Title
Expressing sympathy for the missing students and their relatives, and calling for further investigation into the disappearance, and alleged killing, of forty-three students in Iguala, Guerrero, Mexico and for holding those responsible for their crimes in accordance with the Mexican and international standards of justice.
Body
WHEREAS, On September 26, 2014 in the city of Iguala, Guerrero, Mexico, forty-three students from Ayotzinapa Rural Education Academy were abducted by force; and
WHEREAS, Following an intensive investigation by the federal government of Mexico, Attorney General of Mexico, Jésus Murillo Karam, declared on November 7, 2014 that evidence indicated the missing students had been executed and incinerated by the Guerreros Unidos cartel with the cooperation of police and local officials, with over 100 of these individuals responsible having now been arrested; and
WHEREAS, Local authorities failed to intervene and were not forthcoming in their efforts to search for the missing students, protect survivors, and investigate the disappearance of the students; and
WHEREAS, Federal security forces have assumed all public security functions in fifteen municipalities of Guerrero, with more than 10,000 members of the federal police, the army, the navy, and the prosecutor's office having been sent to assist; and
WHEREAS, The federal government has requested assistance from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to aid in supporting victims' families throughout the investigative process in accordance with international human rights standards; and
WHEREAS, The recent incident in Iguala exposed serious problems, including collusion between the police, government officials, and organized crime, which must be investigated and corrected; and
WHEREAS, Those who are thought to have disappeared in Mexico as a result of violence, often have included the most vulnerable in society such as the poor, indigenous people, and women and children; and
WHEREAS, City Council recognizes that Philadelphia is home to many with close ties to Mexico; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, THAT THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, Formally expresses its sympathy for the missing students and their relatives and emphatically calls for further investigation into the disappearance, and alleged killing, of forty-three students in Iguala, Guerrero, Mexico and to hold those responsible for their crimes in accordance with the Mexican and international standards of justice.
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