As ‘president,’ Clinton leads U.N. effort against wartime rape

Check out the signs in front of Secretary Clinton in the photo above: “President” and “United States.”

Secretary Clinton got to preside over a session of the U.N. Security Council today because the United States holds the rotating presidency this month. She called for a vote on a resolution to end wartime sexual violence, and it passed unanimously.

Then in a speech, she declared:

Even though women and children are rarely responsible for initiating armed conflict, they are often war’s most vulnerable and violated victims.”

She also said: 

The dehumanizing nature of sexual violence doesn’t just harm a single individual or a single family or even a single village or a single group; it shreds the fabric that weaves us together as human beings.”

After Clinton ended the speech, a humorous moment (captured on this video) ensued. She said, “I resume now my function as president of the council. I kind of like being a president. So this may go on a little longer than anticipated.”

The diplomats laughed, and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said, “Thank you, Madam President.”

In other Clinton-related news, American essayist and political activist Gore Vidal has revealed that he regrets shifting his support from Clinton to Barack Obama during last year’s Democratic presidential primary. In an interview with The Times of London, he said he thinks Clinton would have been a better president and said:

Hillary knows more about the world and what to do with the generals. History has proven when the girls get involved, they’re good at it. Elizabeth I knew Raleigh would be a good man to give a ship to.”

Photo: STAN HONDA/AFP/Getty Images