Message for the Medica Zenica Conference on '20 years of work with women and girls traumatized from war'
Foreign Secretary William Hague and UNHCR Special Envoy Angelina Jolie, Co-Founders of the Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative, welcome work of Medica Zenica
Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative - Time to Act
For 20 years Medica Zenica and Medica Mondiale have been a lifeline for survivors of wartime sexual violence in Bosnia-Herzegovina. We applaud and strongly support your work.
Long after conflicts end, the survivors of rape bear a terrible burden. As an international community we must ensure that they are never forgotten.
And we must do far more to protect other innocent women, children and men from suffering the same violence in other conflicts.
We are campaigning together to persuade governments worldwide to stop rape being used as a weapon of war, anywhere in the world.
We have seen encouraging progress. Last month at the UN, 134 nations endorsed a new Declaration promising to eradicate sexual violence in conflict. Now we must work to turn that commitment into practical action that makes a lasting difference on the ground.
So as you meet today, new international momentum is building in support of your efforts. We hope we can work with you and your colleagues to make that change irreversible.