British Foreign Secretary William Hague will team up with actress Angelina Jolie and travel to Africa this week to raise awareness of warzone rape.
The Foreign Office said that Hague and Jolie, who is a UN special envoy, will meet survivors of rape and sexual violence during their visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda.
ADVERTISEMENT
According to the Telegraph, the two intend to call on all governments to help eradicate sexual violence in conflicts when they meet local political leaders.
Jolie is continuing the work she started with Hague in London last year, when they launched the UK’s Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative.
Jolie said that this visit is about hearing first hand experience from people who have endured rape and sexual violence during the conflict in the Eastern DRC.
According to the report, the actress has highlighted the plight of refugees worldwide for more than a decade in her role as a UN High Commissioner for Refugees Special Envoy.
Hague said that ‘Rape is often used as a weapon of war in conflict zones around the world. It destroys people''s lives and communities in the most horrific manner imaginable’.
Hague and Jolie will urge members of the G8 to agree landmark measures to secure justice for survivors of sexual violence and deter perpetrators, the report said.
These include a new international protocol on the investigation of rape and sexual violence and an agreement that the attacks constitute grave breaches of the Geneva Convention, as well as practical commitments to tackle the violence, it added.u00a0