| Safe South Africa Charter |
 |
 |
 |
| Thursday, 28 August 2008 17:50 |
|
At the end of August, Action for a Safe South Africa (AFSSA) held a four day convention where the movement began to grow from being a collaborative effort of a small group of organisations to being an explosive, organic and dynamic coalition of individual and collective activists who share a vision of a safe South Africa. At the end of the convention, the participants developed a charter for a safe South Africa. Charter: Action for a Safe South Africa (English)Thursday, August 28, 2008Over the past four days, Action for a Safe South Africa (AFSSA) has grown from being a collaborative effort of a small group of organisations to being an explosive, organic and dynamic coalition of individual and collective activists who share a vision of a safe South Africa. Crime and violence has already caused untold hardship, disruption and loss of life in our country. It jeopardises the foundations of our Democracy and undermines the principles that formed the basis of our transition to Democracy as embodied in our Constitution. Millions of our citizens live in continuous fear as a result of the climate of crime and violence. We recognise that the social and economic transformation of the country is not nearly complete and that South Africans are still suffering economic deprivation. Whilst the correction of the said imbalances should be a common objective, crime and violence remain obstacles in the way of rectifying the socio- economic climate essential for allowing a better life for all. Fixing the Criminal Justice System (CJS) is obviously an important goal for any society, yet we realise that it alone will not make us a safe society and that unless we significantly reduce the demand on the CJS it will never be able to deliver justice for all. We recognise the need for a practical and an achievable vision of a safe South Africa – a vision that encapsulates an ideal safe society. We know that realising this ideal will be a lengthy process and commit to working innovatively, cleverly and with resilience to realise the capacity, funding and structures to achieve this. We aim to enable every South African to contribute to making South Africa safe through sustained science based, inclusive partnerships and actions. We will not duplicate nor compete with any other initiative with similar or complementary objectives. We will strengthen each other through co- operation and the development of a critical mass of those who respect the rule of law and work constructively to build a safe society. We commit ourselves to the practical implementation of a plan comprising of the specific outcomes of this Convention as outlined during the report-back session, by representatives of the eight working groups. These plans will be articulated in a book produced with “South Africa the Good News” and will be widely circulated to all those who so generously contributed over the last few days and to all those in South Africa who wish to participate and contribute in the future. We have consulted and will continue to consult those whose contribution to this civil society initiative is essential. We mandate the organisers of this Convention to continue this consultation with those not represented at this Convention and in particular the Department of Social Development, the faith based community, organised labour and other key sectors. We ask the organisers to ensure that the required mechanism and capacity are in place to implement the plans we have developed, to secure the necessary funding and to report in writing to us and by reconvening an expanded Leadership Forum within a period of 75 days from this Convention.
Grondwet: Aksie vir 'n Veilige Suid-Afrika (Afrikaans)Donderdag, Augustus 28, 2008 In die paar dae van 25 tot 28 Augustus 2008, het die Aksie vir ‘n Veilige Suid-Afrika (AVVSA) ontwikkel van ‘n klein groepie organisasies wat kragte saamgesnoer het, tot ‘n organiese en dinamiese koalisie van individuele en kollektiewe aktiviste wat die droom van ‘n veilige Suid-Afrika met mekaar deel. |