On Monday (June 24), Angelina Jolie, who is a goodwill ambassador the UN high commissioner for refugees, made her debut before the UN Security Council and spoke about sexual violence in war zones.

The actress urged the countries to take action to stop rape during conflicts. She told the council: “Hundreds of thousands – if not millions – of women, children and men have been raped in conflicts in our lifetimes. 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. Meet your commitments, debate this issue in your parliaments, mobilize people in your countries, and build it into all your foreign policy efforts. Together, you can turn the tide of global opinion, shatter impunity and finally put an end to this abhorrence.”

Soon after Jolie’s testimony, the Security Council adopted a legally binding resolution demanding the complete and immediate cessation of all acts of sexual violence by all parties to armed conflict. Last week, the 38-year-old actress filmed a report on the crisis in Syria, meeting refugees who had left their homeland to avoid the conflict.

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