Between mothering six children, fostering an acting career, and being engaged to one of the hottest men on the planet, you might think Angelina Jolie doesn’t have time for much else. But you’d be wrong.
In 2001, she became the ambassador for the United Nations Refugee Agency, meaning she visits displaced people in countries all over the world. In 2007 she visited a refugee camp in Chad in order to raise awareness of the tens of thousands of people fleeing Darfur, where a mass slaughter was taking place.
“It’s always hard to see decent people, families, living in such difficult conditions,” she said. “What is most upsetting is how long it is taking the international community to answer this crisis.”
Jolie was recently named to the post of Special Envoy for the High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Guterres, and was sent to Columbia this past weekend to visit people displaced when they were forced over the border to Ecuador. A statement issued by UNHCR representative Adrian Edwards said:
“During a decade of service as UNHCR’s Goodwill Ambassador, Ms. Jolie has conducted more than 40 field visits around the world, becoming an expert on the phenomenon of forced displacement and a tireless advocate on their behalf.
In 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, engaging with relevant interlocutors on global displacement issues. Ms. Jolie will focus on complex emergencies and will work to facilitate lasting solutions for people displaced by conflict.
High Commissioner Guterres is grateful to Ms. Jolie for accepting this role at a critical time in global displacement. Her new status as Special Envoy is effective immediately.”
Jolie can add another accomplishment to the list, as today she was named honorary citizen of Sarajevo for her contribution to telling the story of war-time events in Bosnia with the 2011 film “In The Land Of Blood And Honey”, which she directed.