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| Sexual violence in war: Summit begins in London | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| A four-day summit on sexual violence in war has begun in London, hosted by UK Foreign Secretary William Hague and UN Special Envoy Angelina Jolie. | |
| The event - the largest-ever of its kind - is the result of an intense two-year campaign to raise awareness. | The event - the largest-ever of its kind - is the result of an intense two-year campaign to raise awareness. |
| Mr Hague said rape was one of the "great mass crimes" of modern times. | Mr Hague said rape was one of the "great mass crimes" of modern times. |
| He has called on the 140 nations attending the summit to write action against sexual violence into their army training. | He has called on the 140 nations attending the summit to write action against sexual violence into their army training. |
| Officials and representatives from non-governmental organisations (NGOs) from around the world are joining the conference. | |
| The summit aims to: | |
| BBC World Affairs Correspondent Paul Adams says organisers want the event to be the moment the world wakes up and declares that sexual violence is not an inevitable part of war. | BBC World Affairs Correspondent Paul Adams says organisers want the event to be the moment the world wakes up and declares that sexual violence is not an inevitable part of war. |
| 'Weapon of war' | |
| Angela Atim, one of the speakers at the conference, was kidnapped as a 14-year-old school girl by Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebels in Uganda. | |
| She told the BBC: "These people who are accountable for the sexual violence in armed conflict, they have to be brought to justice." | |
| "It's part of our healing because it's really painful to see that they are still walking around, they are still doing the same thing." | |
| Nations taking part in the summit include Bosnia, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Somalia - countries where sexual violence has happened "on a vast scale", Mr Hague told the BBC. | |
| Sexual violence was systematically being used as a weapon of war in the 20th and 21st Centuries, he noted. | |
| Mr Hague cited the estimated 50,000 women who were raped in Bosnia two decades ago, virtually none of whom have received justice. | Mr Hague cited the estimated 50,000 women who were raped in Bosnia two decades ago, virtually none of whom have received justice. |
| "What we're trying to do this week is agree a new international protocol that sets standards for documenting and investigating these crimes, so that... these crimes can't be committed with impunity," he said. | |
| In the two years since Mr Hague and Ms Jolie launched their campaign, a Declaration of Commitment to End Sexual Violence in Conflict has been endorsed by 141 countries. | In the two years since Mr Hague and Ms Jolie launched their campaign, a Declaration of Commitment to End Sexual Violence in Conflict has been endorsed by 141 countries. |
| But the aim now was to take concrete steps, including providing more help to survivors, Mr Hague said. | But the aim now was to take concrete steps, including providing more help to survivors, Mr Hague said. |
| He added that the issue had been a "taboo" for too long, and that it was time to get rid of the "stigma and shame attached to it". | He added that the issue had been a "taboo" for too long, and that it was time to get rid of the "stigma and shame attached to it". |
| Zainab Bangura, the UN's Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflicts, told the BBC: "In a lot of countries sexual violence is still not a crime." | |
| "The biggest challenge is denial and the culture of silence," she added. |