Angelina Jolie Urges 24 Religious Leaders From Around The World For Unity To Combat ISIS

She went to London to help open the Centre For Peace And Security at the London School Of Economics on Tuesday. But the day before Angelina Jolie met with 24 religious leaders at the Lancaster House in London with the collaboration of the Foreign & Commonwealth Office.'We need a powerful moral force,' the 39-year-old told the room.

'Most conflict today takes place within states, not between them. An estimated 90% of all casualties are women and children and rape is a favored military tactic we seem unable to prevent or punish. I recently returned from northern Iraq, where women and girls are systematically targeted by armed groups, including ISIS.' 

The Maleficent actress met with religious leaders from the Democratic Republic Of Congo, Nepal, Iraq and South Sudan as well as the Archbishop Of Canterbury, Justin Welby, and former British Foreign Secretary, William Hague.

She also talked about how faith groups can play a part in bringing an end to the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war. 'The intensity and brutality of the sexual violence is terrifying. It is premeditated, organized, and brazen,' the Oscar winner added.

Jolie urged the leaders to unite for the 'powerful moral force.'

'This is violence that respects and spares no one, of any religion or ethnicity. It is fueled by impunity. It often involves surrounding villages, separating out and killing men, busing out the girls to be sold into slavery and torture. For all our advances, the mass rape of women and children and men is still seldom punished, and still carries little or no risk to the perpetrators,' the actress added.

She continued: 'The tragedy is that this issue hardly features in discussions about our strategy towards defeating ISIL, ending conflict in Syria, and stabilising Iraq. Yet it is vital to our success; and so I asking your help in highlighting around the world the injustice and the urgency, the urgency of the situation.'

Source: Dailymail UK