Angelina Jolie Speaks Out About Rape in UN Global Summit [VIDEO]

Angelina Jolie has long been one of the high profile celebrities well-known for being a UN Goodwill Ambassador. She has spoken out about various issues and has famously adopted several children from places she has visited while working with the United Nations. This time around, Angelina is speaking out about the plight of women living in conflict-ridden countries who are abused and oftentimes are unable to be heard and their cases frequently going undocumented.

Last month, Angelina went to London for the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict where she served as co-chairperson alongside British Foreign Secretary William Hague. Jolie serves as a Special Envoy of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and has come to London to speak about rape and other atrocities committed against women in countries ravaged by war and conflict.

In her speech, Jolie calls rape a weapon of war aimed at civilians and that it should not be considered an inevitable part of war. She further explains that the victims of rape are often young children who are unable to report their cases for fear of public ridicule. She claims that the subject has been a taboo for far too long and calls for the global community to take responsibility and help bring justice to the victims of sexual violence in places of conflict.Her speech was peppered with applause and cheers and ends with obvious approval from the audience. (video below)

Several other personalities with similar causes were at the summit including Judith Bedoya, a media practitioner who was raped, kidnapped and tortured in Colombia while on assignment. Whaku Shee, A Burmese woman fighting against the rape of women under the hands of the Brumese military was also present along with Zainab Bangura of Sierra Leone who has started a campaign to classify rape as a war crime. Other leaders representing other places and fighting for similar causes were there to share their plight.

Journalist Marianne Pearl wrote about her admiration for Jolie in a feature she wrote for Glamour Magazine about the Global Summit and Jolie's participation there.

"It's this understanding and commitment that makes me admire Angelina so much. She and these brave women are role models for a better world. Each is an agent of change, doing her piece to end an unbearable situation. Because, after all, this is a crime against humanity that only humanity can fix," said Pearl.

Jolie and Pearl share a common cause against violence and the atrocities of war and the actress portrayed the role of the journalist in the 2007 film "A Mighty Heart" based on the book written by Marianne Pearl entitled "A Mighty Heart: The Brave Life and Death of My Husband, Danny Pearl" which gives an account of the fate of the author's husband who was kidnapped in Pakistan and was later murdered while on the field doing his job also as a journalist.