<\/a>Film star Angelina Jolie will use her powerful box office fame to draw wider attention to some of the world\u2019s worst humanitarian disasters, the U.N. refugee agency said on Tuesday.
\nJolie, who has already served more than 10 years as goodwill ambassador for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), is taking on a new role as special envoy for large-scale crises\u00a0that cause huge numbers of civilians to flee their homelands.
\nShe is expected to deal with complex emergencies and protracted crises including Afghanistan and Somalia that have driven millions of refugees into neighboring countries where they remain for years due to the lack of a political solution.
\n\u2018UNHCR is pleased to announce today that Angelina Jolie will take on a new and expanded role for the U.N. refugee agency as Special Envoy of High Commissioner Antonio Guterres,\u2019 UNHCR spokesman Adrian Edwards told a news briefing in Geneva.
\nThe Oscar-winning Jolie was due to be named Special Representative on the Afghan refugee crisis last October, but there was no final agreement.
\n\u2018In her new role, she is expected to focus on large-scale crises resulting in the mass displacement of people, to undertake advocacy and represent UNHCR and Mr. Guterres at the diplomatic level,\u2019 Edwards said.
\nThis can include \u2018conveying messages to governments\u2019 and emphasizing the need to adhere to human rights law, he added.
\nThe \u2018Tomb Raider\u2019 star has already made 40 field visits to remote hotspots in more than 20 countries, including Afghanistan, Bosnia, Haiti, Iraq and Sudan. She has donated at least $5 million which has helped build schools in Kenya and Afghanistan, the UNHCR said.
\n\u2018Quite honestly, I don\u2019t think you need a rocket scientist to see the benefits that she is bringing in terms of the attention that she\u2019s getting for the plight of the world\u2019s displaced,\u2019 he said.
\nShe will be making a fresh field visit in coming days but he declined to identify the region or country for security reasons.
\n\u2018This is an exceptional position reflecting an exceptional role she has performed for us,\u2019 he said.
\nA year ago Jolie went to Tunisia\u2019s border with Libya to meet African migrants and others fleeing war. In June she accompanied Guterres to the Italian island of Lampedusa to support migrants who crossed the Mediterranean to escape from Libya.
\n\u2018My personal experiences with UNHCR have been moving, sometimes heartbreaking, but always rewarding and unforgettable,\u2019 Jolie told UNHCR\u2019s Executive Committee in October
\nHer interest in humanitarian affairs piqued in 2000 when she went to Cambodia to film the adventure movie Tomb Raider.
\nShe first approached the U.N. Children\u2019s Fund (UNICEF) seeking an ambassadorial role helping women and children, but it found her \u201ctoo edgy\u201d at the time, UNICEF sources told Reuters.<\/p>\n

-With Reuters<\/span> input<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Film star Angelina Jolie will use her powerful box office fame to draw wider attention to some of the world\u2019s worst humanitarian disasters, the U.N. refugee agency said on Tuesday. Jolie, who has already served more than 10 years as goodwill ambassador for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), is taking on a new … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_editorskit_title_hidden":false,"_editorskit_reading_time":0,"_editorskit_is_block_options_detached":false,"_editorskit_block_options_position":"{}","footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[2517,896],"yoast_head":"\n