The United Nations has appointed Oscar-winning actress Cate Blanchett as the global ambassador for the organization's refugee agency. The appointment was announced on Monday as Blanchett returned from a humanitarian mission to Jordan.
As a goodwill ambassador, Blanchett will help raise awareness about the plight of refugees, especially amid the ongoing massive global displacement crisis, as noted by The Guardian. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported that a record of 60 million people across the world were displaced from their homes. From that number, more than one third of them are living as refugees.
Blanchett expressed her delight in taking the role. "I am deeply proud to take on this role," she said. "There has never been a more crucial time to stand with refugees and show solidarity. We are living through an unprecedented crisis, and there must be shared responsibility worldwide. It feels like we're at a fork in the road, do we go down the compassionate path or do we go down the path of intolerance?" she expressed in a video interview following her appointment as ambassador for UNHCR.
UNHCR considered Blanchett as a the right figure for the role as she has been working with the agency for over a year now, as reported by ABC News. She has been contributing in raising awareness about the refugees that are forcibly displaced away from their homes. The U.N. high commissioner for the refugees Filippo Grandi said the actress has already demonstrated great commitment to the cause. By the time she was appointed as ambassador, Blanchett has just returned from Jordan where she met Syrian refugees escaping from prolonged the war.
"Goodwill ambassadors play a pivotal role in creating better public understanding and support for refugees, and never has there been a greater need to build these bridges," Grandi stated. "We look forward to seeing her inspire many more people in her new role," he added, as quoted by CBS News.
The similar role was previously granted to another prominent Hollywood actress, Angelina Jolie. She was a goodwill ambassador for UNHCR for years before being elevated to be a special envoy for the refugee agency in 2012.
The U.N. refugee agency, the UNHCR, has appointed Oscar-winning actress Cate Blanchett to be its goodwill ambassador for refugees. Blanchett has been working for the cause for more than a year, and the agency hopes that more people will be inspired by the actress in her new role.
