(CNN) -- Grammy-winning singer Angelique Kidjo joined human rights activists to demand courts martial for troops who publicly gang raped women in the streets of the West African country of Guinea last month. It's part of a strong message against rape that Kidjo, a UNICEF goodwill ambassador, and activist Leymah Gbowee are spreading to the women of Africa, the governments of Africa and the rest of the world.
"I refuse any man to stand here and justify rape to me, because every girl, every woman that is raped is their mother, their grandmother that they are raping, their sister and their daughter," Beninese singer Kidjo told CNN's Christiane Amanpour on Friday. "And we cannot sit back -- I can't just accept it, and I'm never going to accept it in my life's breath." Governments, international and regional groups "have failed the women of this world," said Gbowee, founder and executive director of Women Peace and Security Network Africa.
"They've come up with all of these exotic resolutions, but they lack accountability mechanism, and they're almost like toothless bulldogs," she said. " ... You have what happened in Guinea-Conakry few days ago. No one is compelling that military government to court martial all of those who raped women publicly in the streets." Guinean soldiers cracked down on pro-democracy protesters a month ago, leaving more than 150 people dead. The United States, the European Union, and the African Union have all imposed sanctions against Guinea's military junta.
On Friday, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced the three members who would comprise the international commission to investigate the alleged crackdown and rapes. Separately, in The Hague the International Criminal Court, which tries people accused of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, has said it would look into the deaths and rapes and determine whether they fall under its jurisdiction...
