Angelina Jolie, an actress and philanthropist, raised concern about the unequal pursuit of justice, citing its prevalence in numerous institutions, including the United Nations, where she highlighted inequities in seeking justice for diverse communities.
Jolie told Syrian journalist and filmmaker Waad al-Kateab that when she first started working globally 20 years ago, she had an idea of "good guys," whether they were specific countries or individuals, but later experience has taught her that this is just not true.
She emphasised that human rights are not distributed equitably throughout the world, saying, "Human rights (are) sometimes for these (some) people... (but) never for these (other) people."
The reality is that the world functions on "business interests," according to Jolie, a former United Nations goodwill ambassador and later special envoy until last year, calling this a "ugly state" of affairs.
This was "disheartening" and "upsetting," she said, especially "as someone who has witnessed war crimes firsthand."
Promises and pledges are made by governments, legislators, and decision-makers, but they frequently result in "nothing changed and nothing different," she says.
She observed that, despite popular belief that "colonialism has ended," domination and mistreatment of developing countries continues.
"In the race for resources, emerging countries' attitudes, control, and abuse may be worse than ever... Even in the United Nations, which has the final veto power, economic interests are set. "It's always been like this," she added.
Jolie has slammed Israel's continuous shelling of Gaza and called for an end to collective punishment of Palestinian civilians.
She captioned a photo of the destruction in Gaza, "This is the deliberate bombing of a trapped population with nowhere to flee." For nearly two decades, Gaza has been an open-air prison and is rapidly becoming a mass grave."
"Fourty percent of those killed are children." Families are being slaughtered in their entirety. While the world watches and many governments actively support it, millions of Palestinian people - children, women, and families - are collectively punished and dehumanised, all while being denied food, medicine, and humanitarian relief in violation of international law," she said.
"By refusing to demand a humanitarian cease-fire and blocking the U.N. Security Council from imposing one on both parties, world leaders are complicit in these crimes," the statement continued.
