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	200,000 march against South African crime by South African Press Association & agencies   March 2007   An anti-crime petition with an estimated 200 000 signatures and a memorandum demanding a crime-free and corruption-free South Africa were handed to officials by marchers in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban on Saturday.   "This is not the end-all and the be-all. We will use every avenue, including the Constitutional Court, to ensure that people"s rights are no longer violated," said Shane Pillay, national coordinator of the South Africans against Crime campaign.   "We are law-abiding citizens and feel that the president should be law-abiding and ensure that our grannies, children and everyone is safe," said Steph Hartung of the Victims in the Republic of South Africa (Virsa), one of the march coordinators.   "The president has the money and the will to change the situation. People are suffering. How can people live like this?"   The petition called for the government to change "its relaxed attitude towards crime", said Pillay.   The 12-point memorandum included calls for the instilling and rekindling a sense of patriotism; looking at training facilities for police; more visible policing; and getting rid of corrupt policing.   Hartung said the march was prompted by the fact that he had been a victim of crime himself and that crime was becoming a problem.   Marches against crime were also held in Cape Town and Durban with the aim to collect three million signatures for a petition to hand to government.   "I will support any crime march organised by anybody to fight crime as I am tired of crime," said African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) president Kenneth Meshoe, who joined protesters in Johannesburg. "Crime is oppressing us as we can"t go where we want to go with our families."   Most protesters in Johannesburg wore pink ribbons around their arms in solidarity with victims of crime.   Banners included words such as "Mbeki wake up" and "Beware criminals, South Africa is gatvol [fed up]" and T-shirts were worn with "ABC, I"m affected By Crime" and "Crime Free South Africa".   One elderly man held a placard that said: "Aged 78 years, held at gunpoint". While walking to the mayor"s office from the CBD, protesters sang songs such as "Phansi nge crime", which means "Down with crime".   At the Johannesburg march, Miss Africa 2006 Gillian Elson said: "I believe it is the responsibility of every South African to stand together and fight against crime in South Africa and to stand together to support initiative against crime."
	Major human rights organisations urge support for Special Procedures of UN Human Rights Council by Amnesty International   “The Special Procedures give a voice to the voiceless victims of abuses.” - Kofi Annan, 19 June 2006   The United Nations Human Rights Council’s special rapporteurs and representatives, independent experts and working groups - collectively known as the “Special Procedures” - are among the most innovative, flexible and responsive tools created by the UN to promote and protect human rights.   Over the 40 years of their existence, the Special Procedures have made urgent interventions concerning thousands of individuals whose lives and physical integrity were at risk; through their country missions and studies, they have made recommendations for the improvement of human rights at the national and international levels; they have facilitated a better understanding and encouraged the development of human rights law.   The Special Procedures continue to play a unique role and are as essential to the improvement of human rights in the world in 2007 as they were in 1967, when the very first mandate was created.   Today their coverage ranges from freedom from torture, arbitrary or extrajudicial executions, "counter-terrorism", racism and violence against women to respect for the rights to health, to food and to adequate housing. They help to protect individuals and groups, such as migrants and indigenous peoples, and address situations of human rights violations both globally and in specific countries.   The UN Human Rights Council is currently discussing changes to the Special Procedures through a review, which must be completed by June 2007. Despite the clear need for the Human Rights Council to strengthen the Special Procedures, several states are instead proposing changes that would cripple the ability of Special Procedures to promote and protect human rights effectively.   Those states are disregarding the harm that such measures would do to the men, women and children whose human rights are violated every day in all parts of the world, and who look to the Special Procedures to intervene on their behalf in defence of their rights.   Add Your Name to the Petition:   We, the undersigned, believe that the Special Procedures of the United Nations Human Rights Council are fundamental to the UN"s efforts to promote and protect all human rights of all people everywhere. We call on UN member states to build on the achievements of the past in maintaining a strengthened system of Special Procedures that comprises independent experts who are able to monitor and respond rapidly to allegations of human rights violations throughout the world as effectively as possible, without interference.   Take Action Now. Sign the Petition. Visit the related web page
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