U.N. OFFICIAL TO VISIT SLAIN WOMEN'S FAMILIES IN JUAREZ

EL PASO -- A record number of women were murdered last year in Juarez,
and so far this year, eight have been killed in a city whose
unprecedented drug-related violence has eclipsed the slayings of
women, according to Chihuahua state statistics.

Chihuahua state authorities reported 86 killings of women in Juarez in
2008, 38 more than in 1995, when the next-highest number of slayings
was reported during the past 15 years.

The United Nations' Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
is sending its Mexico representative to Juarez on Tuesday to meet with
officials and victims' relatives, in response to complaints about the
escalating violence against women and threats to advocacy groups that
keep pressing for investigations.

After the meetings in Juarez, Alberto Brunori, the U.N. official based
in Mexico City, will make recommendations to the U.N. High
Commissioner in New York and the Mexican government. The commission is
the main human-rights arm of the United Nations, which monitors human
rights throughout the world.

Last year, Juarez had 6.6 murders of women per each 100,000
population, compared with El Paso County, which had 1.08 per each
100,000 population. Total murders in Juarez for 2008 were 1,609, or
123.76 per 100,000, compared with 20 homicides for El Paso County, or
2.7 per 100,000 population.

In addition to the slain women, 12 young women were reported missing
in 2008, said Marilu Garcia, a member of Nuestras Hijas de Regreso a
Casa (May Our Daughters Come Home), an advocacy organization.

"These girls are considered high-risk victims -- they shared common
features and practically all of them disappeared in the downtown
area," Garcia said. "They were seen waiting for a bus or shopping or
on their way to do other things. We believe human trafficking is
involved in some of these cases.

"We're going to talk to the U.N. representative about the worsening
violence against women, and we're going to ask the Chihuahua governor
to create a special unit to search for the missing women."

Lydia Ramos Mancha, 17, a biology student at the Universidad Autonoma
de Ciudad Juarez, is among the missing. She was last seen Dec. 1
catching a bus on her way to the university to check on her final exam
grades.

"My family is desperate to know what happened to my sister," said
Gerardo Ramos Mancha, 21, the missing teen's brother.

"We know the investigators are overwhelmed with numerous cases, but I
would like for the governor to hire or assign more agents to these
cases. My sister was pursuing a career in medicine, and she was
normal, like any other girl her age."

Garcia said many law enforcement officials have left the ranks of the
state attorney general's office because of threats from the drug cartels.

Of last year's 1,609 homicides, 125 of the victims were police and
soldiers. Other law enforcement officers quit or were fired, leaving
hundreds of cases unattended.

Nevertheless, the Chihuahua state attorney general's office has
maintained that investigators have solved or have strong leads in 80
percent of the women's murders.