LONDON: US Secretary of State John Kerry said it was time to banish sexual violence “to the dark ages” as an international conference on rape in warzones wrapped up in London yesterday.
The four-day gathering of 123 countries, co-hosted by Hollywood star Angelina Jolie and British Foreign Secretary William Hague, has produced a series of proposals to end rape in conflict and to better document attacks to try to increase the number of successful prosecutions.
“It’s time to ban sexual violence to the dark ages and history books where it belongs,” Kerry said at the closing press conference alongside Jolie and Hague.
“Make no mistake: we can end this, establish new norms, hold those who commit those acts accountable and no longer tolerate these horrific tactics.” Kerry said as a “war veteran and father of two daughters”, the issue was a “personal matter” for him.
Jolie said she was encouraged by the conference, especially by the fact that “so many male leaders from across the world were prepared to confront the taboos surrounding sexual violence in conflict”.
AFP
