Amended in Assembly May 6, 2015

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

House Resolution No. 5

Introduced by Assembly Member Cristina Garcia

January 8, 2015

House Resolution No. 5—Relative to Mexico and human rights.

WHEREAS, On September 26, 2014, 43 college students from
the Ayotzinapa Normal School in Guerrero, Mexico, disappeared
in Iguala, Mexico; and

WHEREAS, Mexico’s Attorney General, Jésus Murillo Karam,
announced in a televised press conference on November 7, 2014,
that the evidence indicates the 43 missing students had been
executed and incinerated in the municipal dump of Cocula, Mexico,
by the Guerreros Unidos cartel begin insert at the behest of corrupt officials end insert ;
and

WHEREAS, It has been estimated that 25,000 to 26,000 people
have disappeared in Mexico since 2006; and

WHEREAS, The disappeared often include the very vulnerable,
such as poor migrants, indigenous people, and women and children;
and

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WHEREAS, According to a report by Human Rights Watch,
the state and federal army units in Iguala failed to intervene to
protect the students; and

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WHEREAS, The director of the American division of Human
Rights Watch, José Manuel Vivanco, described the murders in
Iguala, Mexico, and an earlier massacre in Tlatlaya, Mexico, as
“the worst atrocities we’ve seen in Mexico in years, but they are
hardly isolated incidents”; and

WHEREAS, There has been an international outcry regarding
the deaths of the missing students in Mexico from, among others,
the United Nations, the Parliament of the United Kingdom, the
European Parliament, and the international human rights
community; begin delete and end delete begin insert now, therefore, be it end insert

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WHEREAS, On July 20, 2014, A Memorandum of
Understanding for Strengthening Trade and Investment
Cooperation Between the Ministry of Economy of the United
Mexican States and the Government of the State of California of
the United States of America was signed by Governor Jerry Brown
of the State of California and Minister Ildefonso Guajardo
Villarreal of the United States of Mexico; and

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WHEREAS, The purpose of the Memorandum of Understanding
“is to establish a formal and flexible framework between the
Participants to expand trade and investment cooperation, foster
scientific and technological collaboration for business development
in emerging key sectors, strengthen communication, enhance trust,
boost economic development and create jobs”; now, therefore, be
it

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Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, That the
Assembly adds its voice to those in the international community
condemning the disappearance and deaths of the missing college
students from Mexico as a violation of human rights, begin insert of which the
government of Mexico has yet to even acknowledge, end insert and offers its
support to all those in Mexico standing up for human rights and
justice against corruption and violence; and be it further

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Resolved, That the Assembly urges Governor Jerry Brown to
suspend the Memorandum of Understanding between California
and the United Mexican States and urges the State of California
to divest from doing business with the United Mexican States until
the human rights of the people of Mexico have been reevaluated;
and be it further

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Resolved, That the Assembly urges the government of Mexico
to support further dialogue between the international community,
including the United States, and human rights organizations on
human rights reforms; and be it further

Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies
of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.