A four-day summit entitled ‘End Sexual Violence in Conflict’ closed this week in London, with British Foreign Secretary William Hague and Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie rallying international support for rape victims in war.
The tears, smiles, smooches and flash photography suggested a great blow for human rights had been achieved – by a combination of sturdy British diplomacy and Hollywood star power.
“This is one of the great mass crimes of the 20th century and the 21st century, sadly,” Hague said at the conference, which was attended by representatives from over 100 countries.
“If anything, this is getting worse – war-zone rape as a weapon of war, used systematically and deliberately against civilian populations,” added Britain’s top diplomat.
Hague and his Oscar-winning celebrity companion are calling for special prosecution measures to track down war-zone rapists.
The focus on sexual violence against civilians in conflicts is, of course, in itself laudable. Who could possibly find fault with such an initiative to stamp out this particularly vile crime against humanity?
But surely the most effective way of ending rape and sexual violence in wars is to end wars and the making of war in the first place. In other words, instead of merely focusing on ending rape of individuals, how about ending the rape of whole countries and their people, from which so many crimes against humanity stem?
Complete story at - Finian Cunningham - Mr Hague, How about Ending the Rape of Whole Countries? - Strategic Culture Foundation
The tears, smiles, smooches and flash photography suggested a great blow for human rights had been achieved – by a combination of sturdy British diplomacy and Hollywood star power.
“This is one of the great mass crimes of the 20th century and the 21st century, sadly,” Hague said at the conference, which was attended by representatives from over 100 countries.
“If anything, this is getting worse – war-zone rape as a weapon of war, used systematically and deliberately against civilian populations,” added Britain’s top diplomat.
Hague and his Oscar-winning celebrity companion are calling for special prosecution measures to track down war-zone rapists.
The focus on sexual violence against civilians in conflicts is, of course, in itself laudable. Who could possibly find fault with such an initiative to stamp out this particularly vile crime against humanity?
But surely the most effective way of ending rape and sexual violence in wars is to end wars and the making of war in the first place. In other words, instead of merely focusing on ending rape of individuals, how about ending the rape of whole countries and their people, from which so many crimes against humanity stem?
Complete story at - Finian Cunningham - Mr Hague, How about Ending the Rape of Whole Countries? - Strategic Culture Foundation
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