visit Mexico to
examine the situation. In response to the concerns expressed by
the Special Rapporteur in this regard, the Government of President
Vicente Fox extended the invitation to conduct the on-site visit carried
out in February of 2002. The Government expressed its concern with
respect to the situation, and its commitment to fight the impunity that
has characterized these crimes. The present report is the product
of information gathered in connection with that visit and related
follow-up activities.
3.
During the visit, authorities in Ciudad Juárez presented information
with respect to the killing of 268 women and girls since 1993. In
a substantial number of cases, the victims were young women or girls,
workers in the maquilas (assembly plants) or students, who were
sexually abused before being brutally killed. These authorities
also reported on over 250 missing person’s reports filed during that
period that remained unresolved. During the visit, representatives
of civil society presented ample information, as well as a letter signed
by over 5000 individuals demanding that the Mexican State provide an
effective response to this situation. The letter expressed that:
“Since 1993 women living in Ciudad Juárez have been afraid; afraid to
go out into the street and walk the distance between their home and
their job. Afraid at 10, 13, 15, 20 years old; it makes no
difference if she is a girl or a woman….”
4. While the
situation of women in Ciudad Juárez shares many aspects common to other
cities in the United Mexican States and the region generally, it is
different in certain important respects. First, the homicide rate
for women experienced an unusually sharp rise in Ciudad Juárez in 1993,
and the rate has remained elevated since that time. Second, as
explained in more detail in the report, the rate of homicides for women
compared to that for men in Ciudad Juárez is significantly higher than
for similarly situated cities or the national average. Third, the
extremely brutal circumstances of many of the killings have served to
focus attention on the situation in Ciudad Juárez. A significant
number of the victims were young, between 15 and 25, and many were
beaten and/or subjected to sexual violence before being strangled or
stabbed to death. A number of the killings that fit this pattern
have been characterized as multiple or “serial” killings.
Fourth, the response of the authorities to these crimes has been
markedly deficient. There are two aspects of this response that
are especially relevant. On the one hand, the vast majority of the
killings remain in impunity; approximately 20% have been the subject of
prosecution and conviction. On the other hand, almost as soon as
the rate of killings began to rise, some of the officials responsible
for investigation and prosecution began employing a discourse that in
effect blamed the victim for the crime. According to public
statements of certain highly placed officials, the victims wore short
skirts, went out dancing, were “easy” or were prostitutes.
Reports document that the response of the relevant officials to the
victims’ family members ranged from indifference to hostility.
5.
The deficiencies in the State’s response were so extreme that, in
1998, the National Human Rights Commission of Mexico issued a
recommendation detailing the problems in the official response to the
killings, and calling for clarification of the crimes and prosecution of
the perpetrators, as well as the sanctioning of the officials who had
failed to comply with their duties under the law. However, that
recommendation was not subjected to institutional follow-up to ensure
compliance with the measures indicated. The information gathered
for the present report indicates that most of the killings remain in
impunity, and no official has ever been held accountable for the grave
deficiencies established.
6. Further, while
the killings in Ciudad Juárez have increasingly drawn the attention and
condemnation of many in Ciudad Juárez and throughout Mexico, including
the President and First Lady, and the Commissions on Gender and Equity
of the Congress of the Union, as well as of the UN High Commissioner for
Human Rights, the UN Special Rapporteurs for extrajudicial executions
and the independence of judges and lawyers, respectively, and the
Director of the United Nations Development Fund for Women, that
condemnation has not been enough to impel changes in the situation of
impunity. That impunity is highlighted in the present report,
because it serves to fuel the perpetuation of these crimes.
7.
While the high level of violence against both men and women is a source
of concern for the Commission in more general terms, efforts to sanction
past killings of women and prevent future such killings have been
impeded by additional obstacles, most especially, discrimination based
on gender. In this sense, it must be emphasized that, as the
Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment and Eradication
of Violence against Women (“Convention of Belém do Pará”) makes
clear, violence against women is a manifestation of the historically
unequal power relations between men and women. Violence based on
gender originates in and perpetuates those negative power
imbalances. As the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action
adopted by the UN Fourth World Conference on Women sets forth, such
violence “is one of the crucial social mechanisms by which women are
forced into a subordinate position compared with men.” The lack
of due diligence to clarify and punish such crimes, and to prevent their
repetition reflects that they are not perceived as a serious
problem. The impunity in which such crimes are then left sends the
message that such violence is tolerated, thereby fueling its
perpetuation.
8. At the same
time, the Commission and its Special Rapporteur recognize that there
have been some important improvements in the official response to these
crimes -- improvements that open the door for further progress toward
clarification and accountability. The Mexican State has allocated
additional human and material resources to addressing the killings, in
particular, the 1998 establishment of a Special Prosecutor’s Office
tasked with investigating these homicides, followed by a series of
measures to strengthen its capacity. More can and must be done in
this regard. Importantly, the officials responsible for addressing
the situation no longer openly dismiss it as in the past; rather, in
dealing with the Commission and its Special Rapporteur, officials at all
levels have expressed a commitment to end the killings and fight the
existing impunity. It is important to note that there is
widespread agreement among both the State and non-state sectors in
Mexico that the situation in Ciudad Juárez is unusual and requires
special measures. In this regard, current administrations at both
the national and local levels have shown openness to new initiatives,
for example, the establishment of inter-institutional panels designed to
incorporate the participation of diverse State and non-state
representatives in efforts to resolve these killings. This
openness to implementing new cross-cutting approaches is crucial,
because changing the existing situation will require the energetic
involvement of all levels of Government, working together and
incorporating the contribution of civil society.
9. The analysis
and recommendations set forth in this report are based first and
foremost on the regional human rights obligations of the United Mexican
States, principally the American Convention on Human Rights (“American
Convention”), and the Inter-American Convention on the Prevention,
Punishment, and Eradication of Violence against Women ("Convention
of Belém do Pará"). In accordance with its obligations
under international law, the Mexican State is required to apply due
diligence to investigate, prosecute and punish crimes of violence
against women, and to take effective measures to prevent and eradicate
such violence. The recommendations set forth are aimed at ensuring
that the gender dimensions of the violence in Ciudad Juárez receive the
energetic State response required.
10. The
recommendations issued comprise three groups, general recommendations,
recommendations concerning the application of due diligence to
investigate, prosecute and punish these crimes, and the application of
due diligence to prevent future such crimes. The recommendations
focus on addressing the impunity that has characterized the vast
majority of these killings as a key means to both redress past killings
and prevent future such killings. While a number of
recommendations focus on the necessity of amplifying technical capacity,
others focus on the fundamental pending challenge of ensuring that the
gender specific causes and consequences of violence against women are
understood, and that the gender dimensions of these killings are taken
into account in efforts to resolve them.
11.
In this regard, the report emphasizes that many of these killings are
manifestations of violence based on gender, particularly sexual violence
and domestic or intrafamilial violence. While public and official
attention have focused on the brutality of and fear associated with the
so-called “serial” killings, insufficient attention has been devoted
to the need to address the discrimination that underlies crimes of
sexual or domestic violence, and that underlies the lack of effective
clarification and prosecution. The resolution of these killings
requires attention to the root causes of violence against women – in
all of its principal manifestations.
12. It is in this
sense that Ciudad Juárez shares some discouraging similarities with
localities throughout the region. The Beijing Declaration and
Platform for Action recognizes that “In all societies, to a greater or
lesser degree, women and girls are subjected to physical, sexual and
psychological abuse that cuts across lines of income, class and culture.”
In particular, violence by intimate partners has yet to be understood as
the urgent risk for women that it presents. Recent studies in the
Federal District of Mexico, and worldwide by the World Health
Organization reflect that of the number of women killed in a given
location, up to half will have been killed by an intimate partner.
Yet the root causes of this violence are not being sufficiently
addressed. An important segment of the killings in Ciudad Juárez
took place at the hands of an intimate partner, but their significance
has yet to be acknowledged by local officials.
13. The Special
Rapporteurship and the Commission reiterate their commitment to
assisting the Unites Mexican States in implementing solutions to the
problems identified. A number of steps taken to address the
situation demonstrate a commitment on the part of members of both the
State and non-state sectors to establish accountability for the violence
suffered and prevent future violence. These initial steps show a
capacity for further action that is urgently required.
14. In this
regard, the Commission wishes to underline the positive and constructive
attitude of the Government of the United Mexican States with respect to
the work of the Commission and its Special Rapporteur concerning the
situation of the human rights of women in Ciudad Juárez. In its
observations to the draft version of this report, the Mexican State
emphasized the conclusions as being constructive and purposive, and
affirmed that “it shares the assessments of the Special Rapporteur and
the sense of her recommendations.”
“Accordingly, these are being analyzed by the corresponding
authorities, at the Federal, State and Municipal levels, in order to
determine the most adequate form and modalities for the implementation
of those that have not been or are not yet in the process of being
implemented.” Further, the Mexican State committed itself to
keeping the Commission duly informed about the advances and concrete
actions being carried out in relation to the present report and its
recommendations.
15.
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights established its Special
Rapporteurship on the Rights of Women in 1994 to renew its commitment to
ensuring that the rights of women are fully respected and ensured in
each member State. The current Special Rapporteur, Marta
Altolaguirre, a member of the Commission and its current First
Vice-President, was named Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Women in
2000.
16.
The Special Rapporteurship was established with an initial mandate to
analyze the extent to which member State law and practices that affect
the rights of women comply with the broad obligations of equality and
nondiscrimination set forth in the American Declaration of the Rights
and Duties of Man (“American Declaration”) and the American
Convention on Human Rights. Following the intensive study carried
out by the Special Rapporteurship, the Commission published its Report
on the Status of Women in the Americas to: provide an overview of
the situation; issue recommendations designed to assist the member
States in eradicating discrimination in law and practice; and establish
priorities for further action by the Special Rapporteurship and the
Commission. The obligations of equality and nondiscrimination
continue to serve as the points of orientation for the selection of
issues being addressed by the Special Rapporteurship. Further, the
Commission and its Special Rapporteurship place special emphasis on the
problem of violence against women, itself a manifestation of
gender-based discrimination, as recognized in the Convention of Belém
do Pará.
17.
The Special Rapporteurship serves to: raise awareness of the need for
further action to ensure that women are able to fully exercise their
basic rights; issue specific recommendations aimed at enhancing member
State compliance with their priority obligations of equality and
nondiscrimination; promote the mechanisms – for example, the filing of
individual complaints of violations – that the inter-American human
rights system provides to protect the rights of women; conduct
specialized studies and prepare reports in this area; and assist the
Commission in responding to petitions and other reports of violations of
these rights in the region.[1]
18.
The priority given by the Commission and its Special Rapporteurship to
the protection of the rights of women also reflects the importance given
to this area by the member States of the OAS. In particular, the
Plan of Action adopted by the Heads of State and Government during the
Third Summit of the Americas recognizes the importance of women’s
empowerment, and their full and equal participation in development,
political life, and in decision-making at all levels. To this end,
the Plan of Action endorses the Inter-American Program on the Promotion
of Women’s Human Rights and Gender Equality and other regional
initiatives aimed at implementing the commitments set forth in the
Beijing Declaration and its Platform for Action.
19.
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights is a principal organ of
the OAS whose primary function is to protect and promote human rights in
the Hemisphere and serve as an advisory body to the Organization in this
area. The Commission’s authority derives principally from the
American Convention on Human Rights and the Charter of the OAS.
The Commission investigates and rules on complaints of human rights
violations, conducts on-site visits, prepares draft treaties and
declarations, and reports on the human rights situation in countries of
the region.
C.
The on-site visit to Ciudad Juárez and Mexico City of February,
2002
20.
The visit was initiated in Ciudad Juárez on February 11, continued with
meetings in Mexico City on February 12, and concluded with a press
conference on February 13, 2002. In the course of her visit, the
Special Rapporteur met with federal officials, such as Senator Susana
Stephenson Pérez, Chair of the Committee on Equity and Gender of the
Senate; Federal Deputy Concepción González Molina, Chair of the
Committee on Equity and Gender at the Chamber of Deputies; Deputies
Silvia López Escoffié and Olga Haydee Juárez, and Senators Leticia
Burgos and María del Carmen Ramírez García, members of those
committees; Mr. Sadot Sánchez Carreño, the Chair of the Committee on
Human Rights at the Senate; Mr. David Rodríguez Torres, Federal Deputy
and member of the Commission for Follow-Up on the investigations of the
Women's Murders in Ciudad Juárez; Ms. Mariclaire Acosta Urquidi,
Under-Secretary for Human Rights and Democracy and Ms. Patricia
Olamendi, Under-Secretary for Global Issues, both of the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs; Ms. Patricia Espinosa Torres, President of the National
Women’s Institute (Inmujeres) and Martha Laura Carranza, Technical
Secretary of Inmujeres; and the following officials from the Office of
Prosecutor General of the Republic: Mr. Carlos Vega Memije, Assistant
State's Attorney for Criminal Procedures “B”, Dr. María de la Luz
Lima Malvido, Assistant State's Attorney for General Coordination and
Development, Mr. Eduardo Ibarrola Nicolin, Assistant State's Attorney
for Legal Matters and International Affairs, Dr. Miguel Oscar Aguilar
Ruiz, Director General of Expert Services, and Dr. Mario I. Alvarez
Ledesma, Director General for Protection of Human Rights of the Office
of the Prosecutor General of the Republic (“PGR”).
21.
The Special Rapporteur also held interviews with officials of the State
of Chihuahua and of the Municipality of Ciudad Juárez, inter alia,
Mr. Jesús José Solís Silva, the State Prosecutor General; Mr. Lorenzo
Aquino Miranda, Representative in Chihuahua of the Office of the
Prosecutor General; Ms. Suly Ponce, Regional Coordinator of the North
Zone from the State Prosecutor General's Office; Ms. Zulema Bolivar,
Special Prosecutor for the Investigation of the Women's Murders; Mr.
Sergio A. Martínez Garza, Secretary General of the Office of the
Governor of the State of Chihuahua; Mr. Oscar Francisco Yáñez Franco,
Chair of the State Commission on Human Rights (CEDH); Mr. José Luis
Armendáriz, Technical Secretary of the CEDH; Mr. Jaime Flores
Castañeda, Principal Inspector of Ciudad Juárez (CEDH); Mr. José
Reyes Ferriz, Mayor of Ciudad Juárez; and several officials from the
Directorate of Municipal Public Security.
22.
In addition, she received information and testimony from victims’
relatives, and met with representatives of nongovernmental human rights
organizations and other civil society representatives at the local and
national level, including, inter alia, Casa Amiga Centro de
Crisis, A.C., Red de No Violencia y Dignidad Humana, Campaña “Alto a
la Impunidad: Ni Una Muerte Más”, Grupo Feminista Ocho de Marzo de
Chihuahua, FEMAP, CIESAS, Círculo de Estudios de Género, Asociación
de Amigos y Personas Desaparecidos A.C., MILETNIA, Pastoral Obrera,
Pastoral Juvenil Obrera, CETLAC, Commission for Solidarity and Defense
of Human Rights (COSYDDHAC), Despacho Obrero, Centro Mujeres, Centro de
Investigación y Solidaridad Obrera, Asociación de Trabajadores
Sociales, A.C., Consorcio para el Diálogo Parlamentario y la Equidad,
Centro Norte Americano para la Solidaridad Sindical Internacional
AFL-CIO, Milenio Feminista Convergencia Socialista, ELIGE Red de
Jóvenes para los Derechos Sexuales y Reproductivos, A.C., Mujeres
Trabajadores Unidas, A.C., Comisión Mexicana de Defensa y Promoción de
los Derechos Humanos A.C., Centro de Derechos Humanos Miguel Agustín
Pro Juárez, and the Committee on Equity and Gender of Confederation of
Telephone Workers of the Mexican Republic.
23.
The Special Rapporteur thanks the Governor of Chihuahua and the Mayor of
Ciudad Juárez and their staff for their hospitality during the
visit. The Government of President Vicente Fox provided its full
assistance and cooperation during the visit, thus permitting the Special
Rapporteur to carry out an extensive program of activities in the
discharge of her mandate. She thanks the Government and its
officials for that assistance and for their willingness to cooperate in
seeking solutions to the problems posed. The Special Rapporteur
also wishes to extend her thanks to the representatives of Mexican civil
society, especially those directly affected by this situation, for their
cooperation and the important information supplied during the
visit. The valuable work done by Mexican non-governmental
organizations in the field of human rights is a critical factor in the
Commission’s ability to monitor the situation of human rights in the
country.[2]
24. Following the
visit, the Commission and its Special Rapporteur have continued to
receive information from both State and non-State sources. During
the Commission’s 114º regular period of sessions, in March of 2002,
Special Rapporteur Marta Altolaguirre informed the plenary of the
Commission about the visit and the information collected, and organized
a follow-up hearing before the Commission with representatives of the
Mexican State and civil society at the Commission’s
headquarters. The Commission convened an additional hearing during
its 116º regular period of sessions, in October of 2002, in order to
receive updated information on the situation from both the Mexican State
and relevant nongovernmental organizations.
25.
It was during the latter hearing that the State accepted the request of
the nongovernmental organizations “Alto a la impunidad: ni una
muerta más” and Nuestras Hijas de Regreso a Casa to the
effect that the former provide monthly reports to the Commission on
measures taken to follow-up on these crimes, with that information then
being transmitted by the Commission to the representatives of those
organizations who participated in that hearing. In late November
of 2002, the State provided its first such report, indicating measures
taken in certain cases, updating other data, and reporting on the
initial work of an inter-institutional working group established to
address these crimes. The Commission and its Special Rapporteur
greatly value the willingness of the United Mexican States to provide
updated information on a regular basis, and to continue its dialogue
with representatives of the non-state sector in the search for solutions
to this problem.
26. Further, the
Commission has received a number of individual petitions concerning
women and girls killed in Ciudad Juárez. It is currently
processing petitions 104/02, 281/02, 282/02 and 283/02 in accordance
with its Rules of Procedure, and is evaluating others as they are
received. Further, the Commission granted precautionary measures
under Article 25 of its Rules of Procedure in favor of Esther Chávez, a
human rights defender who has been deeply involved in pursuing justice
for these crimes who had received a series of threats in evident
connection with that work. The Commission subsequently granted
precautionary measures in favor of Miriam García and Blanca Guadalupe
López and their families in relation to threats received. These
women are the wives of two of the men presently detained in relation to
some of these killings, Víctor Javier García Uribe and Gustavo
González Meza, respectively. Following the death of Mr. González
in his cell on February 8, 2003, under circumstances that remain under
investigation, the Commission amplified the precautionary measures to
include Mr. García.
27. Finally, it
may be noted that in the course of a working visit to Mexico to
follow-up on certain individual petitions and examine the situation of
migrant workers and their families, the President of the Commission, Dr.
Juan E. Méndez, received additional information.[3]
Informational meetings were held in Ciudad Juárez on July 30, 2002,
with representatives of civil society and family members of certain
victims, and subsequently with representatives of the Office of the
Special Prosecutor charged with investigating these crimes. The
information received was then forwarded to the Special Rapporteurship
for Women’s Rights.
E.
The scope of the present report, its approval and follow-up
28.
The present report deals with the situation of violence against women in
Ciudad Juárez. It looks closely at the killings that have taken
place since 1993, and gives equal attention to other manifestations of
violence against women and to the different forms of gender-based
discrimination that underlie such violence. While Ciudad Juárez
as a locality is marked by a number of special challenges, including
high levels of violence that affect men, women and children, the levels
of violence against women, and the impunity in which most cases remain
show that the gender dimensions of this violence have yet to be
effectively addressed.
29.
Pursuant to its competence as the principal organ of the Organization of
American States charged with protecting and promoting human rights in
the Americas, and in accordance with its mandate set forth in the
American Convention on Human Rights, and more specifically defined in
its Statute and Regulations, the Commission monitors human rights
developments in each member State of the OAS. The Commission
periodically deems it useful to report the results of its study of a
particular country, formulating the corresponding recommendations
designed to assist that state in ensuring the fullest enjoyment of
protected rights and liberties by those subject to its jurisdiction.
30.
This report was prepared by the Special Rapporteurship on the basis of a
diverse array of information. This includes the interviews and
other information gathered during the on-site visit, as well as updated
information provided by governmental, intergovernmental,
non-governmental and media sources through the Commission’s normal
monitoring procedures, as well as through its petition
system.
31.
The draft “Report on the Situation of Violence Against Women in Ciudad
Juárez” was approved by the Commission on December 13, 2002. In
accordance with Article 58 of the Commission’s Rules of Procedure, it
was transmitted to the Government of the Mexican State on December 26,
2002, with a request that the latter transmit the observations deemed
pertinent within a period of one month. The observations of the
Mexican State with respect to the draft were dated January 29,
2003. The Commission approved the final version of the report
during its 117º period of sessions.
32.
The Special Rapporteurship and the Commission will continue to closely
monitor the situation in Ciudad Juárez, with special attention to the
steps taken to implement the recommendations set forth in this
report. Both the Special Rapporteur and the Commission wish to
underline their willingness to assist the Mexican State in the process
of remedying the serious problems identified so that the right of women
and girls to be free from violence is fully realized.
[ Next ]
|
