Showing posts with label sexual violence. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sexual violence. Show all posts

Wednesday, December 23, 2020

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Tuesday, November 24, 2020








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Monday, April 22, 2019









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Friday, March 29, 2019

"Keynote address delivered by Ms. Angelina (UNHCR Special Envoy) to Member States the event UN Peacekeeping Ministerial 2019."



































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"Too often, whether or not we confront these human rights violations depends not on the law, universal standards, but on how much our governments think that their business or political interests in that country might be affected.  This is as harmful to our long term security and stability as it is unacceptable on a human and moral level."  
"None of this is to discount the efforts of the many men -- great husbands, fathers, brothers, and sons who have been with us in this fight." 










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Sunday, March 4, 2018








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Sunday, December 10, 2017










Ending gender-based violence is a vital issue of peace and security as well as of social justice. Nato can be a leader in this effort

All violence against women betrays the fundamental promise in the UN Charter of equal rights and dignity for women. It is one of the prime reasons why women remain in a subordinate position in relation to men in most parts of the world.

When this violence is committed as an act of war it tears apart families, creates mass displacement, and makes peace and reconciliation far harder to achieve. In fact, it is often designed expressly to achieve those goals as part of a military strategy.
Despite being prohibited by international law, sexual violence continues to be employed as a tactic of war in numerous conflicts from Myanmar to Ukraine and Syria to Somalia. It includes mass rape, gang rape, sexual slavery, and rape as a form of torture, ethnic cleansing and terrorism. It accounts in large part for why it is often more dangerous to be a woman in a warzone today than it is to be a soldier.
In our different roles we have seen how conflicts in which women’s bodies and rights are systematically abused last longer, cause deeper wounds and are much harder to resolve and overcome. Ending gender-based violence is therefore a vital issue of peace and security as well as of social justice.
The Nato Alliance was founded to safeguard not just the security but also the freedom of its peoples: in the words of President Harry Truman, as “a shield against aggression and the fear of aggression”. For nearly 70 years Nato has stood for collective defence against military threats. But also for the defence of democracy, individual liberty, the rule of law and the UN Charter.
We believe that Nato has the responsibility and opportunity to be a leading protector of women’s rights.
In particular, we believe Nato can become the global military leader in how to prevent and respond to sexual violence in conflict, drawing on the strengths and capabilities of its member states and working with its many partner countries.
Over the coming months we will be working together and with others to identify ways in which Nato can strengthen its contribution to women’s protection and participation in all aspects of conflict-prevention and resolution.
First, by building on Nato’s commitment to integrate gender issues into its strategic thinking as part of its values and reinforcing a culture of the integration of women throughout the organization including in leadership positions.
Nato’s senior military leaders, have a vital role to play in being positive role models, and promoting the role of women in the military.
Second, by helping to raise the standards of other militaries. Nato and Allied countries are involved every day in training partner militaries around the world. We want to explore ways in which existing training on the protection of human rights and civilians, including against sexual violence, can be strengthened.
Third, Nato has developed standard operating practices for soldiers in the field, learned through mandatory pre-deployment training. Standards and training are not the only answer, but they ensure that personnel recognize the different ways in which women and girls are affected by conflict and are trained to prevent, recognize and respond to sexual and gender-based violence.
This is a vital part of helping to create lasting cultural changes, including debunking the myths that fuel sexual violence and deepening understanding of the centrality of protection and rights for women in the creation of lasting peace and security.
Fourth, Nato already deploys gender advisers to local communities in Kosovo and Afghanistan, while Nato’s female soldiers are able to reach and engage with local communities. Stronger awareness of the role that gender plays in conflict improves military operational effectiveness and leads to improved security. Strengthening this culture can only benefit Nato’s contribution to peace and security over the long term.
Fifth, Reporting on conflict-related sexual violence is now one of the tasks of Nato commanders. Nato is also creating a reporting system to record instances of gender-based violence compatible with UN Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Arrangements.
With this data, which will be shared with the UN, Nato soldiers will be able to discern patterns and trends so that they will be able to respond more quickly to prevent potential violence. By reporting crimes and supporting work to bring perpetrators to justice, Nato can challenge the culture of impunity, including for senior leaders and those most responsible.
Nato Allies have strongly committed to put these issues front and center every day, in how they train soldiers, in how they operate in the field, and in how they interact with civilians who find themselves in combat zones.
We will also be urging more concerted action in the wider world. By working together with business, civil society, governments and political leadership writ large, international organizations such as Nato can help lead the way toward ending impunity for sexual violence in conflict.
It is humanity’s shame that violence against women, whether in peaceful societies or during times of war, has been universally regarded as a lesser crime. There is finally hope that we can change this. We owe it to ourselves – men and women alike – and to future generations.

Jens Stoltenberg is NATO Secretary General. Angelina Jolie is co-founder of the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative


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Monday, June 29, 2015










Angelina Jolie Pitt joins Baroness Anelay to chart next steps on tackling sexual violence



Baroness Anelay, the Prime Minister’s Special Representative on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict (PSVI), held talks with the Special Envoy of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Angelina Jolie Pitt, and the African Union Chairperson, Madame Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma.
Baroness Anelay and Special Envoy Jolie Pitt agreed the importance of intensifying PSVI work in conflict areas in Iraq and Syria, where UK troops have so far trained 700 peshmerga fighters in preventing and responding to sexual violence.
Together with Madame Zuma, they agreed to do more to challenge attitudes to sexual violence, support victims and empower women in conflict-affected areas, building in particular on the leading work of the African Union. Baroness Anelay announced £700,000 of new funding to support the African Union’s Gender, Peace and Security programme. The programme includes training to AU peacekeepers in the prevention of and response to sexual violence and promotes the increased participation of women in peace building and conflict resolution across the continent.
Following the meeting Baroness Anelay said:
I am pleased to work alongside the Special Envoy and Madame Zuma to fight the scourge of sexual violence in conflict. Since the Global Summit last year we have achieved much; but there is more to do. The UK has set out its priorities for the next stage of our work, and reaffirmed its leadership in ending this appalling crime once and for all.
Special Envoy of the UN High Commission for Refugees Angelina Jolie Pitt said:
I am delighted that Baroness Anelay has been appointed the Prime Minister’s Special Representative on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict and that the UK government continues to lead on this initiative. I am looking forward to working with the UK government and international partners like the African Union to prioritise this issue and change laws, attitudes and support for survivors around the world.

Notes to Editors

Since the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict, the UK has provided training in prevention and response to sexual violence to 100 AU and UN peacekeepers and 700 Kurdish peshmerga. The UK Team of PSVI Experts has been deployed worldwide, including to the Syrian border, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo and the DRC. Over £20 million of funding has been allocated to PSVI-related work, such as supporting grassroots and human rights organisations, the work of the AU and UN and the International Criminal Court’s Trust Fund for Victims.
So far in 2015 over £6 million of funding has been announced for PSVI-related programmes. This funding includes support to women’s peacekeeping teams in South Sudan, training Syrian media activists in the use of radio to empower women and engage men in overturning social norms around the reporting of sexual violence, and provision of comprehensive support to survivors of sexual violence in Bosnia, alongside integration of the International Protocol in local Bosnian institutions, such as criminal courts.







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Friday, June 26, 2015



















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Wednesday, June 24, 2015









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Tuesday, July 15, 2014







Lindsey Hilsum on International Affairs


Tuesday 15 Jul 2014

William Hague, Angelina Jolie and Britain’s imperial decline

In his wilderness years, between being leader of the Tory party in opposition and Foreign Secretary, William Hague wrote the biography of William Pitt the Younger, the prime minister who presided over Britain’s rise as a colonial power in the mid 18th century.

15 hague1 g w William Hague, Angelina Jolie and Britains imperial decline
Pitt was in power when Britain lost the war of American independence and again when it trounced Napoleon at the battle of Trafalgar. This was a time when Britain’s military and diplomatic power swayed empires, when Britannia did indeed rule the waves and – win or lose – the impact was felt across the globe. In an interview last summer Mr Hague reflected: “It’s the aftermath of empire - the withdrawal of Britain from too many places in the world, a kind of psychology of decline that we inherited, in many ways. It’s been difficult, but this is what I’ve set out to challenge in the Foreign Office.”
Alas, that was beyond the reach of any modern day British politician.
“It’s not a personal failure to make an impact but people just don’t ask the British foreign secretary to solve crises any more, not even as much as they did a decade ago,” said a recently retired ambassador.
Britain’s decline as a colonial power in the last century was matched by the rise of the US. In the cold war the choice between the US and USSR was stark, but in the period that has followed, Britain has struggled to find a role other than as US ally and disciple.
Mr Hague, like the last dozen or more foreign secretaries, has regarded the alliance with the US as more important than Britain’s role in Europe. The result is that Britain is always playing a subservient position, backing up the US, often when other European countries are reluctant. The British public, especially the tabloids, long for a time when what Britain said and did mattered, while the rest of the world looks on, somewhat baffled.
15 williampitt g w William Hague, Angelina Jolie and Britains imperial decline
“The gap between how we see ourselves and how others see us is enormous,” said the former  ambassador. “It’s a myth that the Foreign Office is a great department of state. Britain is just not relevant in the way we used to be.”
Under Labour, as the Foreign Office declined, the power and budget of the Department for International Development grew. The Tories have continued that policy, reaching the target of 0.7 per cent of GDP now being devoted to aid. As a result, Britain’s policy in Africa has become more about the dispersal of funds and less about political or diplomatic influence. If the Foreign Office has five staff in country and DfID has 20, and the latter have a huge budget and the former almost none, which would you regard as the more important?
Some mocked Mr Hague when he teamed up with the film star Angelina Jolie to campaign for an end to sexual violence in conflict. I disagree. I think that as an historian he understood the limits of his power as foreign secretary and calculated that this was an area where he could have an impact. He will continue as the prime minister’s special envoy on the subject even after he is no longer foreign secretary.
When people say his attempt to stop wartime rape is impossibly idealistic, Mr Hague frequently refers to William Wilberforce, the great 18th century campaigner who did more than anyone else to bring an end to slavery, and who happened to be a friend of Pitt the Younger. Maybe Wilberforce will be the subject of  Mr Hague’s next historical biography when he has left parliament and can think more about the glories of the past and less about the limits of modern day politics.
Follow @lindseyhilsum on Twitter
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Wednesday, July 9, 2014




glamour.com

The Guardian Angels: Angelina Jolie and the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict

by Mariane Pearl


"Thanks to women like Zainab Bangura and Angelina Jolie, we're forcing the world to stop looking away—and to recognize that sexual violence is a vile crime against humanity, not an inevitable by-product of war."
—John Kerry, United States Secretary of State




MEET THE WARRIORS: From left, Julienne Lusenge, Jineth Bedoya, Zainab Bangura, Angelina Jolie, Suraya Pakzad, and Whaku Shee. Photographed at the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict in London.


I first met Angelina Jolie through the diaries she wrote after her visits to refugee camps. I read them online, and even then—long before we became friends and watched our toddlers jumping on hotel beds together—I was fascinated by Angelina's attention to detail and her will to understand infinitely complex situations. She has traveled to more than 40 countries with the United Nations, spent untold hours reading about international justice, and come back with the horrific stories of what women undergo when the men in their countries wage war. "Everywhere I went," Angelina told me, "rape was the silent killer. But it became quickly clear to me that these women were not just the collateral damage of war. Rape was a strategic, organized scheme to destroy entire communities." Indeed, violating and torturing women, girls, toddlers, or the elderly is used as a free and efficient weapon of mass destruction—in fact, in many conflict-ridden countries, it is more dangerous to be a woman than a soldier. One study found that, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, for example, 48 women are raped every hour, and in still other countries, like Colombia, the crimes go undocumented, the women uncounted.

So today I am incredibly moved but not the least bit surprised to see Angelina prompting the world to recognize the systematic destruction of women. This past June, in her role as Special Envoy of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, she joined British Foreign Secretary William Hague in London to cochair the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict, a gathering of thousands of people from 123 countries and more than 70 foreign ministers working to crack the fortress of silence and denial surrounding rape in war zones.

Angelina knew many of the women there already from her work in the field. There were mavericks like Julienne Lusenge, one of the first women to publicly denounce the epidemic of sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. (She began her campaign of truth by walking into the local radio station and seizing the microphone.) Journalist Jineth Bedoya, who was kidnapped, tortured, and raped while investigating arms trafficking in Colombia but who continues to report on the political violence there. ("I felt like a statistic. I am doing this so that those who come after me can have a face," she says.) Zainab Bangura, who began as a grassroots organizer in Sierra Leone and who now, as a representative to the United Nations, campaigns to classify rape as a war crime. Suraya Pakzad, who, under the Taliban regime in her native Afghanistan, dared to educate girls illegally in her house and founded the Voice of Women Organization there. And Whaku Shee, who is working with the Women's League of Burma to help prevent the military from raping Burmese ethnic minorities. "We care for each other—and for each other's children," says Angelina. "It is a profound source of joy and inspiration." The feeling of kinship and solidarity is mutual: "I have never seen anybody so committed," Zainab says of Angelina. "I have been with her at the United Nations. I have walked with her in the Congo. She understands the issues very well, but more important, she listens."

Together, these six matchsticks of awareness—along with so many others like them—are building a bonfire of international indignation. At the summit more than 200 experts wrote an international protocol, the first of its kind, designed to help bring perpetrators to justice and rehabilitate victims, who are often rejected by their communities after an assault. The document was written by women alongside men—a powerful fact because, as Angelina says, "this is not a woman problem. It's a crime against humanity."

It's this understanding and commitment that makes me admire Angelina so much. She and these brave women are role models for a better world. Each is an agent of change, doing her piece to end an unbearable situation. Because, after all, this is a crime against humanity that only humanity can fix.

Journalist Mariane Pearl is the managing editor of Chime for Change and the author of A Mighty Heart: The Brave Life and Death of My Husband, Danny Pearl.







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Wednesday, June 18, 2014





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Tuesday, June 17, 2014






Maria A. Ressa
Published 4:57 PM, Jun 17, 2014
Updated 7:01 PM, Jun 17, 2014



The passion of Angelina Jolie

Angelina Jolie’s story is itself inspirational – a public transformation from the wild child whose mother allowed her a live-in boyfriend at age 14, who admitted she was bisexual and who once harmed herself

LONDON, United Kingdom – Passion can inspire change.
That’s the fundamental idea behind the unlikely partnership of British Foreign Minister William Hague and Angelina Jolie bringing global focus to sexual violence in conflict.
“Angelina brings what governments cannot bring,” said Hague. “She has the power to speak to the whole world, to raise awareness, to change attitudes.”

“That’s why I’m here,” said Tsonka Petkova at the Fringe exhibition of the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict in east London. The ExCel venue was far from the center of London, but she came because she wanted to support Angelina Jolie.



“She’s very passionate, and I want to aspire to be someone like her,” said Petkova, who has a degree in occupational and organizational psychology. Originally from Bulgaria, she’s lived most of her life in London. “She’s a global human being. She sees we’re all connected, and I want to think like that. She’s pushing us to be better.”

It was a global meeting like no other. That was what Hague promised, and that was what it was.
“Today in our networked world, relations between countries are made up of a network of ties between individuals, businesses, NGOs, campaigners,” said Hague. “That’s why I was determined that this would be a summit like no other that had ever been held, bringing together not just governments but a whole mix of people who help to drive opinion and bring expertise.”
As ministers from 123 countries met upstairs, survivors and civil society groups, non-governmental organizations set up booths downstairs – an exhibition of the suffering and help available globally. There were hundreds of discussions, music programs and plays. That was open to the public, many of whom came because of Angelina Jolie’s star power.
“I love her as an actress, and with Brad Pitt, obviously, I follow,” Petkova admitted. “I followed her travels, and I read the books she recommended, and she opened my eyes about a whole world out there, and that I can do more.”

As a member of the Philippine delegation and of media, I had access to all the sessions (some of which were closed to the public and media). I've reported on numerous summits - from the annual ASEAN, APEC, OIC, and others, but this was different. In terms of engagement and mood, the closest I could compare it to in terms of exuberance was the 1995 Beijing Women's Conference.



There was no doubt having Angelina Jolie and her partner, Brad Pitt, there had an effect.
I was sitting with the ministers’ delegation when the couple entered, and the ministers around me craned their necks for a better view. One murmured, "They're not human."

Wild child turns advocate
In many ways, Angelina Jolie’s story is itself inspirational – a public transformation from the wild child whose mother allowed her a live-in boyfriend at age 14, who admitted she was bisexual and who once harmed herself.
She is twice divorced, better known in her younger days for her tattoos, hard-drug use and a searing kiss with her brother. Not to mention, she could also be classified as a home-wrecker - after all, Brad Pitt left his wife, Jennifer Aniston, after meeting Jolie on the set of their movie, Mr. & Mrs. Smith.
But Jolie has transcended all this. The wild girl is now a woman with a cause, and she has the power to take the world with her.
Those who knew her said the transformation began in 2001 when she filmed her movie, Tomb Raiders, in Cambodia and adopted a son from there. Now she and Brad Pitt have 6 children, 3 of whom are adopted.
That was the same year she travelled to Sierra Leone as a UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador. That was when she began to immerse herself in humanitarian issues leading to at least 40 field trips to affected nations, including a recent visit to Bosnia that moved her to tears.
The tragedy in Bosnia-Herzegovina brought Jolie and Hague together in more ways than one. After Hague saw her film, he asked her to work with him.
In 2011, Jolie wrote and directed In the Land of Blood and Honey, a romance set against the backdrop of the Bosnian war from 1992-1995. Jolie immersed herself in the conflict which killed more than 100,000 people, and where the UN says up to 60,000 women were raped by men who were systematically using rape as a tool for ethnic cleansing.
On the 3rd night of the conference, Jolie introduced a screening of her film.
“I struggled to understand how it was possible for people to be capable of such crimes, and why it so often took the form of brutal sexual violence,” Jolie said. “And I was horrified by the fact that it took so long for the rest of the world to intervene to stop it. It just really seemed incomprehensible.”





During her summit statements, Jolie brought up the kidnapping of the schoolgirls in Nigeria by Boko Haram, the rapes in India and Pakistan, Liberia, the Democratic Republic of Congo.

A celebrity who listens
This is no shallow celebrity endorsement.
The same passion that drove her when she was younger is still apparent.
Jolie spent the entire 4 days in the ExCel venue talking to people, walking around the booths, visibly moved by the stories of the survivors.
At the beginning, she was swarmed, and at least 6 people in red T-shirts as well as her security, walked with her to help part the crowd, but slowly, the crowd got used to her.




A member of the Philippine delegation describes one encounter because she was right behind Jolie when a man stopped her.
“I was overwhelmed and speechless,” said the delegate. “She was so human and very, very sincere. This Congolese guy called her, ‘Angelina, Angelina.’ He said, ‘Say something about Congo,’ and she said, ‘what do you want me to say?’”
“The guy didn’t even have an ID. He wasn’t a delegate. He was part of the public. It didn’t matter to her. When the man was speaking, she said, ‘Ok, what is your message to me? What do you want me to do?’”
“She was really listening, and she knew what she was talking about. When it became sloganeering, she cut him and said, ‘Ok, you want me to say something about corruption in government’ and she mentioned other problems. She held the guy’s hand, and before they ended the conversation, she asked for his name. ‘Ok, Brando, I’ll be back here tomorrow.’”
Two nights later before her film was shown, Jolie outlined the effect she wanted to have on her audience.
“If I have a hope, it is that it will make people more understanding and more thoughtful about Bosnia-Herzegovina, which needs more support today than it is getting from the international community,” said Jolie.
“I also hope that when you watch this film, you think about Syria. It seems unthinkable that nearly 20 years after the siege of Sarajevo, we see Syrian cities like Homs and Aleppo besieged and bombarded – that 9 million Syrians have been driven from their homes and nearly 3 million refugees are in neighboring countries, all bearing stories of murder, starvation and rape.”
“And it does feel at the moment that the international community has given up on trying to restart negotiations, but our response to such desperate humanitarian suffering can never be to give up.”


At the summit close, Jolie shared the stage with US Secretary of State John Kerry and Britain’s Foreign Secretary William Hague.
Jolie’s words about Syria the night before were echoed by both men as they discussed Iraq, saying the power vacuum in Syria helped create what they have to deal with today.With the ongoing crisis in Iraq, what either man said was breaking news.
As the two men discussed possible military action and responses to the ongoing crisis, Jolie reminded the world about the core of the summit: “Warzone rape is not simply a women’s issue. It is not a humanitarian issue. It goes to the heart of international peace and security.”
It’s unprecedented to hear from a Hollywood actress at a time like that, but expect to see more because Hague described the summit as “a strong example of the future of foreign policy and how it should be conducted.”



Perhaps that's the right approach in the age of social media, when direct access to the public makes a difference, and a woman like Jolie can turn star power into a spotlight on international issues.

“We’ve all watched her play many remarkable roles,” said Kerry. “But perhaps her most lasting legacy actually comes from a role that she plays in real life, and that is the role of fierce and fearless advocate.” - Rappler.com











BBC’s John Humphrys accused of ‘everyday sexism’ by Lady Warsi

Minister attacks presenter over claim that William Hague ignored issues such as Iraq to attend summit with Angelina Jolie


Critical: Baroness Warsi accused Mr Humphrys of sexism




John Humphrys
John Humphrys has been accused of 'everyday sexism' by Tory peer Lady Warsi. Photograph: BBC
The BBC’s John Humphrys has been accused of “everyday sexism” by a government minister.
Foreign Office minister Lady Warsi was responding on Monday evening to criticism levelled at the Radio 4 Today programme presenter by Labour’s Lady Thornton.
Thornton, an opposition frontbencher speaking from the backbenches, had expressed her “irritation” at Humphrys’ comments in the programme that morning.
In a terse exchange with the foreign secretary, Humphrys suggested William Hague had been a bit “star struck” by being photographed with movie star Angelina Jolie while attending a sexual violence in war summit in London.
Critics have suggested Hague should have been focusing on the emerging crisis in Iraq instead.

 Angelina Jolie and William Hague attend the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict. Photograph: Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images
 
In the Lords during a statement on Iraq and last week’s London summit, Thornton asked if Warsi was “as irritated as I was and I’m sure other people were by the comments John Humphrys made on the Today programme this morning”.
She said: “He seemed to suggest that because Angelina Jolie is a very beautiful and famous woman, somehow that undermined her support, which has been totally admirable and long term, for this issue - and somehow that meant our foreign secretary didn’t have his eye on the ball of other issues.”
Warsi defended Hague, insisting he was “incredibly passionate” about the issue of sexual violence towards women in conflict zones.
She added: “In terms of the comments, well, you know, everyday sexism, what can we say.
“If there are men out there who believe women can’t be beautiful and brainy maybe they should read the foreign secretary’s speech in Washington last year when he said it is finally time for women to take their place at the important tables where decisions are made ...”
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Monday, June 16, 2014





dailymail

Hague dismisses 'ridiculous' claims he was starstruck hobnobbing with Pitt and Jolie while war raged in Iraq


By Matt Chorley, Mailonline Political Editor
Published: 03:55 EST, 16 June 2014 | Updated: 06:03 EST, 16 June 2014

William Hague today dismissed 'ridiculous' criticism of his decision to spend four days with Hollywood star Angelina Jolie while war raged in Iraq.
The Foreign Secretary appeared to accuse Radio 4 presenter John Humphrys of not asking intelligent questions about his appearances with Miss Jolie and her husband Brad Pitt.
Mr Hague insisted the star-studded summit to end sexual violence against women in war did not divert his attention away from the crisis of the day, stressing the UK government was 'entirely capable of doing both'.

Miss Jolie and Mr Hague launched a joint campaign in 2012 to fight sexual violence in war.
It came after she wrote and directed a film, called In the Land of Blood and Honey, in 2011 set during the Bosnian war. Up to 50,000 women were raped during the 1992-95 Bosnian war.
Last week the pair hosted a four-day summit in London, which culminated in a new international protocol which they hope will 'shatter the culture of impunity' around sexual violence in war.
However, it meant that as Islamist jihadists swept through large areas of Iraq, Mr Hague was posing for photographs with two of the world's biggest film stars.

Miss Jolie also made a trip to Downing Street, where she was pictured smiling in the sunshine with David Cameron. 
Today Mr Hague insisted the government was capable of focussing on immediate problems while also addressing long-term issues, like sexual violence in war at the summit.
He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'Anybody who thinks that should have been there, should have come along to it... This is about conflict prevention. 
'It brought together most of the world. We’re not going to solve conflicts of the many sorts we debate on this programme unless we address these appalling crimes. 
'The idea that you can never deal with long-term issues because there’s always something short-term, I always find rather ridiculous.' 




He stressed that he had been able to hold talks about Iraq with US Secretary of State John Kerry, who had been in London for the summit. 
And in apparent swipe at Mr Humphrys for even asking the question, he added: 'With respect, I think the basis of your question has less basis than most of the highly intelligent questions.'
The summit attracted delegations from 123 countries. Organisers, hope it will pave the way for more support for survivors of rape of warzones, and a commitment to bring perpetrators to justice as well as ‘raising awareness dramatically’ of the crimes across the world.
Mr Hague added: 'We’re trying to change global attitudes all over the world, which governments alone cannot do. And foreign policy today involves working with different people outside government – NGOs, civil society, people who can reach people who never listen to governments. 
'We’re trying to effect a change in attitudes of the entire world so that the terrible violence meted out to vulnerable people, particularly women all over the world, can be brought to an end or can be greatly diminished.
'And I think we should make those alliances to do that. We don’t stop doing that work because we’re dealing also with the crisis of the day. We’re entirely capable in the British government of doing both.'


At the closing ceremony of the summit on Friday, Miss Jolie said she will work with Mr Hague and others for 'as long as it takes' to prevail in the struggle of sexual violence in conflict.
She said the work begun at the summit is 'very, very much linked' with violence against women in other contexts, such as the kidnap of the schoolgirls in Nigeria or the recent rape cases in India and Pakistan. 
She added: 'One of the most heartening aspects of this summit has been to see so many male leaders prepared to confront the taboo surrounding sexual violence in conflict. Indeed I believe one of the outcomes of this summit is that this subject is now firmly on the top table of international diplomacy and we will work to ensure that it stays there…it goes to the heart of international peace and security.’
On Saturday it was announced Jolie had been made a dame by Mr Hague.







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Friday, June 13, 2014








'Fierce and fearless' Angelina Jolie shines at London summit

SCREEN icon Angelina Jolie shined in London today as US secretary of state John Kerry said she will be best remembered as a "fierce and fearless advocate".







Mr Kerry's high praise comes on the final day of the global summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict (ESVC), which Jolie has described as "an emotional experience".
The campaigner arrived at the ExCel exhibition centre in London's Docklands hand-in-hand with partner Brad Pitt and said she will continue to focus on the issue "through art" and "work on the field".
Jolie and Foreign Secretary William Hague have launched an international protocol which they hope will "shatter the culture of impunity".
So far, 155 countries have endorsed the declaration of commitment to end sexual violence in conflict.
Mr Kerry hailed the efforts of the Tomb Raider star and the Conservative politician.
 
 
US secretary of state John Kerry lauded Angelina Jolie today [REX]
 
He described Jolie, who is special envoy for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, as a "fierce and fearless advocate".
"We've all watched her play many remarkable roles, but perhaps her most lasting legacy actually comes from a role she plays in real life - and that is the role of fierce and fearless advocate," he said.
Speaking about Mr Hague, who he pointed out has travelled extensively and met those affected by sexual violence, Mr Kerry said: "He has not just seen these unspeakable horrors, but he refuses to stay silent.
"That, my friends, is leadership."
Jolie said one of the "most heartening" aspects of the summit has been seeing so many of the world's male leaders "prepared to confront the taboos" surrounding the subject.
"I believe that one of the outcomes of this summit is that this subject is now firmly on the top table of international diplomacy.
"And we will work to ensure that it stays there," she said.
 
Ffion and William Hague sit beside Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt at today's summit [REX]
 
Jolie said she will work with Mr Hague and others for "as long as it takes" to prevail in the struggle against sexual violence in conflict.
She said the work begun at the summit is "very, very much linked" with violence against women in other contexts, such as the kidnap of the schoolgirls in Nigeria or the recent rape cases in India and Pakistan.
In a speech, Jolie said: "For me, and I suspect for many of you, this summit has been an emotional experience.
"We have all come together based on a common desire to end war zone sexual violence, and we have mapped out every area of action we need to take."
The actress said there is "no doubt" that it was now known what has to be done.
Mr Hague described the last three days as "remarkable", and said the summit has "opened the eyes of the world to this issue".









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