Angelina Jolie departs UN refugee agency ambassador role
Actress and Hollywood star Angelina Jolie will no longer take up her role as the ambassador for the UN refugee agency. As she stepped down, she said that refugees are the people she admires the most in the world and suggested that she now focus on working with charities that are directly affected by global conflicts.
Jolie wrote on Instagram, “After over 20 years, I am stepping down today from my work with the UN refugee agency. I believe in many things the UN does, particularly the lives it saves through emergency relief. UNHCR is full of amazing people making a difference to people’s lives every day.”
She added, “Refugees are the people I admire most in the world, and I am dedicated to working with them for the rest of my life. I will be working now with organisations led by people most directly affected by conflict that give the greatest voice to them.”
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees – with whom Jolie has worked since 2001 – has praised Jolie for her “tireless” work in a number of conflicted countries, including Burkina Faso and Yemen. They said that the actor is “one of the most influential proponents of refugee rights”.
Filippo Grandi, the UNHCR, said of Jolie, “Angelina Jolie has been an important humanitarian partner of UNHCR for very long. We are grateful for her decades of service, her commitment, and the difference she has made for refugees and people forced to flee.”
He added, “After a long and successful time with UNHCR, I appreciate her desire to shift her engagement and support her decision. I know the refugee cause will remain close to her heart, and I am certain she will bring the same passion and attention to a wider humanitarian portfolio. I look forward to our continued friendship.”
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