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  1. #1
    Senior Member ShockedinCalifornia's Avatar
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    Inter-American Court of Human Rights: Juarez women killings

    Inter-American Court of Human Rights hears testimony about killings of Juárez women

    By Diana Washington Valdez / El Paso Times
    Posted: 04/29/2009 01:13:40 PM MDT


    The Inter-American Court of Human Rights heard this week from mothers of murdered women, Chihuahua officials and experts before deciding whether to sanction the Mexican government for its alleged negligence in investigating the deaths of girls and women in Juarez.

    The court received testimony and written documents in relation to the 2001 deaths of Laura Berenice Ramos, Esmeralda Herrera Monreal and Ivette Gonzalez, whose bodies were among the eight found in a cotton field in Juárez across from from the Association of Maquiladoras.

    Marisela Ortiz, co-founder of Nuestras Hijas de Regreso a Casa (May our Daughters Return Home), said the hearing represents a significant milestone in the group's quest for justice.

    "The Mexican government is on trial," Ortiz said. "The decision of the judges will affect not only the case before it, but will also have repercussions on the government's investigations and policies for the rest of the victims. "

    Chihuahua State Attorney General Patricia Gonzalez led a large entourage of Mexican officials who traveled to Chile to defend the government's actions.

    In records filed with the court, Gonzalez said her staff has made changes in investigative procedures, and that families of victims received reparations for the damage they suffered, including money and homes. She said some of the previous investigations presented irregularities but that things have improved since she assumed office.

    "Patricia Gonzalez has done everything she possibly can since she became the state prosecutor, but it hasn't been easy," said Vicky Caraveo, founder of Mujeres por Juarez and former director of the Chihuahua state Women's Institute.

    Oscar Maynez, a former Chihuahua state forensic official who worked on the early phase of the 2001 cotton field murders, said he was asked to provide a written statement to the Inter-American Court.

    "They rushed the investigation and made many errors," said Maynez, adding that he resigned after someone at the attorney general's office in Juarez asked him to plant evidence against two suspects.

    More than 600 girls and women have been murdered in Juárez since 1993 and dozens more are missing. Several unsolved deaths include U.S. citizens from El Paso and a citizen of the Netherlands.

    The court, which is part of the Organization of American States, of which the United States is a member, is expected to conclude its extraordinary session on the Juarez case Wednesday in Santiago, Chile.

    It is the first the time court has considered a gender violence case, and only the third time it has agreed to hear a complaint against the Mexican government. Its findings and sanctions are binding.

    The court's Web site is at www.corteidh.or.cr/chile/

    Diana Washington Valdez may be reached at dvaldez@elpasotimes.com; 546-6140.

    http://www.elpasotimes.com/newupdated/ci_12254761

  2. #2
    Senior Member agrneydgrl's Avatar
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    Why are we meddeling into Mexico's affars? Let them handle their own and if they don't they don't. It is none of our business. We don't like it when we are told what to do by an international organization.

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