[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 29, Number 17 (Monday, May 3, 1993)]
[Pages 708-709]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 6551--National Crime Victims' Rights Week, 1993

 April 28, 1993

By the President of the United States

of America

A Proclamation

    Every day, thousands of men, women, and children are murdered, 
raped, robbed, beaten, or abused. They are the innocent victims of crime 
in the streets, towns, and homes of America.
    Fortunately, crime victims in this country are not left alone to try 
to recover from the physical, emotional, and financial distress of 
victimization. Thousands of dedicated Americans are working tirelessly 
at the Federal, State, and local levels to provide comfort and financial 
assistance and to advocate for fair treatment. These advocates help the 
innocent victims of crime to recover from the trauma of victimization 
and to navigate the often emotionally difficult criminal justice 
process. ``National Crime Victims' Rights Week'' provides a special 
opportunity for us to demonstrate our appreciation to these selfless 
advocates and to renew our commitment to the needs and rights of crime 
victims.
    Much has been accomplished during the past two decades to 
institutionalize victims' rights in this country. Bills of rights have 
been enacted at the Federal level and by 49 State governments to codify 
certain essential protections for victims. All 50 States now have crime 
victim compensation programs. Federal assistance under the Victims of 
Crime Act continues to supplement State crime victim compensation 
programs, support programs that provide direct assistance to crime 
victims, establish assistance for Native Americans who have been 
victimized, and provide training to increase the sensitivity of criminal 
justice practitioners to the special needs of crime victims.
    While these gains are significant, there is still much that must be 
done to combat the crime trends that further threaten our communities. 
We must continue to work together to prevent crime and to protect 
ourselves, our families, and our fellow Americans from violence. We must 
work to provide opportunity where despair reigns. We must work together 
to ensure that hardened criminals who prey upon the innocent receive 
punishment commensurate with the harm--physical, emotional, and 
financial--that they have inflicted. And we must continue to work 
together to ensure that the innocent victims of crime receive the 
services they need and fair treatment by our Nation's criminal justice 
system.
    The Congress, by Senate Joint Resolution 62, has designated the week 
of April 25 through May 1, 1993, as National Crime Victims' Rights Week 
and has authorized and requested the President to issue a proclamation 
in observance of this week.
    Now, Therefore, I, William J. Clinton, President of the United 
States of America, do hereby proclaim the week of April 25 through May 
1, 1993, as National Crime Victims' Rights Week. I urge all Americans to 
join in honoring those who work in behalf of crime victims and their 
families and to commit themselves to working together with their 
neighbors for safer streets, safer schools, and brighter tomorrows for 
all our citizens.
    In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-eighth 
day of April, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-three, 
and of the Independence of the

[[Page 709]]

United States of America the two hundred and seventeenth.
                                            William J. Clinton

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 5:03 p.m., April 28, 
1993].

Note: This proclamation was published in the Federal Register on April 
30.