ANGELINA JOLIE is calling for world leaders to persecute those who commit crimes against humanity, because it is the only way to hold people to account.

The Hollywood actress and human rights campaigner made her plea to international governments in a new article for The Economist magazine, entitled The World in 2008, in which she urged tougher action against rogue leaders.

And Jolie, a goodwill ambassador to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), hopes to see something done soon to combat the ongoing genocide in Darfur, western Sudan. She has visited neighbouring Chad twice once in 2003 and again earlier this year (07) – to speak to victims of the Sudanese atrocity and highlight their cause.

Writing in The Economist magazine, she says, “Accountability is perhaps the only force powerful enough to break the cycle of violence and retribution that marks so many conflicts.

“Through accountability we can begin the process of righting past wrongs, and even change the behaviour of some of the world’s worst criminals.

“I hope that the Sudanese government will hand over the government minister and the Janjaweed militia leader who have been indicted for war crimes (by the International Criminal Court in The Hague), and that the teenager I met in Chad will get the trial he seeks.

“I hope that those responsible for the atrocities in Darfur will be held to account, not only for that young man’s sake, but for the world’s.”