“These crimes happen not because they are inherent to war but because the global community allows it.”
“If the UN Security Council sets rape and sexual violence in conflict as a priority, it will become one and progress will be made. If you do not this horror will continue,” Jolie said.
“Please do not let this issue fall when you leave this chamber,” she pleaded.
The council adopted a resolution to condemn the use of sexual violence in conflict. Britain’s Foreign Secretary William Hague said he would organize a new meeting on the topic at the UN General Assembly in September.
“The time has come for the world to take a strong and determined stand to make clear that the systematic use of rape as a weapon of war is not acceptable in a modern world,” Hague told reporters.
The British minister said he wanted to change the “global attitude” to wartime rape.
He acknowledged it was “a big objective” but insisted the world had to “make clear that the idea that there is impunity for these crimes is shattered.”
UN rights experts say there is growing evidence of widespread use of sexual violence against women, girls and boys in the Syria conflict.
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