Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 27 April 2004
301 Mr. Gilmore asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if his attention has been drawn to reports, including a report from Amnesty International, concerning the murder and sexual assault of and violence against women in the state of Chihuahua and the city of Juárez in Mexico; if he will make representations to the Mexican authorities regarding the reports; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11567/04]
View answerI am aware of reports from a number of sources, including Amnesty International, of crimes against women in the state of Chihuahua, Mexico. The Amnesty International report, Intolerable Killings: Ten years of abductions and murders of women in Ciudad Juárez and Chihuahua, published on 11 August 2003, focuses on the horrific violence against women in Chihuahua state. According to the report, in the last ten years approximately 370 women have been murdered in Ciudad Juárez and Chihuahua, of which at least 137 were sexually assaulted prior to their death. Some NGOs believe the figures may even be higher. The report expresses concern about the Government's failure to address the murder of the young women, stating that "the authorities, both within the state of Chihuahua and at the federal level, have been unwilling to recognise the extent of the pattern of violence against women and to implement effective policies for dealing with it."
A report of February 2003 by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, IACHR, also addressed the right of women in Ciudad Juárez "to be free from violence and discrimination." This followed a visit at the invitation of the Mexican Government by IACHR special rapporteur on the rights of women, Ms Marta Altolaguirre, to Ciudad Juárez and Mexico city. A series of meetings have since been held between the IACHR and the Mexican Government to follow up on the report.
Ciudad Juárez is a city which experiences serious violence and criminality. Its proximity to the border with the United States and the availability of work in its assembly plants attract a highly transient population, complicating the compilation of accurate data. It has become a major centre for drug trafficking and organised crime. Motives have not been established for many of the murders in Ciudad Juárez, although some share common characteristics. The Mexican authorities estimate that approximately one third of the victims were sexually assaulted prior to their deaths, with the remaining having been victims of intra-familial or other violence.
Mexican and international NGOs have expressed concern about the necessity to protect the women of Ciudad Juárez and to investigate the murders, stating that the authorities in Chihuahua and at a federal level have failed to recognise the extent of the pattern of violence against women and to implement effective policies for dealing with it. International observers such as representatives of the United Nations and of the IACHR have visited Chihuahua and expressed serious concerns about the investigations to date.
The question of the respective competencies at federal and the local level has complicated matters. While steps aimed at improving efficiency had been taken by the local authorities, concerned observers had argued for some time that there was a need for the federal authorities to take a greater direct role in the matter. In the past year the federal authorities have become more engaged, having established grounds for federal intervention on the basis that some of the crimes may be federal offences. In June 2003, the interior ministry announced a 40-point plan to improve public security, criminal investigations, social advancement and women's rights in Ciudad Juárez. This approach involves various Government agencies. On 11 August 2003 the Government announced the creation of a joint investigating and prosecuting agency, made up of the office of the attorney general and the Chihuahua state prosecutor's office.
The Secretary General of Amnesty International, Ms Irene Khan, visited Mexico in August 2003 to present the Amnesty report on the Ciudad Juárez killings, and met with the President, Mr. Fox, who made a commitment to ensuring that the federal Government played its full role in endeavouring to put a stop to the murders and abductions. On 17 October 2003, he announced the appointment of Ms Guadalupe Morfin Otero as federal commissioner for the cases in Ciudad Juárez. Her role involves co-ordinating the activities of the inter-agency committee established to facilitate an integrated approach to the full range of the problems which impact negatively on women in the state of Chihuahua. Ms Morfin has a distinguished record as a defender and promoter of human rights.
Ireland and our EU partners hold regular dialogue with Mexico on matters of mutual interest, including human rights. In November 2003, the question of human rights and the specific situation of violence against women in Ciudad Juárez was raised at a meeting in Brussels of the EU-Mexico joint committee. The Mexican representative acknowledged that the rule of law had malfunctioned over a period of time in that frontier area and outlined the measures being adopted by the Mexican federal and state authorities to strengthen the institutions of law and order with a view to putting an end to what he described as this "cancerous phenomenon." In a move welcomed by the Mexican National Human Rights Commission, the federal attorney general decided in January 2004 to appoint a special prosecutor to deal with those Ciudad Juárez killing which have a federal dimension.
When Ireland took over the EU Presidency in January, the Irish ambassador in Mexico City arranged for Ms Morfin Otero to meet with EU heads of mission in order to advance the EU's ongoing dialogue about the grave situation in Ciudad Juárez. EU missions in Mexico city will continue to monitor the situation there and maintain contact with the Mexican authorities concerning the measures taken to address it.
