William Hague: We must take global stand to end rape as a weapon of war

She would silence any room, just by walking into it. She always spoke the truth as she saw it, fearlessly. And she was fond of passing notes in class. I remember one that said: “William, let’s get out of here and have some fun.”

But there is a particular reason why we worked so well together across a political divide, as well as across the Atlantic: we both believe that foreign policy is not just about responding to crises, its goal must be to improve the condition of humanity. As nations, it is what we choose to do with our power that matters most of all, and that is the greatest testament to our values.

I believe that there is no greater strategic prize of the 21st century than the full social, political and economic empowerment of all women everywhere.

This must be the century in which women take their rightful place, in which hundreds of 
years of marginalisation are forcefully and finally overturned and extinguished, in which girls are born not into a world of narrow hopes and lesser protections, but into a world of equal treatment and boundless opportunity.

It is a cause that every Foreign Minister should champion, in a global effort to break down the barriers which hold women back and unlock their full potential.

It requires all the ingenuity and persistence that diplomacy can bring to bear, and should be part of the mission of each Ambassador in every Embassy of all democratic nations.

We must turn commitments that exist on paper into education, jobs, equal participation and leadership positions for women.

We need to turn women’s invisible presence in many countries around the world into a visible force in every society: with women represented in every peace process, in every government, in all walks of life.

In my view it is impossible to achieve that aspiration in a world in which the use of rape as a weapon of war goes unchallenged.

Many men and boys are victims of these crimes. Their plight too must be brought out of the shadows. But sexual violence in armed conflict disproportionately affects women, and is part of the crushing weight holding back women’s development.

It is also a major factor in creating refugee flows and perpetuating conflict. And it should be at the heart of how we view conflict prevention and foreign policy in this century.

In discussing this award we must acknowledge that it is still considered unusual for a man, and a politician, to raise these issues. But rape and sexual violence are crimes overwhelmingly committed by men. And that they should happen, while the world does nothing, should shame all men. Indeed to shy away from talking about these facts is in itself unmanly.

One woman who has inspired me is Angelina Jolie. Without her film In the Land of Blood and Honey this initiative would not exist at all.

It brought home to me that an estimated 50,000 women were raped in Bosnia 20 years ago, and that still today virtually none of them have seen any justice.

It made me think about Colombia, Rwanda, South Sudan, Somalia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mali, Liberia, Syria – the endless list of conflicts where women, children and men have been brutally assaulted, often as part of a military strategy, with total impunity.

Sexual violence is often one of the first things that happens as soon as conflict or instability take hold. Yet it is usually the last thing to be taken into account by those ending wars or rebuilding nations. Women bear the worst of the burden of war – but they have always benefited least from the peace.

This summer, we will co-host a global summit in London, which we intend will be a summit like no other: we are setting out to change the whole global attitude to these crimes, as well changing bureaucracies. We don’t just want to move the pens of Ministers, we are going to try to move the hearts of people. It is not enough to change countries’ laws, unless 
we change people’s whole mentality.

We hope that to create so much momentum that we begin to shatter the culture of impunity, so that in the future, far from any judge, prosecutor or law, any man with a gun in any conflict-zone will think twice before ordering or committing rape.

There will be many people who say that this is too big a task, too difficult, or that it requires too much change in the crooked timber of humanity ever to be successful.

If we don’t end impunity this problem will get worse not better. And we cannot hope to end other forms of pervasive discrimination against women if we are unable to stand up to one of the most extreme forms of violence against them.

William Hague is the Richmond MP and Foreign Secretary. This is an edited version of his acceptance speech when he received the 2014 Hillary Clinton Prize for Women, Peace and Security last night at Georgetown University. Washington.