GENEVA (AP) — Angelina Jolie says she’s considering taking on a new and expanded role with the U.N. refugee agency for which she already serves as goodwill ambassador.
The actress told reporters Tuesday that she and the agency are still studying their options and working out the details, but haven’t settled on anything because they want to get it right.
Jolie stopped by the U.N.’s European headquarters to highlight the plight of refugees globally in an address to the agency’s executive committee. She told diplomats and officials with the agency known as UNHCR that her work for them has been “moving, sometimes heartbreaking, but always rewarding, and unforgettable.”
Her speech about refugees everywhere from Somalia to Afghanistan drew widespread applause.
“They are the most vulnerable people in the world, and they are also the most resilient people in the world,” the actress told U.N. diplomats and officials.
“Refugees are survivors, they are mothers and daughters and fathers and sons, they are all extraordinary people who have a remarkable story that tells of strength in the face of great loss,” she said. “They need our help more than ever.”
Jolie also recalled the killing of U.N. staff in Afghanistan and Nigeria and said “we must demand a great respect for the concepts of independence, impartiality and neutrality in order to ensure the safety and lives of humanitarian workers.”
She said she hoped increasing budget constraints among U.N. donor nations would not prevent them from continuing to open their wallets to the world’s most vulnerable.
On Monday, she was in Geneva to be recognized for her work and to honor a Yemeni aid group, the Society for Humanitarian Solidarity, at UNHCR’s annual awards ceremony.
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