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Hugo Swire met Commonwealth Foreign Ministers attending Global Summit yesterday.  

Hugo Swire, FCO Minister of State for the Commonwealth will meet Commonwealth Foreign Ministers attending the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict to examine how the organisation can boost global efforts to end sexual violence.

Ahead of the discussion, Mr Swire said:

I am delighted that 40 Commonwealth countries have now endorsed the Declaration of Commitment to End Sexual Violence in Conflict. We must bring the experience and knowledge of those members together, and act collectively both to support victims of violence and to prevent new cases from occurring. I strongly encourage our fellow Commonwealth members who have not yet signed the declaration to do so.

I look forward to meeting Commonwealth Ministers today to build on what we agreed at the Heads of Government Meeting in Colombo in November, where we committed to increasing the capacity of conflict-affected states to deal with this problem, as well as to supporting the efforts of civil society to improve the monitoring and documentation of sexual violence.

Sexual violence is an affront to the fundamental values that underpin the Commonwealth. We are determined that the Commonwealth should be at the forefront of the effort to end this cowardly and dehumanising practice.

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• follow Foreign Office Minister Baroness Warsi on Twitter@SayeedaWarsi
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• follow the Foreign Office on Twitter @foreignoffice