The actress addressed the UN at the organisation's headquarters in the US
Angelina Jolie made her debut before the United Nations Security Council in New York yesterday to appeal to the world's nations to make the fight against rape in war a top priority.
The Oscar-winning actress, who attended the meeting with the UN's most powerful body at the organisation's headquarters as part of her role as a special envoy for refugees, said that sexual violence in conflicts had yet to be treated as a 'serious priority' and that 'hundreds of thousands if not millions of women, children and men have been raped in conflicts in our lifetimes'.
She told the council: 'You set the bar. If the ... council sets rape and sexual violence in conflict as a priority it will become one and progress will be made. If you do not, this horror will continue.'
British Foreign Secretary William Hague, who presided over the meeting, added: 'In conflicts in nearly every corner of the globe, rape is used systematically and ruthlessly, in the almost certain knowledge that there will be no consequences for the perpetrators.'
The Security Council then adopted a legally binding resolution demanding the complete and immediate cessation of all acts of sexual violence by all parties to armed conflict. The UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, also paid tribute to Angelina for her campaigning work.
The UN meeting comes just days after the actress visited Syrian refugees at a Jordanian military camp to mark World Refugee Day. The trip marked the actress' first humanitarian work since she announced last month that she had undergone a double mastectomy after discovering that she had inherited a genetic mutation that increases her risk of developing breast cancer.
In other Angelina news, reports surfaced today claiming that the actress and partner Brad Pitt are planning to expand their brood, yet again. According to The Sun newspaper, the couple would like to adopt a baby girl, possibly from Jordan after Angie visited Syrian refugees in the country, as well as have one more biological child. The Hollywood stars already have three adopted and three biological kids.
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