REPORT on the murders of women (feminicides) in Central America and Mexico and the role of the European Union in fighting this phenomenon

20.9.2007 - (2007/2025(INI))

Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality
Rapporteur: Raül Romeva i Rueda

MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION

on the murders of women (feminicides) in Central America and Mexico and the role of the European Union in fighting this phenomenon

(2007/2025(INI))

The European Parliament,

–   having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948,

–   having regard to the International Human Rights Pacts of 1966,

–   having regard to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) of 1979 and its optional protocol of 1999,

–   having regard to the Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment, and Eradication of Violence against Women (Convention of Belém do Pará) of 1994,

–   having regard to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment of 1984 and its optional protocol of 2002,

–   having regard to the recommendations of the 12 May 2005 report by the Council of Europe's Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men on the disappearance and murder of large numbers of women and girls in Mexico, and to those contained in the reply issued by its Committee of Ministers and adopted in its Decision 939/2.4 of the same year,

–   having regard to the recommendations contained in the report on the integration of women's fundamental rights, gender mainstreaming and violence against women, stemming from the visit made to Mexico in January 2006 by Mrs Yakin Ertürk (UN special rapporteur on violence against women and the causes and consequences thereof),

–   having regard to the recommendations contained in the report on the integration of women's fundamental rights, gender mainstreaming and violence against women, stemming from the visit made to Guatemala in February 2005 by Mrs Yakin Ertürk (UN special rapporteur on violence against women and the causes and consequences thereof),

–   having regard to the recommendations contained in the report on the situation of women's rights in Ciudad Juárez (Mexico) and the right not to be the object of violence and discrimination, which was drawn up by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in March 2003,

–   having regard to the public hearing on feminicide which was held at the European Parliament in April 2006 and organised jointly by that Parliament's Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality and its Subcommittee on Human Rights,

–   having regard to the third management report of the Mexican Federal Commission to Prevent and Eradicate Violence Against Women in Ciudad Juárez,

–   having regard to the Economic Partnership, Political Coordination and Cooperation Agreement between the European Community and its Member States, of the one part, and the United Mexican States, of the other part,[1] the Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement between the European Community and its Member States, of the one part, and the Republics of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama, of the other part, signed in 2003 (pending ratification), and the Framework Cooperation Agreement between the European Economic Community and the Republics of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama[2],

–   having regard to the documents concerning the EU's regional strategy for the periods 2001-2006 and 2007-2013 for the countries of Central America and Mexico,

–   having regard to the third Millennium Development Goal, namely to promote gender equality and empower women,

–   having regard to Rule 45 of its Rules of Procedure,

–   having regard to the report of the Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality (A6-0338/2007),

A. whereas the term 'feminicide' is grounded in the legal definition of violence against women which is laid down in Article 1 of the Belém do Pará Convention: 'violence against women shall be understood as any act or conduct, based on gender, which causes death or physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, whether in the public or the private sphere'; whereas the punishment and eradication of 'feminicide' is an obligation and must be a priority for any state based on the rule of law,

B.  whereas this resolution constitutes an invitation to make effective improvements to the unsatisfactory situation prevailing in certain countries and whereas the statements and suggestions contained in the resolution do not, therefore, constitute any kind of accusation or charge-sheet against the governments of fully sovereign States which are recognised as equal partners in international politics,

C. whereas violence against women has not only a regional but also a global dimension and concerns all countries, Europe included; whereas this report should be considered as part of a global strategy designed to enable the EU and its partners to undertake joint actions and efforts intended to eradicate and prevent violent deaths of women everywhere; whereas it is also necessary to promote dialogue, cooperation and the mutual exchange of good practices between the countries of Latin America and Europe,

D. whereas the killings of women in Ciudad Juárez and Guatemala have been characterised by exceptional brutality and many of the victims have suffered sexual violence - in itself a form of cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment; whereas, in the case of Ciudad Juárez, there is a combination of factors in terms of population growth, migration and the presence of organised crime, and a high percentage of these murders have happened in the areas of operation of the maquiladora (sub-contractor) companies, which lack the necessary means of security to protect women,

E.  whereas a high percentage of these murders have been committed in the areas of operation of the maquiladora companies; whereas, as is made clear in the report by the UN Special Rapporteur - Yakin Ertürk - on violence against women, its causes and consequences, it is essential to ensure that those areas have the infrastructures required for the safer transportation of workers,

F.  whereas since 1999 Mexico has had observer status at the Council of Europe, attending on the basis of that status the meetings of the Committee of Ministers and Ambassadors; whereas Mexico has also ratified the Council of Europe's Palermo Protocol on the fight against trafficking in people,  

G. whereas these feminicides cannot be explained purely in terms of a 'general climate of violence', but, rather, account must be taken of discrimination and of a local social and economic context that is unfavourable to women (especially indigenous women), as well as high poverty rates, women's economic dependence, gangs, and the failure to disarm the illegal security forces and clandestine security apparatuses[3],

H. having regard to resolution 1454 (2005) of the Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly ('Disappearance and murder of a great number of women and girls in Mexico'), which states that 'considerable efforts are now being made by the Mexican authorities at all levels (...) to repair the social fabric of these cities, to fight violence against women (,,.), to investigate the murders and disappearances of women (...) and bring to justice both the authors of the crimes and those officials who initially botched the investigations and perverted the course of justice',

I.   having regard to the situation of impunity, in other words the non-existence in law or in fact of criminal, administrative, disciplinary or civil liability of the perpetrators of these acts, the fact that they are avoiding being investigated or sentenced, the lack of budgetary resources and the frequent obstacles placed in the way of access to justice for the female victims and their relatives,

J.   whereas Mexico has ratified the statute of the Rome-based International Criminal Court,

K. whereas a state that respects the rule of law must pursue policies ensuring that women in general, and especially those from the least-favoured strata, have appropriate protection against discrimination, violence and, ultimately, feminicide; whereas the first stage is to make the providers of public services themselves aware of the seriousness of the problem,

L.  whereas Mexico has also been elected to the presidency of the UN Council on Human Rights,

M. whereas action to combat feminicide and impunity must include strengthening the means of prevention, eliminating all discrimination at legislative level, facilitating complaints and the protection of women complainants, and reinforcing the legal system and the judicial procedures (especially in the fight against organised crime), from the penal investigations to the implementation of sentences,

N. whereas the reconstruction of institutions in some cases and the reinforcement thereof in others are essential if gender violence is to be combated effectively, and both require human and financial resources,

O. whereas paragraph 9 of the 1995 Beijing Fourth World Conference on Women action programme states a fundamental principle enunciated in all the international conferences of the preceding decade: 'The implementation of this platform, including through national laws and the formulation of strategies, policies, programmes and development priorities, is the sovereign responsibility of each State, in conformity with all human rights and fundamental freedoms, and the significance of and full respect for various religious and ethical values, cultural backgrounds and philosophical convictions of individuals and their communities should contribute to the full enjoyment by women of their human rights in order to achieve equality, development and peace',

P.  repudiating altogether the use of torture by certain state bodies for the purpose of obtaining self-incriminating confessions from the presumed authors of feminicides,

Q  whereas Mexico and all the Central American countries have signed and ratified the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights,

R.  whereas feminicide has claimed the lives of two Dutch citizens: Hester Van Nierop (in 1998) and Brenda Susana Margaret Searle (in 2001)[4],

S.  whereas the issue of feminicide and the impunity of the authors of crimes against women has been discussed for more than 15 years in Mexico,

T.  having regard to the recurrent nature of violence in countries in which society's social stereotypes make women the prime victims of the various manifestations of such violence,

U. welcoming the legislative measures which have been adopted in Mexico, in particular the February 2007 General Law on women's entitlement to a violence-free life, as well as the creation of specialised institutions at federal and local level, such as the Special Prosecution Service for crimes related to violence against women (set up in 2006), the Juárez Commission and the National Institute for Women, among others,

V. acknowledging the legislative efforts being made by the countries of Central America as regards the recognition of women's rights within the legal system, but concerned about the problems and delays affecting implementation,

W. having regard to the Interparliamentary Alliance for Dialogue and Cooperation, created to bring together women parliamentarians from Spain, Mexico and Guatemala with a view to promoting legislative initiative for the eradication of violence against women,

X. whereas the development and consolidation of democracy and the rule of law, together with respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, need to be an integral part of the Union's external action,

Y. having regard to the legally binding and reciprocal nature of the human-rights and democracy clause contained in the Economic Partnership, Political Coordination and Cooperation Agreement concluded between the European Community and Mexico,  

Z.  whereas when entering into an agreement with a third country that contains a human-rights and democracy clause, the EU and its partners take on responsibility for ensuring that the third country in question complies with international human-rights standards, such clauses being reciprocal in nature,[5]

1.  Calls for full compliance with the recommendations contained in the various reports and international human-rights instruments, especially those referred to above concerning in particular women's fundamental rights; in this connection, acknowledges the legislative advances achieved in Mexico as regards equality between men and women, welcomes the federal law on the prevention and elimination of discrimination and urges Mexico to make further progress in this direction;

2.  Urges the governments of Mexico and Central America to adopt the measures needed to achieve the UN's Millennium Development Goals:

3.  Calls upon national governments in the context of their bilateral relations with the countries of Latin America and upon the European institutions in the context of the strategic partnership to support (by means of cooperation programmes and financial and technical resources) prevention and protection policies relating to violence against women, such as creating or reinforcing awareness-raising and training programmes on gender issues, to increase the budget for the bodies responsible for investigating the killings, to create effective protection arrangements for witnesses, victims and their relatives, and to develop the capacity of the courts, security corps and public prosecutor's offices in order to facilitate the prosecution and punishment of the perpetrators and to combat drug trafficking and organised crime; calls for the promotion of closer coordination in these areas amongst all levels of government;

4.  Calls on the European institutions to work for cooperation and dialogue between the EU, its Member States and the countries of Central America and Mexico, supporting initiatives at all levels to eradicate violence against women and promote suitable protection measures for the victims and their relatives;

5.  Calls on the EU to promote institutional coordination with Mexico and the countries of Central America by supporting the creation of an exchange and cooperation programme to combat gender violence, and to encourage cooperation between the public administrations of the Member States and their partners in order to implement programmes for assistance and mutual learning in this field;

6.  Acknowledges the obvious determination to combat impunity which the political parties represented within the Guatemalan Congress have demonstrated through their endorsement of the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala; urges Guatemala's next elected government to continue these efforts by facilitating the institutional conditions which the above Commission needs in order to fulfil its remit and calls upon the international community to ensure that these joint efforts to combat impunity are translated into action;

7.  Urges the countries of Central America to take all necessary steps to enable violence against women to be combated effectively; calls for the measures taken to ensure full respect for human rights, as defined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the American Declaration of Human Rights and Duties, e.g. by ensuring the free services of a lawyer for the women victims and their relatives; calls on Mexico's Federal Government to continue the firm action undertaken to this end by successive administrations;

8.  Calls on the countries of Central America and Mexico to eliminate from their national laws all discriminatory references to women; acknowledges the progress made by Mexico in this area through the adoption of the federal law on the prevention and elimination of discrimination and the general law on equality between men and women, and calls on the national authorities to promote legislative initiatives defining violence within the family and sexual harassment[6] at work and in all areas of public life as specific crimes and to draw up policies and legislation to deal with impunity and promote gender equality, on the basis of the conclusions and recommendations of the civil-society agents working for the victims of feminicide;

9.  Urges the Central American and Mexican governments to recognise and facilitate the role of the NGOs and civil-society organisations working for the victims of feminicide, and to recognise the relatives of the victims and human rights campaigners, by creating effective arrangements for protecting witnesses and promoting reparation mechanisms for the victims' relatives which, not confined to financial compensation, can offer them psychological support and access of justice, on a basis of awareness of their crucial role in society;

10. Urges the countries of Central America and Mexico to ensure respect for women's labour rights under national law and at all levels of government and calls for companies to be pressed to apply corporate social responsibility (CSR), on a basis of respect for their workers' integrity, safety, physical and mental well-being and labour rights;

11. Urges the governments of Belize, Honduras and Nicaragua to ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women;

12. Calls on the Commission, in the context of the agreements in force and those under negotiation, to promote the inclusion of a reciprocal obligation designed to create mechanisms for implementing the human-rights and democracy clause, whose formulation should be based on the obligations stemming from the international pacts signed by the EU Member States, Mexico and the countries of Central America, with particular reference to respect for women's rights and gender equality as stated in the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and its optional protocol and to the Inter-American Declaration of Human Rights;

13. Calls on the EU, in its cooperation with Mexico and Central America, to give priority to the rebuilding and improvement of the region's legal and prison systems, promoting the exchange of good practices and the development of awareness-raising campaigns and mechanisms for protecting victims, witnesses and their relatives, especially in cases of denunciation of feminicides; considers that such cooperation should involve other participants, such as the International Labour Office and in particular the OECD's national contact point in Mexico, with a view to developing programmes and mechanisms at the highest national level in order to ensure safety, decent working conditions and equal pay for women;

14. Calls upon the Commission to put forward a methodological proposal (to be discussed, inter alia, at the EuroLat Joint Parliamentary Assembly and at the July 2008 EURLAT Summit in Lima) concerning ways of coordinating - in cooperation with local institutions and organisations - the various EU initiatives designed to combat feminicide and the impunity of those who perpetrate it, and to make the staff of those institutions and organisations aware of gender issues and violence against women; calls also for such initiatives to be regularly put forward and discussed by its Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality, in conjunction with its Delegation for relations with the countries of Central America and the EU-Mexico Joint Parliamentary Committee;

15. Calls on the Commission's delegation in Mexico to implement, as soon as possible, a new human-rights programme which will build on the work of recent years and be based on three priority axes: a) harmonisation of Mexican law with the international commitments entered into in the field of human rights, in particular through implementation of the Istanbul Protocol (optional protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment); b) eradication of gender violence; c) reform of the legal system;

16. Calls on the Commission to ensure that the human-rights programmes for Mexico and Central America are covered by a separate budget heading devoted to bilateral cooperation, in order to prevent the limited financial resources allocated from being affected;

17. Urges the EU to ensure that both the political dialogue with Mexico's federal government and the governments of the countries of Central America and the dialogue with civil society incorporate the issues of violence against women - in particular feminicide - and of access to justice for victims' relatives and support groups,

18. Welcomes the efforts made with regard to gender and urges the Community bodies concerned to support the establishment of a permanent dialogue and an exchange of positive experiences in this area, and to contribute thereto; calls, however, on the Commission to pay greater attention to feminicide, to violence and to discrimination against women in the 2007-2013 country strategy documents and to put forward an action plan;  

19. Calls on the Member States to support efforts made as regards non-discrimination between women and men and to contribute to establishing a structured dialogue with a view to exchanging good practices in this field;

20. Calls for the assessment of the impact on sustainable development to be - as soon as possible and in connection with the negotiations on the association agreement with the countries of Central America - supplemented by an assessment of the impact on equality between the sexes, the findings of which will be taken into account during the negotiations;

21. Calls on the Commission to provide information on the progress made on this issue in the context of the negotiations on the EC-Central America Association Agreement, before the negotiations close and in any event before the EU-Latin America and Caribbean summit to be held in Lima in May 2008;

22. Calls on the EU representations and the Member States' embassies to organise a Round Table on gender violence and its various manifestations and in particular on feminicide in a global context and impunity, to include input from the different networks and initiatives of a parliamentary nature, as well as research centres, human rights groups, gender associations and the victims' relatives;

23. Calls on the EU-Mexico Joint Parliamentary Committee and on Parliament's Delegation for relations with the countries of Central America to systematically integrate the issue of ‘gender violence, feminicide and impunity in Mexico, Central America and Europe' in the programmes for their respective parliamentary missions, and also when visits are made to Europe by the Mexican and Central American parliamentary delegations, in order to ensure that the human-rights situation is systematically monitored, as provided for in the rules adopted by the European Parliament's Conference of delegation chairs in 2006;

24. Proposes that a joint hearing be organised by its Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality, its Subcommittee on Human Rights and the delegations concerned before the 2008 EU-LAC Lima Summit, with a view to evaluating the measures in place, including the experiences of the relevant bodies set up in Mexico in the fight against gender violence in both the European Union and Latin America;

25. Calls for all the cases of victims who are nationals of an EU Member State to be included in such an evaluation;

26. Urges the Council and the coming EU presidencies, for all of the above reason, to adopt guidelines on women's rights, since these would make a vital contribution to consolidating the coherence and consistency of the EU's human rights policy;

27. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the EU Member States, the Council of Europe, and the Governments of Mexico and the countries of Central America.

• [1]  OJ L 276, 28.10.2000, p.44.
• [2]  OJ L 63, 12.3.1999, p.39.
• [3]  Cf. the UN terminology: see the November 2006 UN-Guatemala agreement on establishing an international committee of inquiry against impunity in Guatemala (CICIG).
• [4]  In the Searle case the criminal proceedings against the perpetrators lasted five years (up to 2007).
• [5]  Paragraphs W, X, Y – taken from the EP resolution of 14 February 2006 on the human rights and democracy clause in EU agreements.
• [6]  In Mexico this offence needs to be recognised in every state.

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

In April 2006 a hearing was held at the European Parliament on the subject of feminicide in Mexico and Central America, under the title 'Ni una muerta más' ('Not a single woman more must die'). This hearing was organised by the Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality and the Subcommittee on Human Rights.

Those present at the hearing included MEPs of both genders, representatives of the governments of Mexico and Guatemala, the UN rapporteur Mrs Yakin Ertük, the Council of Europe rapporteur Mrs Gaby Vermot-Mangold, and experts from civil society organisations.

The present text is the outcome of that hearing and the follow-up work to it. In addition, a database has been created with a view to sharing urgent information and pooling efforts.

This report is part of a global strategy on the part of the Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality for the worldwide eradication of violence against women. While feminicide is not confined to Mexico and Central America, the aim of the present report is to set out the joint actions and efforts under way for the eradication and prevention of murderous violence against women.

The term 'feminicide' is used in the legal sense arising from the definition of 'violence against women' contained in Article 1 of the Convention of Belém do Pará: 'Violence against women shall be understood as any act or conduct, based on gender, which causes death or physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, whether in the public or the private sphere'.

'Feminicide' as such received its first definition in Mexico, as: 'the sum total of crimes against humanity consisting of criminal acts, kidnappings and disappearances affecting girls and women in a context of institutional collapse. This is a sign of breakdown of the rule of law which favours impunity. Feminicide is a state crime.'[1] Feminicide appears in a social context conditioned by a patriarchal mentality, where most domestic and reproductive labour is performed by women, whose independence in society is consequently impaired, as well as by insecurity, inequality, poverty and the maquiladora model of economic modernisation.

Central America and Mexico have witnessed a sharp increase in violent killings in recent years. Thanks to the greater publicity given to the issue and stronger organisation on the part of the victims' relatives and friends in the denunciation of cases, the phenomenon is becoming increasingly visible, although the campaign against it has yet to make sufficient progress.

The official Mexican statistics state that between 1999 and 2006 6000 girls and women were killed. In 2004 alone, there were 1205 murders of girls.[2] In Guatemala, 1188 women were murdered between 2001 and August 2004. In El Salvador, there were 2374 killings, a figure which rose to 2933 in 2004. In Honduras, 442 women and girls were the victims of violent killings between 2002 and 2005. In Nicaragua, 203 women were murdered between 2003 and 2005.[3]

Despite the legislation passed at national level on the issue, not enough effort has been made to tackle the roots of feminicide. There are thus but few preventive measures in place. The investigations that are carried out tend to lack teeth, and the majority of the perpetrators are not being brought to justice.

The cases of the two European women murdered in Mexico have particular symbolic value. Hester Van Nierop was killed in Ciudad Juárez in 1998[4]; Brenda Susana Margaret Searle met a violent death in Chichén Itzá (Yucatan) in 2001. The grave shortcomings of the legal system are clear from the failure to elucidate the murder of Van Nierop and the delays affecting the trial of Searle's killers.[5]

The general context in which feminicide is perpetrated is as follows:[6]

— Social inequality: Mexico and Central America[7] are characterised by high levels of economic inequality in society and by women being economically dependent on men.

— Patriarchal attitudes: the social structure in Mexico and Central America is based on a patriarchal mentality, with violence against women being considered perfectly 'normal'. Patriarchal attitudes not only naturalise violence against women but lead to a severe segmentation of the labour market and hinder the recognition of the political contributions made by women.

— Economic modernisation since the 1990s - growing presence of maquiladoras, many of them funded with European capital. Many, and often a majority, of the workers employed by the maquiladoras (assembly plants) are women, frequently very young. Complaints are recurrent regarding the appalling conditions in which the employees have to work, without fixed contracts and in degrading conditions, with few and irregular transport facilities and inadequate public infrastructures. This disrespect for women workers' labour rights, and therefore for their human rights, tends to reinforce a cultural image of woman as an inferior being, to be discarded at will.[8]

— Failure to guarantee the rule of law: It appears that Mexico's states are not succeeding in ensuring the effectiveness of the legal system, access to justice, or security and full enjoyment of their human rights for their inhabitants.

— Impunity: The phenomenon of impunity arises from a corrupt and inefficient legal system and presupposes complicity with and protection (direct or indirect) of the guilty parties. It encourages the repetition of crimes and creates a climate of collective insecurity. Crimes committed specifically against women are more likely to go unpunished than other offences. This point was made by the UN Secretary-General in the context of the campaign to eradicate violence against women and the celebrations of 8 March 2007.

— Violence in society: There is a growing presence of criminal gangs in Mexico, while in Central America there is the problem of illegal security forces and clandestine security apparatuses, dating from the time of the armed conflicts in the region[9].

— Inefficient institutions: The countries of Central America are still suffering from the consequences of the armed conflicts in the region, and their legal and penal systems are too weak to prevent human rights violations.

— Stigmatisation of victims by the authorities: Frequent complaints have been made that the police and the legal authorities seek to devalue individuals because of how they dress, their workplace activities or their personal relations, the intention being to cast doubt on their credibility, reduce the cases to isolated events and distract attention from what really matters, in other words security, the right to life, and the dignity of the murdered women and girls. In Central America the blame for feminicides is often laid at the door of the 'maras' or linked to prostitution, in order to minimise the problem.

— Violent nature of the killings: These murders bear the marks of hatred and misogyny. The women are kidnapped, sexually abused, tortured, murdered and mutilated, and their bodies are left in the desert, by the roadside, or in markets or vacant lots.

— Underfunding of the institutions created to tackle feminicide: The main obstacle facing the state institutions that have been created is lack of financial and human resources.[10]

— Shortcomings of national legislation / ratification of international instruments: Mexico and the Central American countries have laws and national plans for the prevention and eradication of violence against women, including the fight against feminicide, but in most cases they are not being implemented effectively for various reasons, among them the lack of human and financial resources.[11] Nicaragua, for instance, has not ratified the CEDAW optional protocol,[12] which establishes a procedure for complaining against human rights violations and enables the Committee to initiate investigations into severe cases of violation of women's rights.

Your rapporteur's view is that, in view of the nature of the EU's relations with Mexico and Central America and the commitment of all parties to full respect for human rights, the Union is under an obligation to act and to offer its total support to ensure that acts of feminicide do not go unpunished, making use of all the instruments available to it, from prevention campaigns to support for institutional reconstruction and development.

The existing agreements between the parties provide a sufficient basis for action. The (re)establishment of the rule of law, with a legal system restructured so that it operates without corruption and is accessible to all citizens of both genders, must be a priority for the Union in the context of cooperation and political dialogue.

In addition, this should be a guiding objective for the third pillar of relations, namely the commercial chapter, especially where EU enterprises and capital are involved. What is in question here is Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), with its attendant implications regarding gender issues: equal pay at a decent level, protection of women workers against gender discrimination in the workplace, and security for those travelling to or from the workplace.

In practical terms, we propose that the EU should:

— ensure that its representations in the countries concerned recruit staff qualified in gender matters;

— assume concrete responsibilities including the creation of the post of coordinator for gender issues and feminicide, and commission reports on the progress achieved and the problems encountered, to be sent to the Commission, the Council and Parliament;

— ensure the mandatory inclusion of an item on feminicide and impunity on the agendas of the various levels of the political dialogue, such as the Joint Council and Joint Committee;

— set up a permanent Round Table on Feminicide, in the Mexican case in cooperation with the OECD, and in particular with its National Contact Point, to have responsibility for ensuring compliance with the guidelines for multinational companies;

— ensure that the Country Strategy Papers for 2007-2013 cover the fight against feminicide and impunity, no later than the next three-yearly revision;

— ensure that the subject is highlighted in the negotiations for an Association Agreement with the countries of Central America;

— also ensure its inclusion in the 'inbuilt agenda' of the Association Agreement with Mexico, and, in particular, in the related investment agreement.

The role of the European Parliament on the issue of feminicide and impunity in Mexico and Central America must be, above all, to monitor the actions carried out in the region by the Commission and the Member States in order to eradicate the phenomenon. It is important in this context that a conference on feminicide should be organised before the next Euro-Latin American summit scheduled for May 2008 in Lima, with the presence of all the institutions and authorities mentioned above, in order to examine the state of progress and adjust future strategy in the light of the results achieved.

• [1]  Violent feminicide in Mexico. Mexican Congress, Chamber of Deputies - 59th legislative term. Ad hoc Information and Monitoring Committee on the Investigations into Feminicide in Mexico and the Legal Services Responsible. Mexico, 2006
• [2]  The total includes violent deaths from a number of causes: road accidents, fire, domestic violence and feminicide. See: report of the Ad Hoc Committee on Feminicide of the Chamber of Deputies (59th Legislative Term); progress reports of the Committee for the Prevention and Eradication of Violence Against Women, Ciudad Juaréz.
• [3]  National police data - see CLADEM report 2007.
• [4]  No-one has been punished for this murder to date.
• [5]  Only in 2007 was a sentence passed on Brenda Searle's killers.
• [6]  Local circumstances should also be taken into account: for instance, Ciudad Juárez is a border city located on the frontier with the US, and is characterised by drug-dealing and a rapid growth not matched by suitable services, etc.
• [7]  Thus, Honduras is Latin America's third poorest country, with 80% of its people living below the poverty line; the corresponding figure for Nicaragua is 50%.
• [8]  See: 'El feminicidio en la industria maquiladora', Francesca Gargallo (FIDH).
• [9]  Cf. the UN terminology: see the November 2006 UN-Guatemala agreement on establishing an international committee of inquiry against impunity in Guatemala (CICIG).
• [10]  See, for instance, the case of the National Plan for the Prevention and Elimination of Violence against Women in the Family (PLANOVI) in Guatemala.
• [11]  See annexes from the national legislatures.
• [12]  Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).

PROCEDURE

Title	The murders of women (feminicides) in Central America and Mexico and the role of the European Union in fighting this phenomenon
References	2007/2025(INI)
Committee responsible   Date authorisation announced in plenary	FEMM 15.2.2007
Committee(s) asked for opinion(s)   Date announced in plenary
Not delivering opinion(s)   Date of decision
Enhanced cooperation   Date announced in plenary	0.0.0000
Rapporteur(s)   Date appointed	Raül Romeva i Rueda 10.9.2007
Previous rapporteur(s)
Discussed in committee	25.6.2007		11.9.2007
Date adopted	11.9.2007
Result of final vote	+: –: 0:		31 0 1
Members present for the final vote	Edit Bauer, Emine Bozkurt, Hiltrud Breyer, Edite Estrela, Ilda Figueiredo, Věra Flasarová, Lissy Gröner, Zita Gurmai, Esther Herranz García, Lívia Járóka, Urszula Krupa, Esther De Lange, Marie Panayotopoulos-Cassiotou, Zita Pleštinská, Karin Resetarits, Teresa Riera Madurell, Raül Romeva i Rueda, Amalia Sartori, Eva-Britt Svensson, Konrad Szymański, Britta Thomsen, Anne Van Lancker, Anna Záborská
Substitute(s) present for the final vote	Gabriela Creţu, Anna Hedh, Christa Klaß, Marusya Ivanova Lyubcheva, Maria Petre, Zuzana Roithová
Substitute(s) under Rule 178(2) present for the final vote	Luis de Grandes Pascual, José Javier Pomés Ruiz, José Ignacio Salafranca Sánchez-Neyra
Date tabled	20.9.2007
Comments (available in one language only)	...