Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie urged members of the United Nations Security Council to prioritise fighting sex crimes in war zones during an impassioned speech on Monday (24Jun13).

The star headed to the organisation's New York City headquarters in her role as a special envoy for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (Unhcr) to address the issue of rape during conflicts.

Jolie called on officials to take action to stop sex crimes during war, declaring, "Hundreds of thousands - if not millions - of women, children and men have been raped in conflicts in our lifetimes. You set the bar. If the... council sets rape and sexual violence in conflict as a priority it will become one and progress will be made. If you do not, this horror will continue.

"Meet your commitments, debate this issue in your parliaments, mobilise people in your countries, and build it into all your foreign policy efforts. Together, you can turn the tide of global opinion, shatter impunity and finally put an end to this abhorrence."

Jolie's speech comes just a week after the humanitarian filmed a report on the crisis in war-torn Syria for a U.S. Tv news network, meeting refugees who had fled their homeland to avoid the conflict.