Original language: German
For:
Norma Laguna, Susana Montes, Olga Esparza, and Ricardo Alani;
the mothers and fathers of the three young girls whose remains were found in the Juárez Valley;
For:
the women advocates of the Mesa de Mujeres (Women’s Roundtable) network from the city of Juárez;
For:
the women’s movement of the state of Chihuahua, Mexico;
the National Network of Women Human Rights Defenders in Mexico.
I did not come to speak ill of the city of Juárez, as some authorities there claim. I love Juárez. I am simply fulfilling my commitment to my city at this stage in its history.
I know that the Anne Klein Prize is a way of honoring the memory of this feminist, whose career was marked by her tireless commitment to greater women’s rights, the fight against discrimination, and sexual self-determination. Anne Klein’s work—much like the work we do here in Mexico—was dedicated to ending violence against women. That is why I would like to briefly tell you a little about where I come from.
I was born in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua. During my childhood and adolescence, I lived on the west side, which for a long time served as a commuter town for the workers employed at the manufacturing plants producing goods for export. Then I attended Altavista High School, a school that encourages political discussion and challenges the economic model introduced in Juárez over 40 years ago, because that model leads to inequality and social exclusion.
My mother, Socorro Nava, helped me apply for a scholarship for high school and college. I am grateful to her for her help, because it enabled me to do what I do now, and that explains who I am.
I started getting involved early on—when I was 17. For me, as for most young people from the western part of Juárez, this stemmed from my family history and the economic problems we faced. That’s how I became active. My teacher at the time was my friend Manuel Arroyo, who was murdered in May 2009—a murder that remains unpunished to this day.
In 1993, we—human rights organizations and activists—began documenting the murders of women in Ciudad Juárez. Esther Chávez was the first to speak out. The dedication of the mothers and relatives of murdered women, the commitment of social organizations, the efforts of the representatives handling the cases, and international support led in 2009 to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights ruling against the Mexican government for human rights violations in the case of three women who had disappeared, been tortured, and murdered in Ciudad Juárez.
The Court found that the violence perpetrated against women in Ciudad Juárez since 1993 constitutes a structural violation of human rights for which the state is responsible. This ruling is significant not only for Ciudad Juárez and Mexico, but for the entire international community, which has been monitoring serious acts of violence against women since the 1990s. Since 2006, the murders of women in Mexico, Central America, and Latin America have been documented, and the global scope of this phenomenon has been discussed in European countries. Furthermore, binding legal instruments are being proposed so that the European Union—as recent activities in Brussels, Belgium, have shown—can take action against discrimination and violence against women.
In the case of Mexico, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights stated that there were delays in the investigations into the murders of young people found in 2001 at a location known as Campo Algodonero. The investigations had progressed only slowly, or the cases had not been processed at all. It was determined that the Mexican government acted unlawfully in this instance because it paid little or no attention to the problem. Today, when it comes to the issue of “violence against women,” we can say that progress has been made, such as the creation of institutions to ensure access to justice. However, several of the Court’s 2001 findings are currently being repeated. One example is the case of Idaly Juache Laguna.
Idaly Juache Laguna disappeared four years ago in February. Her mother, Norma Laguna, provided the information necessary for the search for her daughter. The Chihuahua Attorney General’s Office, however, did not do the same. Norma Laguna then joined forces with the parents of other missing girls—Olga Esparza, Ricardo Alanía, and Susana Montes—to request all necessary measures to locate their daughters alive. Although everyone knows that the first few months are crucial for finding missing persons alive, there was no investigation whatsoever in the early years. At the beginning of this year, these families had to bury the remains of their daughters—that is, what was left of them.
The Mesa de Mujeres (Women’s Roundtable) network in Juárez comprises 10 local organizations. It has a central office where we document femicides and crimes committed against women, develop prevention programs, and provide training and legal counseling for women. At our office, we provide support for cases of violence, such as the disappearance of women and femicides. We review documentation and make recommendations for the investigations. We pay special attention to the psychosocial care of mothers and family members of missing women. We offer them holistic care tailored to their health status and their grieving process. We are a very small team with far too much work, but our dedication makes up for it.
We are part of the National Network of Women Human Rights Defenders in Mexico. Threats, attacks, murders, and other risks are part of our daily work. In Chihuahua, there have been several murders of women human rights defenders. Marisela Escobedo was murdered in front of the entrance to the Chihuahua government palace, and Josefina Reyes in the Juárez Valley. The poet Susana Chávez was brutally murdered a few years ago. My team and I are well aware of the risks inherent in our work, especially when we take on such difficult cases as those involving trafficking in women.
For me, this award represents recognition of the commitment of the human rights defenders from the city of Juárez in Chihuahua. I know it will help make our work more visible. Exposing and documenting cases of violence is a nuisance to both government and non-governmental agencies, and we live under constant threat. For us, therefore, the award will also serve as a valuable symbol of protection.
The past few years have been particularly difficult for the work of the Mesa de Mujeres network in this regard. The release of Israel Arzate—a young man who was tortured and wrongfully accused of the massacre of young people in Villas de Salvarcar—was certainly a victory for our organizations that had worked on this case, but it was also an almost unbearable ordeal for our comrade Lupita Meléndez —Israel’s mother—and resulted in many threats against our small team.
Due to the constant work overload, we are also putting our health at risk. How painful it was when we had to give up hope of finding Mónica Janeth Alanís, Idaly Juache, and Lupita Pérez alive, after the Chihuahua Attorney General’s Office informed us that their remains had been found scattered outside the city. It was painful to see their mothers and family members break down, especially when they had to listen during the court proceedings as their daughters were reduced to something that is simply discarded.
That is why this award is also an incentive that gives us strength, revives our hope for justice, and lends new vigor to our demands. This year, we want to make progress with the systematic compilation of 20 years of documentation on the murders of women in Juárez. We want to publish a book in which this part of history is told in our own voices. The award will help us do this. We want to develop, design, print, and distribute materials—materials that we urgently need for the work of the Mesa de Mujeres network on violence prevention.
It is absolutely clear: We must keep going. We must embark on this arduous journey—with limited resources and in the face of resistance—when it comes to securing funding to support families who have been victims of violence. So that the resources and staff needed to provide legal assistance in these cases are available. So that we can ensure the basic conditions for the ongoing work of our office. So that we can launch a self-protection program for the network’s members and those participating in our various actions. So that we can advance the training program for additional female advocates and, based on it, establish a school.
Especially on the occasion of March 8, International Women’s Day, I would like to express my admiration for the struggle of my comrades from Ciudad Juárez. We are seeing initial successes in our engagement with the institutions from which we demand measures to prevent, prosecute, punish, and eradicate violence against women, as well as their disappearances and murders. There is no other way to describe these events than—and here I quote from the 7th Meeting on Femicide in Brussels—the dominance of a macho state that places women’s lives and safety at the very bottom of its priorities.
I would like to quote a demand currently being made to the Mexican government from Ciudad Juárez, which I would like to present here in this beautiful city of Berlin, in the land of Clara Zetkin:
“We, the family members of women who have been victims of femicide or who have disappeared, who have organized ourselves into the Group of United Mothers and the organizations of the Mesa de Mujeres network in the city of Juárez, demand that the President of the Republic, Mr. Enrique Peña Nieto, allocate the technical, human, and financial resources necessary to guarantee the protection and respect for the human rights of women in Juárez, in accordance with international recommendations.”
Specifically, this means providing sustained resources for the prevention, prosecution, investigation, punishment, and eradication of violence against women in Ciudad Juárez. The federal government offices based in Ciudad Juárez, such as the National Commission to Prevent and Eliminate Violence Against Women (CONAVIM) and the Special Prosecutor’s Office for Violent Crimes Against Women and Human Trafficking (FEVIMTRA), must be strengthened. These federal agencies lack everything: staff, funding, and operational capacity. Instead of strengthening them, their material and human resources are being increasingly depleted. FEVIMTRA has only two prosecutors’ offices in the city dedicated to prosecuting cases of violence and human trafficking—meaning it has no real ability to achieve results. CONAVIM is also understaffed: There are only three staff members and one administrative assistant; these are trained and dedicated professionals who should be deployed more effectively.
I would like to draw attention to the letter that the Citizens’ Observatory on Femicide (Observatorio Ciudadano del Feminicidio) submitted to President Enrique Peña Nieto. In it, we ask him to establish an effective working group to analyze the recently adopted Federal Criminal Code, which, in the words of my fellow activists, violates women’s rights.
The work of the National Network of Women Defenders in Mexico and the Central American Initiative of Women Human Rights Defenders must be taken seriously. It is making a difference.
My thoughts are with the survivors of violence who must grapple with their situation day after day.
I thank my comrades from the Mesa de Mujeres network in Juárez, as well as the friends of the network, for their work. I am proud to be part of the state women’s movement in Chihuahua and to be able to voice our demands, accusations, and proposals, just as Anne Klein did years ago in Germany.
I thank my teachers for their contributions. Many of them are no longer with us. Others are together every day, inspiring and recognizing one another. My thanks go to the women defenders of Juárez for walking this path together with me and for our ability to defy adversity. Your friendship and company honor me.
My heart beats for my loved ones, who welcome me with a hug every time I’m with them.
My thoughts are with the city that has the most beautiful sunsets in October and the most magnificent desert landscape one can imagine. However, during the recent period of desolation and sadness, we could not have stayed there had it not been for this determination and the right to choose to live in the city we have chosen—a city that has caused us so much pain and yet which we love so dearly: Ciudad Juárez.
