Angelina Jolie Releases Statement in Defense of Syrian Children
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- Published on Saturday, 24 August 2013 09:57
- Written by Just Jared
Angelina Jolie has released a statement about the children of Syria and the horrific conditions they are subject to in order to raise awareness in the international community.“What is happening to the children of Syria is sickening,” the 38-year-old actress and UNHCR Special Envoy said in a statement (via E! News). “Thousands of innocent young boys and girls have lost their lives in horrific circumstances, including in recent attacks near Damascus. And now one million Syrian children are struggling to survive as refugees in heart-breaking conditions.”“Each one of these child refugees is an innocent victim of a senseless conflict. These vulnerable children need shelter, food and assistance. But above all, they need security,” Angelina added.Angelina then urged, “The international community must not look away from Syria, they must renew the search for peace with urgency and determination.” To find out more about Angelina‘s work and her cause, visit the UNHCR website.
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Angelina Jolie urges an end to rape in war
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- Published on Tuesday, 25 June 2013 06:51
- Written by CBS News
Actress Angelina Jolie made her debut before the U.N.'s most powerful body as a special envoy for refugees Monday and urged the world's nations to make the fight against rape in war a top priority.She told the Security Council that "hundreds of thousands — if not millions — of women, children and men have been raped in conflicts in our lifetimes."Jolie, a goodwill ambassador for the U.N. high commissioner for refugees, said the Security Council has witnessed 67 years of wars and conflict since it was established "but the world has yet to take up war-zone rape as a serious priority.""You set the bar," she told the council. "If the ... council sets rape and s e x ual 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, stressed that "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."Soon after Jolie spoke, the council adopted a legally-binding resolution demanding the complete and immediate cessation of all acts of sexual violence by all parties to armed conflict. It noted that s e x ual violence can constitute a crime against humanity and a contributing act to genocide, called for improved monitoring of sexual violence in conflict, and urged the U.N. and donors to assist survivors.Jolie, who has traveled extensively in her role as goodwill ambassador, recalled several of the survivors she had met — the mother of a five-year-old girl raped outside a police station in Goma in eastern Congo, and a Syrian woman she spoke to in Jordan last week who asked to hide her name and face "because she knew that if she spoke out about the crimes against her she would be attacked again, and possibly killed."Jolie pleaded with the Security Council — and all countries — to implement the resolution and not let the issue drop."Meet your commitments, debate this issue in your parliaments, mobilize people in your countries, and build it into all your foreign policy efforts," she urged. "Together, you can turn the tide of global opinion, shatter impunity and finally put an end to this abhorrence."Secretary-General Ban paid tribute to Jolie for being the voice of millions forced to flee their homes "and now for the many survivors of wartime rape whose bodies have been used as battlegrounds."
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Angelina Jolie: World Refugee Day Press Conference in Jordan
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- Published on Friday, 21 June 2013 04:32
- Written by Just Jared
Angelina Jolie sits in front of an audience at a press conference to mark World Refugee Day in Al-Zaatari Refugee Camp for Syrian refugees on Thursday (June 20) near Mafraq, Jordan.The 38-year-old actress and UNHCR Special Envoy was joined at the front table by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres and Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide.“I appeal to the world leaders – please, set aside your differences, unite to end the violence, and make diplomacy succeed,” Angelina said at the event (via the New York Daily News).Earlier in the week, Angelina met with some refugees and listened to their stories.
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Angelina Jolie visits Syrian border
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- Published on Wednesday, 19 June 2013 16:31
- Written by UNHCR
Jaber border crossing, Jordan--Along a dirt track on an unexpectedly cool and windy night on Jordan's border with Syria, as shadows lengthened across the barren hills, UNHCR Special Envoy Angelina Jolie listened to the stories of men women and children who had fled Syria just hours before. She heard stories of bombs and pain and loss from people fleeing Homs, Dara'a and Qusair, three of the communities devastated by the Syrian conflict. Ms. Jolie encouraged the refugees to tell her, and through her the world, of their ordeal. "We can't know your pain," Ms. Jolie said at one point, speaking to families who had lost their loved ones. But she listened.Ms. Jolie is in Jordan to mark World Refugee Day, which each year is commemorated on June 20. She and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, António Guterres, arrived in the country on 18 June. Mr Guterres started his visit to the region in Lebanon, where he met with refugees and government officials. In Jordan, he and Ms. Jolie will meet with the government and refugees living in Jordan's cities, as well as in the sprawling Za'atri refugee camp.The purpose of her visit, said Ms. Jolie, is "to show support for Syria's refugees, to call on the world to address their plight, and to better understand needs in Jordan and other countries in the region most directly affected by this devastating conflict."At the Syrian border, Ms. Jolie heard stories of great courage and sadness. Mohammed Al-Kassem, his wife Walida and their young daughter Faten had just arrived after escaping from Qusair, the site of a bitter battle which left the town in rubble and unleashed a new wave of refugees into neighbouring countries. "In the battles and bombing, most of my friends died," he said. "There is nothing left, all was destroyed, no buildings, no medicines. Ninety five men died because their wounds became infected and there was nothing to treat them with. I was the only one of my family to escape. Those who could not flee can only wait for death."
After meeting with refugees, Ms Jolie was briefed by Maj. General Hussein Al-Zyoud, the commander of the Jordan Border Security Forces, and his staff. As they talked, shelling just across the border in Syria could be clearly heard.The war in Syria forced more people to flee last year than any other conflict in the world. In the last six months the number has more than doubled to 1.6 million, of whom 540,000 are in Jordan."The worst humanitarian crisis of the 21st century is unfolding in the Middle East today," said Ms. Jolie. "By the end of this year half of Syria's population – ten million people – are expected to be displaced and in desperate need."She urged the world to do much more to help the people of Syria. "The international response to this crisis falls short of the vast scale of this human tragedy," she said. "Much more humanitarian aid is needed, and above all, a political settlement to this conflict must be found."
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Angelina Jolie addresses G8 summit
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- Published on Thursday, 11 April 2013 18:46
- Written by USA Today
Angelina Jolie is continuing to urge action of behalf of wartime sexual assault victims. She spoke today at the G8 Foreign Ministers meeting in London.The Human Rights and Communications team at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office followed what Jolie said at a news conference and tweeted her quotes, most of which were followed by "#timetoact." Here is some of what she said:"Hundreds of thousands of women and children have been sexually assaulted in the wars of our generation. But wartime rape is not inevitable. This violence can be prevented, and it must be confronted. I have heard survivors of rape from Bosnia to (the Congo) say that the world simply does not care about them. But today I believe that their voices have been heard, and that we finally have some hope to offer them." She said, "It is encouraging to see men in leadership positions speaking out against rape. Rape is not a women's issue, or a humanitarian issue, it is a global issue."
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