(Newswire.net— July 7, 2018) — Ben Stiller, famous Hollywood actor, comedian, director, producer and philanthropist, has been named on Monday a Goodwill Ambassador by UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, right after he came back from a trip with UNHCR to Guatemala, where he met refugees.
“I am enormously honored and proud to take on this role as Goodwill Ambassador for UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency. UNHCR is an organization that is working tirelessly all over the world helping men, women and children fleeing war, terror and persecution.”, Stiller said. Stiller was especially touched by the children he met in Guatemala from the North of Central America, children who lived through high levels of violence and have been separated from their parents while they have been fleeing their homes. He added that over 68 million people are forcibly displaced worldwide, and he also said that, as a Goodwill Ambassador of UNHCR he will advocate for refugees and continue to encourage others to join him.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi, said about Stiller’s announcement that he “will be a great Goodwill Ambassador.” He added that Stiller has an “extraordinary capacity to talk about the complicated issue of displacement in a manner that is clear, passionate and convincing. And this is precisely the role of Goodwill Ambassadors: to raise awareness, generate support and give a voice to those who have been forced to leave their homes.”
Ben Stiller started supporting UNHCR in early 2016, and since then he has met with refugees in Germany, Jordan and Guatemala. Before the historic UN Summit in September 2016 on Refugees & Migrants, Stiller spoke on behalf of the #WithRefugees online petition in the UN General Assembly Hall.
UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) was formed in 1950, in order to help millions of people in Europe who had fled or lost their homes during the Second World War. For their work, they won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1954. Since then, UNHCR helped over 50 million refugees. Today, UNHCR works in 128 countries, with over 11,000 employees, and most of them are based in the field. Unfortunately, statistics say that every 2 seconds, nearly one person in the world is forcibly displaced, and over a half of all refugees are under the age of 18. So, it is a great achievement, when public figures as well as celebrities are raising public awareness about such an important issue.
Let’s look back on some extraordinary celebrities who were also Goodwill Ambassadors: Richard Burton, one of the first named Goodwill Ambassador, James Mason, Sophia Loren, Giorgio Armani, Princess Märtha Louise of Norway, Angelina Jolie, and, of course, Cate Blanchett, named in 2016.