Donald M. Payne: “let me thank the prime sponsor, Ms. Solis, for introducing this very important House Resolution 100, expressing the…”

“let me thank the prime sponsor, Ms. Solis, for introducing this very important House Resolution 100, expressing the sympathy of the House of Representatives to the families of women and girls murdered in Guatemala, and encouraging the Government of Guatemala to bring an end to these crimes. Let me commend Ms. Solis from California, not only for the women in Guatemala but she has actually expressed concerns for the deaths of women in Mexico. We have had discussions with Ms. Solis about the murders on the border of the United States and Mexico where women have been killed and there are a tremendous number of unsolved crimes there, and she visited that community in Mexico to express our concern for the women of that region and that country. As we know, since 2001 more than 2,000 women and girls have been murdered in Guatemala, often preceded by abductions, sexual assault, or brutal mutilation. The murder rate has continued to increase and has grown from 2001 where there were 303 reported to more than 500 in 2006.”