Abduction, Rape, and Murder

In the past ten years, over 300 women have been murdered in or near Ciudad Juárez. More than 300 women have disappeared and remain missing. Many of the women killed were abducted, raped, and tortured. Equality Now is concerned that although some official steps have been taken to investigate some of the Juárez murders, these investigations have not led to credible arrests, prosecutions and convictions. There have also been disturbing signs that suggest in some cases that officials may be complicit in the obstruction of efforts to bring the perpetrators to justice or even in the commission of these crimes. Many activists working on the issue believe that suspects have been framed and tortured into making false confessions.

In October 2002, in collaboration with Casa Amiga, a rape crisis center in Ciudad Juárez that has been in the forefront of the campaign against the abduction and murder of women in Juárez, The LAW Project of Equality Now submitted a request to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) to take action in light of the failure of the Mexican government to respond effectively to this pattern of violence against women in Ciudad Juárez. In June 2003, the Mexican Commission for the Defense and Promotion of Human Rights, a member organization of The Campaign “Stop Impunity: No More Murders of Women,” joined Casa Amiga and Equality Now to reiterate the need for intervention in Juárez by CEDAW.

Based on the information provided by Equality Now and its partners, the CEDAW Committee decided to undertake an inquiry, and on 27 January 2005, the Committee released a report of its investigation as well as the Mexican government's response.

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