Closing
Remarks by Angelina
Jolie, UN Special Envoy for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, at Global
Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict
13 June 2014
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 warzone sexual violence, and we’ve mapped out every
area of action we need to take.
There is no doubt, after these
four days, that we know what to do:
We need to entrench the International Protocol, so that we begin
to deter these crimes and end impunity.
We need to put survivors in the
forefront of our efforts – not as victims, but as inspiring and resilient
people who can guide us to the right choices and decisions.
We need to pool our expertise and
close the gaps in our laws and capabilities.
I thank everyone who has played a
part and shared their wisdom, from Presidents to practitioners in the field.
But our work is just beginning.
The test we now face is whether
we can make a difference on the ground.
And we need to act urgently.
There are thousands of people
living in the shadows of sexual violence at this very moment.
There are conflicts where rape is
openly incited.
Young lives are being ruined by
sexual violence in in Syria, South Sudan and Central African Republic, as we
gather here, as we speak.
For people in those countries,
the actions we have promised cannot come soon enough.
For them, shattering impunity
must begin now.
I hope that all of us, having met
survivors here, will understand the true urgency of this situation.
We can never again plead
ignorance – we know what is at stake – and we must work to end impunity in
those conflicts now.
For this to happen, warzone rape
must remain at the top of the international agenda – at the Security Council,
in regional bodies, and in the foreign policy of each of the countries gathered
here today.
Whether or not that happens is
down to us.
Now that we have taken up our
responsibility, we must never put it down again.
I have been inspired by the
number of male leaders who have shown that they are now proud to champion this
cause.
My message to you is: Please do
not go silent.
Raise your voices, and use your
influence to inspire the next generation of men to value and honour women.
I leave this Summit inspired and
full of resolve for the future.
We will not succeed in
eradicating warzone rape overnight.
But if we bring together all of
our efforts, if we can share what we have learned and inspire others to join us,
if we can keep in the front of our minds each of the survivors that we have met
here, and think of all the activists and doctors who are returning not to
comfortable offices but to the frontlines of this struggle, then I know we will
find the strength to stay the course for the future – and we can and will end
impunity.
Thank you. |
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