(d)
Establish transparent criteria to make it possible to determine clearly, in the event of
jurisdictional disputes between judicial authorities, cases where the Special Prosecutor responsible for
handling offences involving acts of violence against women can exercise jurisdiction in respect of
specific offences against women.
(20) The Committee takes note of the efforts made by the State party to address the cases of violence against
women in Ciudad Juárez, including the establishment in 2004 of the post of Special Prosecutor to handle offences
involving the murder of women in the municipality, and also the Commission to Prevent and Eradicate Violence
against Women in Ciudad Juárez. However, the Committee is concerned that many of the cases in which over
400 women in Ciudad Juárez have been murdered or have disappeared since 1993 remain unsolved and that acts of
violence, and even murders, continue to occur in Ciudad Juárez. The Committee is also concerned at reports of a
failure to draw conclusions as to responsibility from the fact that over 170 state officials are alleged to have
committed disciplinary and/or criminal offences during the investigation of these cases, including the use of torture
to extract confessions.
The State party should:
(a)
Step up its efforts to find and properly punish the persons responsible for these crimes;
(b)
Investigate and properly punish public servants who are reported for using methods of
torture in order to obtain evidence;
(c)
Step up its efforts to fully comply with the recommendations made by the Committee on
the Elimination of Discrimination against Women following its inquiry undertaken under article 8 of
the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against
Women.
(21) The Committee is concerned at reports that, up to the present, in only two cases has compensation been
granted to victims of acts of torture following a judicial procedure.
In accordance with article 14 of the Convention against Torture, the State party should guarantee to
every victim of an act of torture, both in legislation and in practice, redress and the right to fair and
adequate compensation, including the means for as full a rehabilitation as possible.
(22) The Committee is concerned about reports that, despite legal provisions to the contrary, the judicial
authorities continue to accord evidentiary value to confessions obtained using physical or psychological violence, if
they are corroborated by other evidence.
The State party should ensure that any statement which is established to have been obtained as a result
of torture shall not be invoked, either directly or indirectly, as evidence in any proceeding, in
accordance with article 15 of the Convention, except against a person accused of torture as evidence
that the statement has been made.
(23) The Committee requests the State party to include in its next periodic report detailed information on the steps
it has taken to comply with the recommendations contained in these concluding observations. The Committee
recommends to the State party that it should take all appropriate steps to implement these recommendations,
including forwarding them to the members of the Government and Congress, and also to local authorities, for
consideration and adoption of the necessary measures.
(24) The Committee recommends that the State party should widely disseminate the reports it submits to the
Committee, together with these conclusions and recommendations, inter alia in the indigenous languages, through
the media, official websites and non-governmental organizations.
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