Wednesday, July 16, 2014











Angelina Jolie Applauds Outgoing British Foreign Minister's New Role

7:53 AM PST 07/16/2014 by Alex Ritman



LONDON — The U.K. government’s cabinet reshuffle might not normally be something exciting enough to warrant a response from Hollywood, but the news that British Foreign Secretary William Hague would be moving to a new position has been met with applause by Angelina Jolie.

On Tuesday, it was revealed that Hague would be leaving his post as head of Britain’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office but had been appointed a special representative on preventing sexual violence in conflict. 



 “I’m delighted that William Hague has been appointed the Prime Minister’s Special Representative on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict and to see the U.K.’s continuing leadership on this issue,” Jolie said in a statement.

“William and I are now very much focused on the next stage of our campaign. We will be asking countries to live up to the promises they made at the London Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict, and working alongside them in that effort,” she added.



U.N. special envoy Jolie and Hague have been working together on the issue of sexual violence in warzones for the past two years after the politician saw Jolie’s 2011 Golden Globe-nominated directorial debut In the Land of Blood and Honey.
 Since then, the pair have traveled to a number of countries to meet victims of rape. In 2013, they visited the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where UNICEF estimates the ongoing conflict sees an average of 36 women and girls raped daily. This spring, they went to Bosnia and Herzegovina to speak with survivors of rape from the Bosnian war.

Last year, Hague and Jolie, alongside the Special Representative of the U.N. Secretary General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Zainab Hawa Bangura, unveiled a G8 Declaration on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict, containing pledges to end impunity and outlining how to investigate and prosecute rape. So far a reported 150 countries have signed the declaration.

 Last week, the first trailer from Jolie’s second feature as director was unveiled. Legendary Pictures’ Unbroken, based on the nonfiction book Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand and adapted by the Coen Brothers, follows the story of U.S. Air Force captain Louis Zamperini, who was shot down from his plane in the Pacific in 1943.
Following 47 days adrift at sea, Zamperini and his fellow survivor reached the Marshall Islands but were immediately captured by the Japanese and subsequently spent two years in a prisoner-of-war camp.

Zamperini died two weeks ago, on July 2, at age 97. Unbroken is due out this December.







Angelina Jolie welcomes post-reshuffle role for William Hague

Following Hague's departure as foreign secretary in a cabinet reshuffle, the actor and director welcomed his new role tackling sexual violence in war zones

William Hague with Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie last month at the London summit on ending sexual violence in conflict. Photograph: Facundo Arrizabalaga/EPA

William Hague's time as foreign secretary may have come to an end following David Cameron's far-reaching cabinet reshuffle, but his much-publicised work with unlikely ally Angelina Jolie will continue, as part of a new government role.

The pair have been campaigning on the issue of sexual violence in war zones since 2012, after Hague saw Jolie's film In the Land of Blood and Honey, which depicted camps during the Bosnian war where thousands of women were raped. "It was when I saw Angelina's film that I decided we should launch a global initiative on this," Hague said last year. "When you get into the detail of it, it's too terrible not to do something about."

The pair have since joined forces regularly, visiting countries like the DRC and Bosnia, and sending forensic experts to investigate Syrian, Malian and Libyan conflicts. They also collaborated on the well-attended End Sexual Violence in Conflict summit last month in London.

Now, as well as promising to "focus all my efforts on supporting the government in parliament and gaining a Conservative victory in the general election", Hague has been appointed as a special representative on preventing sexual violence in conflict, as part of his ongoing Foreign Office work.
"I'm delighted that William Hague has been appointed... and to see the UK's continuing leadership on this issue," Jolie said in a statement. "William and I are now very much focused on the next stage of our campaign. We will be asking countries to live up to the promises they made at the London summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict, and working alongside them in that effort. We are both absolutely committed to this cause and to our partnership on this issue."

Jolie also works on issues surrounding refugees in a special envoy role with the UN's High Commissioner for Refugees, and this week was invited to visit the Pacific island of Nauru, where Australian asylum seekers are being detained.

Following the triumphant critical and commercial success of the big-budget Disney film Maleficent, in which she took the leading role, Jolie is now gearing up to release her next directorial effort Unbroken. The true story of an Olympic runner turned second world war airman turned prisoner of war, it stars young British actor Jack O'Connell in the leading role, alongside Domhnall Gleeson and Garrett Hedlund, while the Coen brothers have written the screenplay.









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