A/HRC/7/16 page 25 Governments have an important role to play in reconciling macroeconomic policies with social objectives and meeting the needs of the most vulnerable first, keeping in mind the primacy of human rights obligations.61 89. The Special Rapporteur believes that the severity of the crisis affecting housing and land requires much more global attention and needs to be given priority on the global agenda, including in the United Nations system. 6. Civil society 90. Civil society plays a very important role in the recognition of the right to adequate housing both at national and international level. In a growing number of examples brought to the attention of the Special Rapporteur, civil society seeks to defend and protect the right to adequate housing and land with limited means to challenge corrupt officials and private national and global entities. 91. On many occasions, the Special Rapporteur has witnessed the difficult conditions under which civil society actors defend the right to adequate housing, including the removal of funding from service providers if they are critical of the policies in place, political interference in their work, limitations to their freedom of expression and association, violence and even murder. 92. In this regard, the Special Rapporteur is particularly concerned about increasing reports of violence against human rights defenders protecting the right to housing and land, and against representatives of communities affected by infrastructure projects, mining activities, mega-events and natural disasters. VI. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 93. The overall assessment of the Special Rapporteur, after seven years as mandate holder, is that there is a severe and growing global housing and land rights crisis that needs to be given priority on the global agenda and accorded greater attention. In this context, in view of the issues raised in this report and in addition to the recommendations made in all his previous reports,62 the Special Rapporteur wishes to present a number of general and specific recommendations addressed to the Human Rights Council, States and the international community. General recommendations 94. States should take immediate measures aimed at conferring legal security of tenure upon those persons, households and communities currently lacking such protection, including all those who do not have formal titles to home and land. 61 62 See E/CN.4/2002/59. Annual reports, country reports and reports on women and housing of the Special Rapporteur are available at: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/issues/housing/index.htm.