All men should feel “shame” at the world’s failure to prevent rape being used as a weapon in war, William Hague will warn today.
In a hard-hitting speech in Washington, the Foreign Secretary will condemn as “unmanly” the “shying away” from confronting sexual violence in conflicts.
He will tell of the 50,000 women raped in Bosnia during the Balkans war 20 years ago and who have still not seen justice for the crimes committed against them.
He was also due to highlight the “endless list of conflicts” where women, children and men have been brutally assaulted including in Rwanda, South Sudan, Somalia, Syria, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mali and Liberia.
“It is still considered unusual for a man, and a politician, to raise these issues,” Mr Hague was set to say in his speech at Georgetown University.
“But rape and sexual violence are crimes overwhelmingly committed by men. And that they should happen, while the world does nothing, should shame all men.
“Indeed to shy away from talking about these facts is in itself unmanly.”
Mr Hague and Dr Denis Mukwege, founder of the Panzi hospital in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, were today being presented with the university’s annual Hillary Rodham Clinton Awards for Advancing Women in Peace and Security.
The Foreign Secretary was due to stress how actress Angelina Jolie had been key in persuading him to take up the cause of campaigning against sexual violence in wars.
Britain will co-host a global summit in London this summer on the issue which is due to be attended by foreign ministers from 140 countries, as well as army, police and legal chiefs.
Read More
“Just as we have banned cluster munitions and landmines, so we must remove rape and sexual violence from the world’s arsenal of cruelty,” Mr Hague was due to add.
