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».
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
