Showing posts with label Foreign Office. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Foreign Office. Show all posts

Thursday, March 27, 2014




Photos
dailymail

Jolie shielded by giant screen during major security operation as she meets William Hague





  •  Duo met in Downing Street to discuss tackling rape in war zones
  • They then flew to Sarajevo to meet with victims of sexual violence
  • Miss Jolie was taken from her hotel to Downing Street in a Government car
  • Pair were escorted by police motorcycles as they travelled to airport
  • They then boarded a private plane for visit to Bosnia and Herzegovinia
  • Met Police says her involvement with the UN would explain security detail












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    ...

    Miss Jolie, who is known for her humanitarian work, spent around 12 hours in the UK, arriving on Wednesday night when she attended a drinks reception, followed by dinner with Mr Hague at his offices.

    The actress, a Special Envoy of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, was taken from her London hotel in a black Government car to Downing Street for a meeting with Mr Hague.

    Accompanied by a police convoy, including motorcycles and unmarked police cars, she and the MP were taken to an airport, where they boarded a private plane for Bosnia and Herzegovinia.

    The Metropolitan police refused to comment on the specific security arrangements of Miss Jolie's visit but a spokesman told mailOnline: 'We never discuss specifics of security but if Miss Jolie was with Government officials as part of her UN duties, that would explain a police presence.'







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    Tuesday, March 26, 2013

    Congo 5






































    CSMonitor

    Angelina Jolie's gold ring pulls focus from Congolese rape survivors

    Angelina Jolie is wearing a simple gold ring instead of her diamond engagement ring as she meets with women and girls in eastern Congo to highlight war-zone rape.

    By Associated Press / March 26, 2013 

    Britain's Foreign Secretary William Hague visits Lac Vert camp in the Democratic Republic of Congo with actress and UNHCR Special Envoy Angelina Jolie during their trip to Africa to to raise awareness of war-zone rape, March 26.
    Iggy Roberts / Ministry of Defence / AP

    GOMA, Congo
    Angelina Jolie is meeting with women and girls in eastern Congo, where sexual violence is rampant, but the coverage is focusing on the gold ring she's wearing in place of her usual massive engagement ring.

    Jolie, a special envoy for the U.N. refugee agency, traveled to the Nzulo camp near Goma on Monday along with British Foreign Secretary William Hague.

    RECOMMENDED: Top four ways Congo's instability affects the world
     
    The International Rescue Committee says it has provided care to more than 2,500 women and girls who have been raped or abused over the last year alone. The IRC is handing out kits with flashlights and whistles, as well as cleaning products so that women can avoid bathing at creeks where the risk of assault is higher.
    Sexual violence is frequently used as a weapon of war by rebel groups that operate in eastern Congo, as well as by Congolese soldiers.




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    Angelina has worn a simple band many times before but always on her middle finger, not her ring finger.  She has also made several humanitarian trips since their engagement was announced and in every instance, she removed her engagement ring and did not wear any other ring on her ring finger. The type of ring, the fact that it's on her ring finger, and Brad's strong hints that their wedding was imminent lead me to believe that it is in fact a wedding ring and that they were married recently.  Maybe within the last two weeks.

    While it's true that speculation on the ring may draw attention away from the issue of rape, it's also true that the increased interest will lead to wider coverage.  And the purpose of their trip after all is to raise awareness.  People will at least hear about Congo and war rape even if its not the focus of their attention. 

    -- Fussy
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    Wednesday, November 14, 2012

    Hague - Wilton Park





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    Wilton Park Flickr photostream

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    Foreign Secretary and Special Envoy to the UN High Commissioner on Refugees


    Foreign Secretary William Hague with Special Envoy to the UN High Commissioner on Refugees, Ms Angelina Jolie at the a Wilton Park Conference on 'Preventing sexual violence in conflict and post-conflict situations', 14 November 2012.

    Ms Angelina Jolie, Special Envoy to the UN High Commissioner on Refugees, at the a Wilton Park Conference on 'Preventing sexual violence in conflict and post-conflict situations', 14 November 2012.

    Photos from FCO Flickr photostream









    At with UNHCR envoy Angelina Jolie, delighted by her support for our initiative on stopping rape in war
    9:13 AM - 14 Nov 12



    My husband is suddenly taking more interest in my work since I mentioned that I was at a conference with Angelina Jolie



    From the FCO, UK

    Confronting rape as a weapon of war: a challenge for our generation

    14 November 2012

    Foreign Secretary William Hague's keynote address at the "Preventing sexual violence in conflict and post-conflict situations" meeting at Wilton Park.

     
    Foreign Secretary (crown copyright)

    Each generation faces its own challenges, and each can shape our world for the better.

    Our generation has the opportunity, and the responsibility, to confront the use of rape and sexual violence as a weapon of war.

    In our lifetimes millions of women, children and men have endured this horror, including in Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Colombia, Uganda, Liberia and in Bosnia, where only twenty years ago, on European soil, rape camps were set up and tens of thousands of women subjected to sexual slavery and enforced pregnancy.

    I believe that preventing and addressing sexual violence is vital to resolving conflicts and building sustainable peace. I see it as a vast international issue that national foreign policies have not yet adequately addressed. And I am convinced that we can actually do something more about it. That is why I am championing it as Foreign Secretary.

    While my Party was still in Opposition I met survivors of rape in refugee camps in Darfur and in Srebrenica. Last month I returned to Bosnia and spent time with female and male survivors in Sarajevo, and I recently shared a platform with people working with survivors of rape and torture in the DRC.

    These experiences brought home to me the sheer extent and intensity of the problem, the overwhelming lack of justice for survivors of wartime rape and sexual violence despite a huge amount of excellent work by grassroots organisations and NGOs, and the direct link that this has with peace and security today. Where there is no justice or dignity for survivors development is held back, and the seeds of future conflict are sown.

    I approach this subject with a good deal of humility, as a man, and as someone who has not experienced conflict first hand or worked with survivors. But I have been appalled by the toll sexual violence in conflict has on children. To take just one example, of the thousands of reported rapes in the DRC in one recent period, up to 50% of all survivors were under the age of 17, and 10% were under the age of 10.

    I have been struck by the terrible life sentence of trauma, stigma and illness that follows in the wake of rape in war, and its impact on families and communities. This was illustrated to me by the fact that 67% of survivors in Rwanda were subsequently found to be HIV positive.

    And I have been deeply affected by the knowledge that many victims never get the recognition or support they are entitled to, eking out a precarious existence in conflict zones with their abusers often still at large in their communities.

    There has been a tendency in the past to regard sexual violence as an inevitable by-product of conflict, something that happens in the ‘fog of war’ when law and order breaks down.
    On top of this, we have treated sexual violence either as an issue of marginal importance in peace agreements which often tend to exclude women, or to see it as a global problem that is too immense for us to do anything about it.

    This has to change. We now know that rape and sexual violence is used as a deliberate weapon of war in the same way that guns and tanks are, to terrorise civilian populations, to humiliate, scar and destroy whole ethnic groups or religious or political opponents, cheaply, silently and devastatingly.

    To simply accept that this is part of the cycle of war is to consign hundreds of thousands of innocent people to an appalling fate in the future.

    And I am convinced from my own experiences as Foreign Secretary over the last two and a half years that our failure to confront this issue does play a part in emboldening those who are orchestrating atrocities today, including in Syria. Our efforts to prevent rape in war have to be as determined as our efforts to prevent conflict in the first place.

    These are just some of the reasons why this issue matters to me and has a direct bearing on foreign policy. But there are also two factors which explain why I think the conditions are right for a major new international initiative, and why I am personally optimistic about our chances.

    The first is that we have developed an impressive array of mechanisms at the UN and national level over the last decade, including UN Security Council Resolutions 1325, 1820, 1888 and 1960, the office of the UN Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, the various UN teams of experts, new mechanisms to train peacekeepers, and National Action Plans on Women Peace and Security, which include protections for violence against women and girls. Our understanding of these issues has been transformed over the last decade and we have a far wider range of capabilities to bring to bear against this problem. In the United Kingdom we are determined to champion women’s rights in all the UN bodies, and to be vigilant and outspoken against any attempt to undermine the gains that have now been secured.

    And second, I believe that a critical mass of public opinion has now begun to build up in many countries against the use of sexual violence in conflict. My experience as a politician leads me to believe that this is the moment to mobilise global public opinion and to rally the efforts of nations, in the same way that we have mustered the will to ban the use of landmines and cluster munitions, and are on the verge of securing an international Arms Trade Treaty. Shattering the culture of impunity for those who use rape as a weapon of war is the next great global challenge of our generation. It is a cause whose time has come.

    This is overwhelmingly due to years of work by the UN and its agencies, by NGOs, the International Criminal Court and other international tribunals and brave survivors who have felt able to share their stories with a shocked world. I am also conscious that many other countries have shown leadership in this area, including many that have emerged from conflict themselves.
    We have also benefited greatly from the insights of filmmakers, who have shone a light on painful events and helped us to understand our responsibilities.

    One such Director is Jasmila Zbanić, who allowed us to screen her film ‘Emma’s Story’ during this conference.

    And another is Angelina Jolie.

    Many of you will be familiar with her work as Special Envoy of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

    But it was my encounter earlier this year with her film In the Land of Blood and Honey that actually galvanised me into starting this new British initiative, and led to her joining me at our event in the Foreign Office in May when I announced it.

    I am very grateful to Angelina Jolie for her support for our efforts to combat the terrible suffering she depicted so powerfully in her film, and for joining us again today.

    She assures me she is here to meet you and to listen to our discussion, but I also think she may also be checking up on whether we have lived up to our promises.

    I believe we are making some strong and encouraging progress with your help. And our ambition and resolve is even greater than when we first began this initiative, because of the overwhelmingly positive reception it has received around the world.

    We are focussing our efforts on accountability and justice, and on increasing the number of prosecutions for these crimes. This is the area where there is the most glaring lack of political will, where I believe governments like our own can make the most difference, and where we must act if we are to erode the culture of impunity.

    In May I announced that Britain would set up a specialist team of experts that can be deployed to conflict areas to support UN missions and local civil society to investigate allegations of sexual violence, to gather evidence and to help build up the capabilities of other nations.

    Today, six months later we have recruited 70 people for this team already, which includes police, lawyers, psychologists, doctors, forensic experts, gender-based violence experts and experts in the care and protection of survivors and witnesses. I will shortly be able to announce its first deployment which will begin before the end of this year.

    Each deployment will be tailored to meet local needs and circumstances. The deployments will be based on in-depth assessments of national and international responses in that country to date and how the British team could reinforce or complement existing efforts, as well as consultations with the authorities in each country.

    I also pledged six months ago that we would use our Presidency of the G8 in 2013 to secure new commitments from some of the world’s most powerful nations. Be in no doubt, we really mean business about this. By the time our Presidency actually starts in January, we will already have spent seven months building support for our objectives before we begin negotiations in earnest. My colleagues around the world know already that it will be one of my top priorities for the meeting of G8 Foreign Ministers in April.

    We have proposed new G8 partnerships with conflict-affected countries, and a new International Protocol on the investigation and documentation of sexual violence in conflict. I welcome the fact that Mr Brammertz flagged up this issue yesterday, when he said that we need a standardised set of guidelines for effective prosecutions. This would be a practical response to the need to improve the evidence base for prosecutions for sexual violence in conflict at the national and international level, and it would draw on existing advice and guidelines. We want any new Protocol to be of genuine value to national authorities in their efforts to seek prosecutions. If adopted, it could be used in training and capacity building programmes, ensuring an enduring legacy which we would hope to expand beyond the G8 over time.

    In all these areas our Government is not looking to reinvent the wheel – but we are saying that we are prepared to put Britain’s shoulder to it as never before.

    We do not want to duplicate or cut across the work that has been done by experts – but we do want to set an example to the world of what governments can do.

    We are one of the few countries in the world that can lead such an effort. We have a network of 260 diplomatic posts around the globe, one of the most extensive of any nation. We have one of the largest programmes of international development aid in the world. We are members of the United Nations Security Council, NATO, the EU and the Commonwealth as well as our G8 role, all of which gives us the ability – as well as the responsibility - to take this cause to many of the most influential multilateral bodies in the world.

    And we have set up an excellent new team of Foreign Office officials led by Emma Hopkins to oversee all our efforts. She and her colleagues have already visited Japan, France, Germany, the US, Canada, China, South Korea and international human rights organisations in Geneva, The Hague and the European Union, to discuss our proposals and mobilise support for our G8 campaign. I think their work will become a model for how other Foreign Ministries can increase their capabilities in this area, particularly in the way it draws on wide expertise from DfID and the Home Office as well as the Foreign and Commonwealth Office itself.

    As a sign of our determination to reinforce and not duplicate existing efforts, we are working closely with the UN Team of Exports on Rule of Law and Sexual Violence that supports the office of the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Mrs Zainab Bangura.

    In July I announced that we have donated £1 million over two years to the ICC’s groundbreaking mechanism to help victims rebuild their lives, the Trust Fund for Victims. The projects the Fund supports in Uganda, DRC and elsewhere are based on the understanding that it is impossible fully to undo the damage caused by war crimes, including sexual violence. However it is possible to help empower survivors to rebuild their families and regain their place as contributing members of their society.

    In New York in September I announced an increase in British support for the UN Special Representative’s work, with £1 million of funding over the next three years. I welcome the greater emphasis that she is placing on national ownership, leadership and responsibility. And I think we must also promote a more ‘strategic’ use of international effort to support UN work to combat impunity.

    And I am announcing today that we will contribute £375,000 over a three year period to the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations and the Department of Field Support to develop policies, guidance and training for use by peacekeepers as first responders to incidents of sexual violence.

    We are urging other countries to match our voluntary contributions in each of these areas. We will do all of these things and more, but of course we look to you to give us your help, advice, constructive criticism and support.

    You are among the world’s leading experts in the field of combating wartime rape and sexual violence, with deep knowledge and personal experience. I am extremely grateful to you all for travelling a long way to be here and for sharing your expertise with us, and I want to pay particular tribute to Special Representative Bangura and her predecessor Margot Wallstrom.
    We need your help to ensure that we have set the right level of ambition for the G8, to ensure that we are aiming high enough and that our proposals are drawn up to have the maximum possible impact.

    We have already drawn five important conclusions from your discussions over the last two days.

    First, justice has got to be viewed in its fullest sense. It means many things to survivors, ranging from access to justice and effective remedy at the local and national level, reparation, medical care and support to rebuild lives, and it can also involve restorative justice and truth commissions as well as prosecutions.

    Second, we must conceptualise sexual violence in its broadest sense, in terms of women’s rights, education and participation. It is part of a much broader effort to address violence against women and girls and to empower women across society.

    Third, we need better coordination of current efforts, across the silos that can set in between our humanitarian, security and developmental efforts.

    Fourth, we have to build up national ownership by matching international efforts much more closely to national requirements and building up national capacity. In my mind this must include how we work to bridge the gap between international efforts and the grass roots organisations which work on the ground, understand the grain of the society, and have the trust of local people.

    And finally, we need to shift the balance of shame away from survivors to the perpetrators of this crime. We need to break down the stigma by talking about it, which is something I am attempting to do as Foreign Secretary in my conversations around the world. And we have to recognise that unless we shift attitudes amongst men that rape is not a family matter, it is a violent crime, then the problem will persist.

    So I am extremely grateful to you for taking part in this conference, and I will study your detailed recommendations. It is my sincere hope that you will continue to work with us over the coming year, giving us guidance and honest advice when you think we can do more. And I particularly hope you will feel able to work us with to build public momentum around our G8 campaign in 2013 and beyond, so that each country can feel the campaign in their own parliaments and media.

    So this will be our approach: increasing our own capabilities in the British Foreign Office, significantly increasing our support to UN efforts, raising the profile of the need to confront sexual violence in conflict in every way we can, and proposing new action that we hope will be adopted by many nations  in a new collective effort for our generation.

    It has been inspiring to meet many people around the world who share our sense of hope and ambition. On the rare occasion that I am met with a sceptical smile, I remind people of the 18th century slave trade. Although slavery is still with us in modern variants, our predecessors exploded the belief that slavery was in the natural order of things, and a problem too complex to be tackled. And I also remind people that even if our action only succeeds in making a difference at the margins of this vast problem, it could mean that thousands of vulnerable people are spared this appalling violation.

    The survivors I have met have made a great impression on me by their courage to speak about their experiences and to live, raise families and hold their heads high. By standing shoulder to shoulder with civil society, communities and international organisations I believe we can match the courage of these survivors with a new international resolve to confront and one day even end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war.










    From The Telegraph U.K.

    William Hague recruits Angelina Jolie in campaign against rape in warzones

    Angelina Jolie flew into the UK today to support William Hague’s difficult mission to tackle sexual violence and rape in wazones, reports Cathy Newman.

    William Hague meeting Angelina Jolie, UN envoy, today at Wilton Park - a grand pile in Sussex owned by the Foreign Office.
    Image 1 of 2
    William Hague meeting Angelina Jolie, UN envoy, today at Wilton Park - a grand pile in Sussex owned by the Foreign Office. Photo: WILLIAM HAGUE

    By , Presenter, Channel 4 News
    3:42PM GMT 14 Nov 2012

    Wilton Park is a grand pile in Sussex owned by the Foreign Office. It was used in the war to interrogate German prisoners of war. However, today it's the mandarins who are being held captive - or at least captivated - by a woman of German descent: none other than the Hollywood A-lister Angelina Jolie.
    If it sounds like a film plot, it might as well be. Because Ms Jolie's recent film, In the Land of Blood and Honey, dealt with the traumatic subject of sexual violence in warzones, and that's why she's jetted in today - to support the Government's global campaign on the issue.

    William Hague joked to the assembled company of global experts attending a special conference on the issue that she was "checking up on whether we have lived up to our promises".
    As a statement of good intent, the Foreign Secretary is about to deploy a 70-strong team of police, lawyers, psychologists, doctors and forensic experts to gather evidence of rape and other sexual crimes committed in warzones.

    The Foreign Office has also pledged £1m to help UN efforts to secure justice for victims.
    There's an urgency about all this. As I've blogged before, 50,000 women were raped in Bosnia it's thought, and possibly as many as 400,000 in Rwanda. But it's also happening right now to thousands of women in Syria.

    As Ms Jolie said today, sexual violence as a weapon of war "has almost become a rule rather than an exception".

    What's also important to remember is that one of the most senior men in the Cabinet is taking this on. There are those who say it's difficult for a man to talk about things like rape. But if the rape of grandmothers, mothers, children - and yes men too - is something the men round the cabinet table leave to their (by and large) more junior, female colleagues the risk is the issue becomes marginalised. Even more so because of the dearth of women in the upper echelons of Government – something not lost on Mr Hague.

    There may be those who are cynical about the Ms Jolie’s involvement. But by securing the backing of a global star, who let's not forget is also a UN envoy, the Foreign Office has been able to publicise an atrocity - raising awareness about the scale of the problem and helping remove some of the stigma surrounding it.






    . : my encounter with Angelina Jolie's film In the Land of Blood and Honey galvanised me into starting this new UK initiative 
     7:21 AM - 14 Nov 12


    . : I am grateful to Anglina Jolie for her support in our efforts on in
     7:22 AM - 14 Nov 12
    We are focussing our efforts on accountability and justice, and on increasing the number of prosecutions for these crimes 
    in will be one of my top priorities for meeting of Foreign Ministers in April 
    we have recruited 70 people for our team of experts - police, lawyers, psychologists & doctors experts 
     each deployment will be tailored to meet local needs and circumstances
    we have proposed an international protocol on investigation of in
     standardised guidelines would be practical response to improve evidence base for in prosecutions
    justice needs to be viewed in fullest sense. Means many things to survivors of - reparation, medical care
    need to understand in broadest sense, in terms of women's rights, education and participation
     we need better coordination to address in and to match international and domestic requirements
     we need to shift balance of shame away from survivors to perpetrators of in
    we need to break down stigma of in by talking about it  
    we are increasing our own capabilities, support to & raising profile of need to confront in
    survivors I have met have impressed me by their courage to speak about their experiences of in
    by standing with civil society, communities & international organisations we can match their courage
    with a new international resolve to confront and one day end the use of as weapon of war and
    8:00 AM - 14 Nov 12





     
    Tough gig being Foreign Sec. Another day for , another meeting with Angelina Jolie. 
    7:30 AM - 14 Nov 12




     From the Foreign  & Commonwealth Office, UK

    Wilton Park conference on preventing sexual violence in conflict and post-conflict situations

    14 November 2012
    Speaking before the conference Foreign Secretary William Hague said: "Shattering the culture of impunity for those who use rape as a weapon of war is the next great global challenge of our generation."
    Foreign Secretary William Hague
    Today, the Foreign Secretary will attend and deliver the keynote speech on the final afternoon of a Wilton Park Conference on “Preventing sexual violence in conflict and post-conflict situations”.

    Following his announcement in May that Britain would set up a specialist team of experts that could be deployed to conflict areas to support UN missions and local civil society to investigate allegations of sexual violence, gather evidence and help build the capabilities of other nations, the Foreign Secretary will today announce that the specialist team now consists of 70 people and is ready to deploy overseas in the near future.

    Those recruited for the team include police, lawyers, psychologists, doctors, forensic experts, gender-based violence experts and experts in the care and protection of survivors and witnesses.

    The Foreign Secretary will also announce additional funding of more than £¼ million over a three year period to the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations and the Department of Field Support to develop policies, guidance and training for use by UN peacekeepers as first responders to incidents of sexual violence.

    Speaking about the conference, the Foreign Secretary said:

    "I believe that a critical mass of public opinion has now begun to build up against the use of rape as a weapon of war in many countries. My experience as a politician leads me to believe that this is the moment to mobilise global public opinion and to rally the efforts of nations, in the same way that we have mustered the will to ban the use of landmines and cluster munitions, and are on the verge of securing an international Arms Trade Treaty. Shattering the culture of impunity for those who use rape as a weapon of war is the next great global challenge of our generation. It is a cause whose time has come.”

    Participants at today’s conference are drawn from over 25 countries and include ministers and senior practitioners and experts.

    The conference which includes sessions on the international normative framework; addressing impunity; early warning indicators; strengthening justice mechanisms; and communications, was also attended by the following:


    • Mrs Zainab Bangura, UN Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict
    • Margot Wallstrom, - the former Special Representative
    • Madeleine Rees, Secretary-General of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom
    • Dr Mukwege from the Panzi hospital in the DRC
    • Serge Brammertz, a prosecutor from the ICTY
    • Angelina Jolie, Special Envoy of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees

    Angelina Jolie, Special Envoy of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees said:

    “I am delighted to be working with Foreign Secretary Hague again on the United Kingdom’s initiative on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict. In many conflicts, sexual violence is used as a tactic of war, intended to hurt not only a single individual,  but their family, their community , their ethnic group. Today this  has almost become a rule rather than an exception, and we all must work together  to  combat the impunity and ensure justice for the victims.” 


     
    Looking forward to visit, where world's leading experts are discussing our initiative to stop rape/ in war


     
    Fascinating day , joined by Angelina Jolie for conf. on preventing in . FS speech:
     
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    Tuesday, May 29, 2012

    Foreign Office Visit HQ Photos + Videos





    Foreign Office video of AJ speech



    Foreign Secretary's speech




    Telegraph highlights video


    Similar video at link



    "Angelina Jolie has found a way not only to bear witness to suffering but to do something about it" Amb Susman


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    UK initiative on preventing sexual violence in conflict

    All photos below are HQ, click image to see full size





    United States Ambassador Louis B. Susman speaking at the launch of the UK initiative on preventing sexual violence in conflict, 29 May 2012.














    Foreign Secretary William Hague with the Director of “In the Land of Blood and Honey” and Special Envoy to the UN High Commissioner on Refugees, Ms Angelina Jolie meeting with Secretary of State for Defence Philip Hammond, Foreign Office Minister Jeremy Browne, Home Office Minister Lynne Featherstone and Minister of State for International Development Alan Duncan in London, 29 May 2012.














    HQ Celebrity

    Angelina Jolie joins forces with the Coalition Government

    Lynne Featherstone

    William Hague announced a new initiative last night  -  a UK task force of experts is to be created to go into conflict zones to get the evidence to enable prosecutions against those who perpetrate sexual violence and rape as a weapon of war.
    As Minister for tackling Violence against women and girls overseas I am proud of this commitment by us as a government to tackle this most horrendous of crimes. It is hugely important in substance, because experts will now

    collect evidence in conflict zones to enable prosecutions to be successfully brought to end the dreadful impunity that has protected war criminals from facing the consequences of their actions.
    The Government will also use the UK presidency of the G8 next year to promote practical ways of tackling sexual violence in war zones.
    Sexual violence and rape as a weapon of war are of such a scale as to be virtually unbelievable. United Nations statistics show that worldwide one in five women will become a victim of rape or attempted rape in her lifetime.
    Angelina Jolie’s film ‘In the land of blood and honey’ tells the story of the indiscriminate rape of Croats and Muslims during the Bosnia War in the most powerful way.  The film was screened at the Foreign Office with an invited audience of those who work in this field – and Angelina herself was there to introduce and talk about her work.
    I was able to meet Ms Jolie together with the Foreign Secretary, the Defence Secretary, Alan Duncan and Jeremy Browne for a discussion on our new initiative and her work in tackling sexual violence.
    She is an extremely intelligent and articulate woman – and has thankfully shone a brilliant light into a very very dark corner. I hope many many people go and see her hugely powerful film.


    Angelina Jolie has arrived for the launch of the UK initiative on tackling sexual violence in conflict. Follow highlights of the launch here
    1:14 PM - 29 May 12



    Turns out Angelina Jolie was at too!


    Foreign Secretary launches new Government initiative to prevent sexual violence in conflict

    29 May 2012
    Foreign Secretary William Hague will speak at the launch of the Government initiative on preventing sexual violence in conflict, and the screening of the film "In the Land of Blood and Honey".

    Speaker: Foreign Secretary William Hague
    Event: Launch of HMG initiative on preventing sexual violence in conflict
    Location: Foreign & Commonwealth Office

    Foreign Secretary William Hague
    He will say:

    "Ambassadors, my Lords, Ladies and Gentlemen; good evening and welcome to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
    “We are here to launch of the British Government’s new initiative on preventing sexual violence in armed conflict, in the presence of our very special guests this evening. When we think of armed conflict, we think of battlefields, soldiers in arms and tanks. But wars tragically are also about civilians, particularly women and children, caught on the margins of the battlefield yet at the centre of warfare.
    “Rape and other forms of sexual violence have been used as weapons against women in conflicts the world over.
    This was brought home to me most starkly when I met women in refugee camps in Darfur who had been viciously assaulted when collecting firewood to cook for their children, and the survivors of Srebrenica – the worst atrocity on European soil since the end of the Second World War.
    “All these women told me of the unspeakable violence perpetrated against them. They talked to me of their rights unfulfilled and violated; their desire for justice for themselves, for their children and families, and above all their desire for peace. I was shocked for example when I learnt that only around 30 people have been convicted so far for the up to 50,000 rapes committed during the war in Bosnia in the 1990s.
    “And there are chilling reports of rape in Syria today along with the murder, torture and repression of thousands of innocent civilians. As Foreign Secretary, I am appalled by the scale of sexual violence against women, men and children in situations of conflict and repression – ranging from opportunistic acts of brutality to deliberate torture and systematic campaigns of ethnic cleansing.
    “It is my firm conviction that tackling sexual violence is central to conflict prevention and peace-building worldwide. It must be as prominent in foreign policy as it is in development policy, for the two cannot be separated. And it also cannot be separated from wider issues of women’s rights.
    “We will not succeed in building sustainable peace in conflict areas unless we give the issue of sexual violence the centrality it deserves; alongside the economic and political empowerment of women and their vital role in peace-building.
    “For where there is no justice and accountability, the seeds of future violence are sown and human development is held back. I pay tribute to the huge amount of dedicated work by the UN and its agencies and by NGOs over the last decade: providing care and sexual health support on the ground, raising global awareness, pursuing ground-breaking legal cases and working with member states to frame vital UN Security Council Resolutions on women, peace and security, including Resolutions 1325 and 1820.
    “I know that many of our guests tonight have devoted years of their careers to these issues. Thanks to you and your colleagues around the world, we build on strong foundations. But we need to do still more together.
    “We are honoured that Ms Angelina Jolie, Special Envoy of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, has joined us this evening, for discussions with my Ministerial colleagues and to speak at this event. For more than ten years she has worked to highlight the plight of refugees worldwide in Haiti, Somalia, Sudan, Afghanistan, Syria, Libya and many other countries; to support numerous charitable causes, and to promote education, justice and the rights of women worldwide.
    “Ms Jolie, we are very grateful to you for coming and for allowing us to screen your film ‘In the Land of Blood and Honey’.   I also thank Zana Marjanovic, Goran Kostic and Vanesa Glodjo for their courageous participation in this remarkable film, and for travelling to be here tonight.  In the film you bring to life the devastating consequences of international inaction in the face of conflict, the appalling human rights abuses that stem from it; and the impact on the lives of women.
    “It is a rallying-call that none of us can ignore. Today, I want publicly to renew the British Government’s commitment to tackling sexual violence in armed conflict. We want to work to find practical ways to ensure that survivors feel confident to speak out, and are able to regain the dignity and rights that are due to them.
    “We want to see a significant increase in the number of successful prosecutions for these crimes, so that we erode and eventually demolish the culture of impunity and establish a new culture of deterrence in its place. We want to use Britain’s influence and diplomatic network to rally sustained international action and to push this issue up the global agenda.
    “So to that end, we will set up a new UK team of experts devoted to combating and preventing sexual violence in armed conflict. This team will be able to be deployed overseas at short notice to gather evidence and testimony that can be used to support investigations and prosecutions.
    “It will draw on the skills of doctors, lawyers, police, psychologists, forensic specialists and experts in the care and protection of victims and witnesses. It will significantly strengthen the specialist capabilities that we are able to bring to bear on these issues as the United Kingdom.
    “The team will be available to support UN and other international missions, and to provide training and mentoring to national authorities to help them develop the right laws and capabilities. It will also be able to work on the frontline with grassroots organisations, local peace builders and human rights.
    “I can also announce that we will use Britain’s Presidency of the G8, starting on January 1st 2013, to run a year-long diplomatic campaign on preventing sexual violence in armed conflict.  We will use the crucial seven months before our Presidency to build real momentum around this initiative.
    “Within that time, we will have brought the new UK Team fully into operation. And we will have worked with the UN and our NGO partners to develop specific detailed initiatives for our G8 Presidency and beyond.  And we are delighted by the positive response this initiative has received from our friends and NGO partners so far.
    “Confronted by the greatest ills of our world it is all too easy to be overwhelmed and to turn away. But none of the strides we have made in human rights would ever have been possible without high ambition and resolute determination – from the abolition of the slave trade to the global arms trade treaty we hope to see concluded this summer. And I am confident that working with you all we can bring new energy and leadership to tackling this vital issue, and to advancing justice and human rights worldwide.”



    Remarks at the British-American Business Council Transatlantic Gala Dinner

    Ambassador Susman's Remarks at the FCO Screening of Angelia Jolie Film “In the Land of Blood and Honey”

    29 May 2012
    Ambassador Susman:  Thank you.  I would like to begin by reading the letter (PDF, 1 page) that Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton sent for this  occasion.

    As the American Ambassador, I would also like to express our admiration for the work of American film director, Angelina Jolie.  She has  distinguished herself as a talented actress in countless films, and as a tireless supporter of humanitarian causes.

    Whether founding an organization to provide free legal aid to children seeking asylum, or serving as a goodwill ambassador for the United  Nations High Commission on Refugees, Angelina Jolie has found a way – not only to bear witness to suffering – but to do something about it.

    Her debut behind the camera as the director of tonight’s film has already won her a Stanley Kramer award for work that draws attention to  injustice and social issues.

    I join Secretary of State Clinton in praising Foreign Secretary William Hague and this UK initiative.  And I thank Angelina Jolie for  lending her clear voice and her compelling vision to the effort. 



     
    Just saw Angelina Jolie at an event. She is stunning !!!


     
    Just got text from housemate “will be late as have function with Angelina Jolie and Queen Noor of Jordan” what a marvellous job he has


     
    I'm at the Foreign Office with ANGELINA JOLIE for private screening of her film In the Land of Blood&Honey. My career is downhill from here.


     
    Angelina Jolie and : a powerful combination! UK and UN join forces fighting sexual violence in conflict


    Angelina Jolie In L’Agence – ‘In The Land of Blood and Honey’ London Screening


    Angelina Jolie was London for the screening of her newest movie, ‘In the Land of Blood and Honey’ yesterday afternoon.
    The actress joined forces with Foreign Secretary William Hague at the Foreign Commonwealth Office to launch a dedicated British team to combat and prevent sexual violence overseas ahead of the film’s screening.
    For the occasion the actress wore a navy L’Agence long sleeve wrap dress.
    The belted dress was simply styled with a matching navy pumps and small gold hooped earrings.
    Even with minimal makeup she is still devastatingly beautiful.


     


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