TREATMENT OF WOMEN IN GUATEMALA AND MEXICO

Motion Text

That this House notes the UN's view that `violence against women is perhaps the most shameful human rights violation, and it is perhaps the most pervasive and as long as it continues, we cannot claim to be making real progress towards equality, development and peace'; is dismayed at the extraordinary numbers of rapes and murders in both Mexico and Guatemala and at the regular impunity for the perpetrators; welcomes the visit and bravery of two human rights defenders in the region, Jorge Velasquez, who came to seek justice for the murder of his daughter Claudina, and Neil Arias, who is trying to find justice for two indigenous women, Ines Fernandez Ortega and Valentina Rosendo Cantu, who were raped by members of the Mexican armed forces; and urges the UK Government to press the Mexican and Guatemalan governments to put in place appropriate measures to protect all women and girls from these violations and to ensure that the perpetrators are brought to justice.