Mogherini supports Sakharov Prize 2014 winner Denis Mukwege

Met dank overgenomen van Europese Dienst voor Extern Optreden (EDEO) i, gepubliceerd op donderdag 27 november 2014.

High Representative/Vice-President Federica Mogherini i on Wednesday 26th November met with this year's Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought laureate Denis Mukwege, a Congolese gynaecologist. "Count on me for working together," she told him in support.

Earlier in the day, Denis Mukwege accepted the 2014 Sakharov Prize and spoke at the European Parliament plenary session in Strasbourg. "Women's bodies have become a true battlefield and rape is being used as a weapon of war" said Dr. Mukwege. He called for collective action saying: "Together - politicians, civil society, citizens, men and women - we have to draw a red line against the use of rape as a weapon of war."

Dr. Mukwege has helped thousands of victims of gang rape and brutal sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo.