Clooney to become a UN Messenger of Peace
Story by Jack Foley
GEORGE Clooney has been named by UN Chief Ban Ki-moon as the world’s latest Messenger of Peace, according to officials.
The Michael Clayton star has been a passionate advocate for an end to war and famine in Sudan’s Darfur region, and was recognised for his ongoing efforts to focus public attention on key international political and social issues.
The former Oscar winner – who is tipped for another nomination later this week – continues to play a leading role in the international campaign to raise awareness of the humanitarian tragedy in Darfur, where at least 200,000 people have died from the combined effects of war, famine and disease.
A further 2.2 million have been forced from their homes, according to UN figures.
Together with fellow actors Don Cheadle, Brad Pitt and Matt Damon, he set up a charity last April, called Not On Our Watch, to raise funds for Darfur. So far, it has raised more than $9.3m (£4.75m) for humanitarian work in the area.
Clooney said he was “deeply honoured” to be recognised in such fashion, adding: “I look forward to working with the United Nations in order to build public support for its critically important work in some of the most difficult, dangerous and dire places in the world.”
The actor – who shot to fame playing a doctor on long-running TV show ER – will join eight other internationally famous individuals selected to campaign for the UN drive to improve the lives of billions of people around the world.
Other UN peace messengers are Nobel Peace Prize winner and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel, Chinese-American cellist Yo-Yo Ma, Oscar-winning US actor Michael Douglas, British primatologist Jane Goodall, Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein of Jordan, Israeli conductor Daniel Barenboim, Brazilian writer Paulo Coelho and Japanese violinist Midori Goto.
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