The AU Summit in Johannesburg had a special visitor on Friday as the Special Envoy of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, actress Angelina Jolie, was part of a high level panel that included AU commission chair Dlamini Zuma.
The actress spoke about rape as a weapon of warfare and asked African representatives to support women’s rights
Fifty million people have been displaced by war today, more than half of whom are women and children, she said.
In Africa, sexual violence is being treated as a lesser crime with greater levels of impunity, as armed groups on the continent use it as a weapon of war, Jolie noted.
Sexual crimes against women are becoming the weapon of choice for armed groups all over the world because these often happen without punishment, she said.
“The near total impunity that exists worldwide for crimes against women in conflict zones in particular means women and girls are bearing the brunt of extremists that revel in treating them barbarically,” Jolie said.
Although there is much more awareness of women’s rights today and much good work, progress is slow, she noted.
The AU Commission Chairwoman Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, said women should play their role in efforts to end conflicts.
Women must be at the negotiating table when countries seek to resolve civil conflicts, Dlamini-Zuma said.
Women’s voice must be heard and taken into account in efforts to achieve true peace and stability, she added.
This year’s AU Summit, under the theme “Year of Women Empowerment and Development towards Africa’s Agenda 2063”, started on June 7 and will end on June 15.
