NEW YORK - February 28 - Amnesty International USA's New York City Women's Human Rights Action Team, Amnesty International USA, and Mexico Solidarity Network are co-sponsoring an event this Friday evening, March 3rd, at Judson Memorial Church, to inform the public about the ongoing disappearances and murders of women in Juarez and Chihuahua, Mexico.

The brutal murders of over 400 women and girls in Juarez have been documented, and women in the border city continue to disappear and suffer violent deaths at over twice the rate of the rest of the country. Activists for women's human rights are demanding that the Mexican authorities properly investigate these crimes, end the impunity enjoyed by murderers, bring the perpetrators to justice, and end the siege of violence in the region.

Panelists and a film will explore the interlinked causes of the disappearances and murders of women and girls in Mexico's most violent city. These include the vulnerability of low-income migrant women workers in a globalized economy, drug trafficking and prostitution rings run by organized crime, and corrupt authorities.

Speakers:

Veronica Leyva, a former maquiladora worker and long-time women's rights and labor activist from Ciudad Juarez.

Debbie Nathan, New York-based writer who has covered immigration and U.S.-Mexico border issues for 25 years. She is a contributing writer for The Nation, New York Magazine, and The New York Times.

Short Film: "Dual Injustice: Femicide and Torture in Ciudad Juarez and Chihuahua," a new video that chronicles how the families of a murdered girl and her cousin, who was tortured to falsely confess to her murder, joined forces in a remarkable common struggle for justice. Co produced by WITNESS and Comision Mexicana por la Defensa y Promocion de los Derechos Humanos

When: Friday, March 3, 2006, from 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm. Admission is free.

Where: Judson Memorial Church Assembly Hall, 239 Thompson St. between Washington Square South and Bleeker Street. (Trains: A/C/E/F/D/B to West 4th, N/R to 8th Street, 6 to Astor Place)

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