In early 2001, Angelina Jolie approached the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) asking how she could help refugees. She wanted to learn more about humanitarian field operations. Shortly after spending a day in briefings with UNHCR in Washington DC, she was on her way to Ivory Coast, Tanzania and Sierra Leone, where she spent several weeks meeting refugees and working with UNHCR field staff.
During the summer of 2001 she travelled with UNHCR through Cambodia (July) and later spent a week with Afghan refugees in Pakistan (August). On August 27, Jolie was named UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador, accepting the responsibility of meeting with and advocating for the protection of refugees on five continents.
For over five years, Jolie has travelled with UNHCR to remote and desolate regions, meeting refugees and field workers in some 20 countries and regions including Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Ivory Coast, Pakistan, Cambodia, Thailand, Ecuador, Kenya, Namibia, Kosovo, Sri Lanka, the Russian Federation, Jordan, Egypt, Chad, Sudan’s Darfur region and Lebanon.
She has kept journals during several of her missions. Journals of her first four missions were published in a book, “Notes from My Travels, Visits with Refugees in Africa, Cambodia, Pakistan and Ecuador” (October 2003).
REFUGEE RIGHTS – Children & Schools: In addition to her field work, Jolie is a dedicated advocate for refugee rights, meeting with senior government officials in many countries. She is also active with schools and promotion of UNHCR’s education materials.
For the past four years, she has been the honorary patron of the annual World Refugee Day school poster contest in the United States and in 2004 was honorary patron of the Greek Schools Essay Contest on refugee issues, in partnership with the Ministry of Education.
WORLD REFUGEE DAY (20 JUNE): Jolie is an active participant in World Refugee Day on 20 June each year, hosting public events and speaking to the media about her concern for refugees. On 16 June 2004, she launched a five-day series of World Refugee Day events in Washington DC, with UNHCR and Secretary of State Colin Powell as well as several other senior government officials. Jolie is lobbying for and sponsoring a project with UNHCR in the United States which will help ensure legal counsel and assistance to unaccompanied minors seeking asylum.
After this she travelled to Barcelona for World Refugee Day events with UNHCR and many prestigious guests in the context of the Barcelona Forum. On the evening of 20 June 2004, she was guest of honour at the Nansen Refugee Award ceremony.
On 15 June 2005, Jolie launched multiple World Refugee Day activities in Washington D.C. together with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Paul Rusesabagina, a hotel manager who provided protection to people fleeing the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. She also met with US Senators on Capitol Hill seeking support for urgent refugee relief and protection operations.
For World Refugee Day in 2006, Jolie appeared in a 30-second TV spot and urged the world not to forget refugees. Her message was broadcast around the world in public service time. She was also the featured guest in a two-hour interview with CNN, which was broadcast on World Refugee Day. She expressed her concern for refugees and talked about her field travels and experiences as UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador.
BUSINESS LEADERS: In January 2005, Jolie participated in the 2005 Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum held in Davos, Switzerland. She has participated in panel sessions leading discussions about corporate action for addressing the plight of refugees around the world. She emphasized the important role the private sector can play in empowering refugees, enhancing their skills set and ensuring they are positive change agents for development.
In January 2006, she participated in the 2006 Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum. She talked about the linkage between human rights and refugee rights, and drew the attention of the participants to forgotten humanitarian emergencies.
AWARDS: In October 2003, Jolie was awarded the first UNCA Citizen of the World award by the United Nations Correspondents Association in New York. The award recognized the value of her work as UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador, bringing forgotten refugee crises to the attention of the world media.
On October 11 2005, Jolie accepted the 2005 Global Humanitarian Action Award from the United Nations Association of the USA and the Business Council for the United Nations. The award honoured Jolie for fulfilling her work as a Goodwill Ambassador with vigour and valuable insight, and being a voice for millions of refugees and internally displaced people around the world.
DONOR: While Jolie is most valued as a dedicated advocate for refugees, she has also been a generous donor to UNHCR. She has donated to many field operations in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, the Balkans and the Americas. She is often the first private donor to respond to UNHCR appeals for emergencies and forgotten refugee crises across the globe. She covers all of her expenses when she goes on mission with UNHCR, as well as costs relating to her World Refugee Day activities and other refugee advocacy projects. These contributions now total well over $3 million.
Jolie is an American actress, winner of an Academy Award and three Golden Globe awards. She is the mother of a son, Maddox Chivan, and two daughters, Zahara Marley and Shiloh Nouvel.
Detailed information regarding many of Jolie’s activities as UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador can be found on the UNHCR website: http://www.unhcr.org/goodwill/
