Remarks by EU High Representative at the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict

 

“Ladies and Gentlemen,

Let me begin by saying to William Hague and to Angelina Jolie thank you.

Thank you not just for bringing us all here today, but for all of the efforts that you have put in over years to bring us this to this moment and to put the prevention of sexual violence in conflict high on the international agenda. Because ending the silence on this issue is the first step towards stopping it.

Today as you said it is about our willingness to take more steps, to protect those who are at risk, to assist those who have been targeted and to end the impunity of those who commit these crimes.

We know that these terrible crimes feed on areas of instability. We have seen the escalation of sexual violence in Sudan, in Mali, in Colombia, and in the Democratic Republic of Congo and in Libya to name just a few examples. And we know that only by acting together can we stop it.
From the European Union, so many nations of the EU represented here today, we have been working with individual countries, with the United Nations, with the African Union and with other organisations to bring about change.

Europa.ba