Rice to host U.N. talks on rape, Zimbabwe

June 18, 2008 - (Associated Press) Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice promised to send a "strong message" to Zimbabwe on the importance of a transparent election when she presides over United Nations debate Thursday.

Rice — who will also lead discussion on how rape is used as a weapon of war — met Wednesday with Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga, saying it was "time for leaders of Africa to say to President Mugabe that the people of Zimbabwe deserve a free and fair election."

Odinga is one of the few African leaders to accuse Mugabe supporters of violence against the opposition in the June 27 presidential runoff vote.

"You cannot intimidate opponents, you cannot put opponents in jail, you cannot threaten them with jail on charges of treason and expect to be respected in the international community," Rice said.

A public debate on "women and peace and security" in the Security Council's usual chambers is being sponsored by the U.S. on Thursday during the month when the U.S. holds the council presidency.

A separate roundtable on Zimbabwe, most of it held behind closed doors, is to follow. It was also organized by the U.S. to capitalize on the presence of Rice and other high-level officials at the session on violence against women.

Deputy State Department spokesman Tom Casey said all members of the council had been invited to attend.

"We hope that this will be another opportunity for (Rice) as well as for concerned members of the Security Council and the U.N. to call attention to the situation in Zimbabwe, to discuss their concerns there and to also talk about what ways the U.N. might be able to further assist," he told reporters. "We believe that this is an important issue, and it's one that we hope will maintain attention on the council, or at least among council members."

U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad said the council's discussion on women would send an important signal to the world just by discussing the systematic use of rape and mutilation as a weapon of war in conflict or post-conflict situations.

"We believe it is very important that a message is sent that there is no impunity for such crimes," he said.

From:http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2008-06-18-rice_N.htm