Angelina Jolie is stepping back as the Special Envoy of UNHCR. Image Source: The New York Times
Angelina Jolie is stepping back.
In a newly published joint statement, actress and humanitarian Angelina Jolie and the United Nations Refugee Agency revealed that after 21 years of collaborating with the UN Refugee Agency and advocating for the protection and dignity of displaced people individuals all over the world, she will step aside as UNHCR's Special Envoy to concentrate on a wider variety of humanitarian and human rights concerns.
According to the statement, Angelina Jolie, who started working with the UNHCR in 2001, was assigned as Special Envoy in 2012, and that in her significant contribution, she used her strong voice to raise awareness and provide support for refugees, as well as to call for prompt attention and remedies for individuals who was or was forced to flee. They continued by stating that the actress had worked diligently for the past 21 years, participating in more than 60 peacekeeping operations to testify to stories of pain and misery as well as hope and resilience. Angelina Jolie recently traveled to Burkina Faso and Yemen with UNHCR to meet with people displaced in two of the world's most poorly funded and underrepresented emergency situations.
The joint statement highlighted that Angelina Jolie is regarded as one of the most influential and significant proponents of refugee rights, and she will continue to work and build a more equal, just, and inclusive international system. According to the statement, the actress hopes to collaborate with a broader variety of actors on a broader spectrum of humanitarian issues, as well as collaborate more directly with regional organizations, particularly at a time when the world is dealing with complicated, multi-faceted, and interrelated catastrophes. Her portfolio will continue to include refugees and issues of forced displacement.
Angelina Jolie has been an essential humanitarian partner of UNHCR for a long time, and they are deeply grateful for her many years of service, dedication, and the distinction she has made for refugees and folks having to evacuate, according to UN Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi. They applaud her urge to shift her involvement and support her decision after a long and productive time with UNHCR. They are confident that she will bring the same enthusiasm and awareness to a broader humanitarian portfolio as she does to the refugee cause. The commissioner stated that they were anticipating the continuation of their friendship.
The actress also expressed her feelings about the judgment, saying she is appreciative of the privilege and opportunity to collaborate with so many stellar and committed UNHCR field staff and other coworkers doing potentially life-saving work around the world, as well as to serve as Special Envoy. Angelina stated that she will continue to do everything within her power to help refugees and other displaced persons in the coming years. She starts to feel it is time for her to work differently after 20 years in the UN system, trying to engage straightforwardly with refugees and local agencies and continuing to support their advocates for remedies.
Angelina Jolie's memoir which came out in 2003 titled, Notes from My Travels, looks into her work as a humanitarian while she visited refugees in Cambodia, Africa, Ecuador, and Pakistan. Aside from the book, Angelina regularly posts on Instagram regarding her humanitarian work.
The actress and the UNHCR issued a joint press statement stating that she has been a part of 60 missions and would continue to interact with refugees. Angelina Jolie went to visit Ukraine in May, to volunteer work with local non-governmental institutions in the regional capital of Lviv at her own behest, not really on behalf of the UN. The trip emerged to be the first sign that she was about to leave the global corporation. Reports have suggested that the loss of its most famous public figure comes at a difficult time for the United Nations. The organization has struggled as crisis after crisis has depleted its resources.
On World Refugee Day in June, Angelina Jolie wrote an essay for Time Magazine in which she stated that The United Nations is skewed in favor of essential countries' best interests and vocalists, at the expense of those who bear the brunt of dispute and subjugation, and whose privileges, protections, and capacity to live are not considered equal. For decades, the primary focus has been placed on the work of international institutions. Listening to and supporting the local groups and volunteers has received inadequate attention. She realized that she didn't have any replies, but she was seeking a different approach.
According to a close friend, Angelina Jolie's withdrawal from the UN will allow her to have a significant impact, as an anonymous source mentioned that Angelina Jolie will be able to spend more time with individuals rather than the system. Aside from refugee aid, Angelina Jolie is highly active in a range of human-rights causes, including supporting women in Iran, relief efforts in Pakistan, and, most recently, actively advocating for crime victim regulations.
