Angelina Jolie Visits Africa with William Hague in a campaign to End Rape

Angelina Jolie has called for an end to the "impunity" of those who carry out rape in warzones on a visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo with William Hague.
The Hollywood actress and the British Foreign Secretary are in the country to speak to survivors of sexual violence and meet political leaders.

Their joint trip comes after they met in London last year and launched the UK's Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative.

Jolie said: "It's often that we speak about the drama and the pain and the horrors of the Congo but it's also a wonderful place with extraordinary people.

"The big message is that this initiative started by the Foreign Secretary is extraordinary, but what we're here to do is to try to scale it up and make this a worldwide focus.

"It's been going on in every war, every crisis and it's often an afterthought - and it's due time to end this, and put an end to impunity, and they deserve it."

The pair intend to call on all governments to help eradicate sexual violence in conflicts.

Jolie's 2011 film In The Land Of Blood And Honey depicted the experiences of women in the infamous rape camps set up during ethnic cleansing in Bosnia-Herzegovina, and was a catalyst for the UK initiative, the Foreign Office said.

The actress and mother of six has highlighted the plight of refugees worldwide for over a decade in her role as a UN High Commissioner for Refugees Special Envoy.

The visit comes three weeks before the foreign ministers meet in London with their counterparts in the US, France, Canada, Japan, Germany, Russia and Italy for the annual meeting of the G8.

Mr Hague and Jolie will urge G8 members to agree landmark measures to secure justice for survivors of sexual violence and deter perpetrators.

He said: "Sexual violence in conflict has to be resolved if conflicts are going to be resolved, because when rape is used as a weapon of war it makes communities harder to bring together, and much harder for people to get on with their lives afterwards."