Angelina Jolie has called for more progress for women.
Angelina Jolie
The 'Maleficent' star - who is a Special Envoy for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees - wants to change the laws that "treat women as second-class citizens".
She said: "There is now a lot more awareness and discussion and many more countries have made commitments. For example, 156 countries have pledged not to include amnesties for rape when they are negotiating peace agreements. It is hard to believe, but peace treaties routinely grant immunity to people who've carried out the most disgusting violent crimes against civilians. So we have to make sure all those countries live up to that commitment.
"If you look across the world there are far too many women and girls who are not only not seeing progress, their rights are slipping away from them. We have to change laws that treat women as second-class citizens. But we also have to enforce them. So one of the things we are putting forward now is a proposal for a permanent international body to investigate war crimes, including mass rape and other sexual and gender-based violence."
And Angelina - who has Maddox, 17, Pax, 15, Zahara, 14, Shiloh, 12, and 10-year-old twins Vivienne and Knox with her ex-husband Brad Pitt - feels blessed to know so many strong women.
She told People magazine: "Most of my friends are women I have met and worked within the field. Over 18 years our lives have taken many turns. Good and bad. We have grown older, most of us mothers now, still committed to shared goals. feel very blessed in my work to have the opportunity to meet so many extraordinary people who spend their lives dedicated to others."
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