UNHCR Special Envoy Angelina Jolie and the U.K.'s Foreign Secretary William Hague are currently in Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo to visit with survivors of rape and sexual violence and the local organizations and UN groups supporting them.
The pair aim to "highlight the terrible human cost of war zone rape and to call for Governments worldwide to address this neglected and growing problem." The joint visit continues the work they started in May of 2012, when William Hague and Angelina Jolie launched a new UK campaign to prevent conflict zone rape and sexual violence.
Jolie added in a statement:
"This visit is about hearing first hand from people who have endured rape and sexual violence during the conflict in the Eastern DRC. We want to identify ways in which the international community can help them to rebuild their lives. We want to learn the lessons that their experience holds for how the world can protect thousands of women, men and children at risk of rape in many other conflict zones. And we want to persuade Governments around the world to give this issue the attention it deserves. Unless the world acts, we will always be reacting to atrocities, treating survivors rather than preventing rape in the first place. I welcome the United Kingdom’s efforts to galvanize the international action that is so desperately needed."
In three weeks Foreign Ministers of the United Kingdom, the United States, France, Canada, Japan, Germany, Russia and Italy will in London for the annual G8 summit, and Hague and Jolie are calling on the politicians to agree to "landmark measures to secure justice for survivors of sexual violence and deter perpetrators."
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