German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on Thursday condemned the use of rape as a weapon in conflicts and wars during her official visit to Ethiopia together with her French counterpart Catherine Colonna.
Baerbock assured in a joint press conference with Colonna that «the protection of civilians is the top priority in armed conflicts.» «Rape is a war crime,» he said in the presence of the Ethiopian Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Justice, Demeke Mekonnen and Gedion Timotheos.
«As in every conflict, the most vulnerable have paid the most terrible price: innocent people, many children, as well as humanitarian workers who have become (military) targets when trying to care for women, children and the sick,» he added.
In this sense, he explained that those who suffer the most are women and girls who become victims of «systematic sexual violence». «It is not normal that rape is part of wars,» he said with indignation.
On the other hand, Baerbock, who traveled to Ethiopia to show his support for the agreement signed last year to put an end to the civil war in the country, called on the Ethiopian government to «continue on the road to peace».
BAERBOCK CHARGES AGAINST PUTIN Likewise, the German Foreign Minister also took advantage of her trip to charge against Russian President Vladimir Putin during a subsequent visit to the largest warehouse that the World Food Program (WFP) has in Ethiopia.
«The Russian president is using food as a weapon,» she said Thursday in the Ethiopian city of Adama, adding that this «aggravates the dramatic humanitarian and food supply situation» worldwide.
Baerbock, who met during the day with Ethiopian President Sahlework Zewde, as well as with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed – and the aforementioned Timotheos and Mekonnen – is scheduled to meet on Friday with the chairman of the African Union (AU) Commission, Musa Faki Mahamat.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
