Angelina Jolie Addresses United Nations to Praise Nigerian Lawyer Who Has Helped Educate and Feed Orphans
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- Published on Thursday, 05 October 2017 05:24
- Written by People
Just weeks after the New York City premiere of her Netflix war movie First They Killed My Father, Angelina Jolie donned her humanitarian hat to send a taped message to Nigerian mediator Zannah Mustapha, who she praised as an “inspiration.” Appearing on camera Monday to address the United Nation’s prestigious Nansen Refugee Award in Geneva, Switzerland, Jolie added that Mustupha – who has provided free schools for children in an area blighted by Islamic fundamentalists, Boko Haram – possessed “extraordinary” courage.“Zannah Mustapha runs his school in the midst of the Boko Harem insurgency in Nigeria,” said Jolie in the video. “In the teeth of brutal conflict in which schools and school children are deliberately targeted, the courage it takes to defend children’s rights to education in the face of Boko Haram is extraordinary.“Mustapha has brought light to a region that has been terrorized for years. He has made his community stronger. Girls and boys, who might otherwise have been lost, now feel that they have a future.”Earlier in her speech, Jolie, 42, provided a glimpse of the sights she has seen through her own eyes while working as a Special Rapporteur for the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), which has seen the Oscar winner highlight the causes of refugees in Africa, Europe, the Middle East and Southeast Asia.“There is nothing more important in the life of any person than the chance to have an education, yet millions of children have their education disrupted by war,” added Jolie. “I have seen the impact this has on young refugees: denying them a safe place to study and play; taking their dreams away from them; limiting their possibilities to work and making them even more vulnerable.” In Zannah Mustapha’s case this has seen him create two school in Maiduguri, Nigeria – the heartland of a Boko Haram insurgency that has killed 20,000 and displaced millions more. Along with free education, free meals, uniforms and health care, Mustapha welcomes orphaned children from both sides of the conflict into his classrooms in the hope that it will encourage the warring parties to reconcile.Mustapha also previously brokered a deal between Boko Haram and the Nigerian government that resulted in the release of more than 100 kidnapped Chibok girls. Most recently, he rehoused 800 displaced families on his own land, providing them a water source to grow crops and become self-sustainable.“This school promotes peace. It is a place where every child matters,” Mustapha said upon receiving the award on Monday. “These children shall be empowered, empowered in such a way that they can stand on their own.” Jolie, added, “Mr. Mustapha, you are an inspiration. I hope this award will encourage you and others to continue this vital work.”
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Angelina Jolie dons brown pencil skirt to meet with UN Secretary General António Guterres in NYC
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- Published on Friday, 15 September 2017 11:40
- Written by Daily mail
Following the Toronto Film Festival premiere of her fifth directorial effort, Angelina Jolie met with United Nations Secretary General António Guterres at the Manhattan headquarters on Thursday.The Special Envoy for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees easily defied her 41 years in a white silk blouse, brown pencil skirt, and nude pumps selected by stylist Jen Rade.Hairstylist Adam Campbell blew out the Oscar winner's naturally brunette locks and she finished off her business attire with diamond earring and a crimson pout and manicure.Rather than taking vacuous selfies or developing clothing lines, Angelina has made over 60 trips to the field as part of her work with the do-gooding intergovernmental organization.On Wednesday, Jolie gave an update on her tough divorce from estranged third husband Brad Pitt after 12 years together. 'None of it's easy. It's very, very difficult, a very painful situation, and I just want my family healthy,' the By the Sea director admitted to the New York Times.'They're getting better.'The former Hollywood wild child's big blended brood - including Zahara, 12; Shiloh, 11; and twins Vivienne & Knox, 9 - attended the TIFF premiere of First They Killed My Father on Monday.It currently holds a 76 percent critic approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, a 70 percent approval rating on MetaCritic, and a 6.7/10 on IMDb.The Khmer-language drama - which begins streaming Friday on Netflix - is based on human rights activist Loung Ung's 2006 memoir about the 2M lives lost during the Cambodian genocide 40 years ago.Angelina's 16-year-old son Maddox (born Rath Vibol) received an executive-producing credit for the film and her 13-year-old son Pax shot still photography for it.'They really help me so much. We're really such a unit,' Jolie gushed.'They're the best friends I've ever had. Nobody in my life has ever stood by me more.'Earlier this month, the Kung Fu Panda 3 actress confirmed she would soon begin production on the sequel to the hit Disney villain origin story Maleficent.'I am now the breadwinner for the family so it’s time,' Angie told Deadline on September 3.'We have been working on the script and this is going to be a really strong sequel.'But first, Jolie executive-produced the Afghanistan-set animated feature The Breadwinner, which hits US theaters November 17 and UK theaters May 25.Nora Twomey's flick, based on the 2001 novel by Deborah Ellis, centers on a headstrong girl who disguises herself as a boy to provide for her family after her father gets arrested.
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UNHCR Special Envoy Angelina Jolie in Nairobi, appeals for child refugees
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- Published on Thursday, 29 June 2017 10:28
- Written by UNHCR
UNHCR Special Envoy Angelina Jolie marked World Refugee Day 2017 visiting adolescent refugee girls in Nairobi.Ms. Jolie met around 200 refugee girls, who are unaccompanied or separated from their parents and are now living in the Heshima Kenya Safe House and participating in a Girls’ Empowerment Project.The girls have fled extreme violence or persecution in Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), South Sudan, Somalia, Burundi, and Rwanda. Almost all have suffered sexual and gender-based violence, robbing them of their childhoods. Many have given birth after being raped, or are pregnant. They told the Special Envoy about their personal stories and their lives today.
Angelina Jolie said:“Over half of all refugees and displaced people worldwide are women and children. How we treat them is a measure of our humanity as nations. On World Refugee day my only ask is that people consider the pain and suffering of young girls like these. Not only have they had to flee extreme violence or persecution, lost everything and witnessed the death of family members, but they have also had to face so much abuse and intolerance and hardship. They are doing their best to carry on, with minimal support trying to live lives on dignity against impossible odds. It was an honour to spend the day with them.”
It was Angelina Jolie’s third visit to Kenya, home to nearly 491,000 refugees from neighbouring Somalia, South Sudan, DRC, Burundi and other countries in the region. Most of the 67,000 urban refugees in Kenya struggle to survive on handouts from UNHCR and other humanitarian organizations, and many are struggling to recover from horrifying abuse and terror endured before or during their flight.Among the refugees in Kenya are 101,713 from South Sudan, which has now become the biggest new factor in global forced displacement after the disastrous break-up of peace efforts in July 2016 contributed to an outflow of 737,400 people by the end of the year.The Special Envoy said: “Kenya hosts close to half a million refugees and we at UNHCR are very grateful to the people and government of Kenya for that.”In all, Heshima Kenya’s Girls’ Empowerment Project helps some 200 refugee girls, including those in the Safe House. They are provided with education, and training in a variety of skills to enable them to become self-reliant.Benedict, who oversees the Heshima Kenya programme, described his motivation in helping the refugees: “When I see them, I don’t see refugees, I see human beings who are suffering not out of choice but because of circumstances beyond their control.”With the option of resettlement scarce, Heshima Kenya focuses on helping the refugees to fully integrate within the Kenyan community. This approach is also being championed by UNHCR and its partners in international talks that aim to forge a new Global Compact on Refugees next year.“When you empower them, you bring them dignity,” Benedict said. “They don’t need to rely on anyone. The Kenyan government can also start to appreciate them – as taxpayers, employers and consumers with purchasing power.”
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Angelina Jolie tells starstruck schoolchildren to 'fight for universal human rights'... as they lend support to Grenfell Tower survivors
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- Published on Wednesday, 28 June 2017 04:30
- Written by Daily mail
She acts as UNHCR Special Envoy and harnesses her global fame in Hollywood to help child refugees in war torn countries of the world.And actress and philanthropist Angelina Jolie, 42, has spoken up at a performance by more than 600 children as part of a project between world human rights organisation Amnesty International and Chickenshed Theatre.Held at the Royal Albert Hall on Monday night, the event saw the beauty urge schoolchildren to fight for universal human rights for children all over the world.Angelin shared her message via a video clip which was played out to the audience.'Children, I need you,' she said. 'We all need you. We adults, we are a little lost these days, we want you to think that we have it all under control, that it will all be fine. And it will be,' she began.'The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child; it’s like your secret book of laws. And if you can master it, no one can trick you, or your friends. And you can take those laws and rights and go head on with those adults who won’t listen.'With the power of not only what is right and fair, but what is law, you can fight back. And as you grow up, you will have the tools to protect yourselves and to defend others.'It means you can grow up to be citizens who together can complete the work that my generation will leave unfinished and fight for universal human rights for all children.'Angelina is famed for her humanitarian work; she first witnessed the effects of a humanitarian crisis when she was in Cambodia filming the 2001 film Tomb Raider.She has since visited war-torn countries all over the world, such as Sudan's Darfur region and Syria, with the aim of bringing awareness of humanitarian plight to public knowledge.The Tomb Raider star has adopted three of her six children; Maddox, Zahara and Pax were adopted from orphanages in Cambodia, Ethiopia and Vietnam respectively.The children's performance at the Royal Albert Hall was based on Amnesty’s children’s book Dreams Of Freedom, which celebrates the words of human rights heroes such as Nelson Mandela, the Dalai Lama and Malala Yousafzai.During the performance, children shared their own messages of freedom and solidarity starting with 'I stand with…'. ollowing the recent tragedy at Grenfell Tower, many of the children changed their line to 'I stand with Grenfell' in support of all those affected. Chickenshed is a charity that makes inspirational theatre by bringing together people from all backgrounds to produce performances that entertains, inspires, and informs both audiences and participants.The children taking part in the performance are from London schools in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, Hammersmith and Fulham, Westminster, Wandsworth and Enfield. Additional schools and children’s groups have also been involved in the creation of the performance over a period of two years.Amnesty International is the world’s largest human rights organisation with more than seven million supporters worldwide.
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Envoy Angelina Jolie urges better treatment of refugees
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- Published on Wednesday, 21 June 2017 04:07
- Written by Star Tribune
Actress and U.N. refugee agency special envoy Angelina Jolie on Tuesday denounced the impunity with which rape is committed in conflict zones and the mistreatment of vulnerable women and children.Jolie spoke in Kenya to mark World Refugee Day. She visited a training center on how to prevent sexual violence in conflict and met with refugees from conflicts in Burundi, South Sudan, Somalia and Congo."The reality is that women and girls as well as boys and men can still be raped with near-total impunity in conflict zones around the world, and there are still appalling cases of rape and mistreatment of vulnerable women, children and men by peacekeepers sent to protect them," she said.Jolie added: "The horror of sexual violence is compounded when it is carried out by someone in uniform who has a taken an oath to protect."The way people treat refugees, the majority of who are women and children, is a measure of humanity, she said, according to a statement by the U.N. refugee agency."Not only have they had to flee extreme violence or persecution, lost everything and witnessed the death of family members, but they have also had to face so much abuse and intolerance and hardship. They are doing their best to carry on with minimal support, trying to live lives of dignity against impossible odds," Jolie said.Kenya is home to nearly 491,000 refugees from conflicts in neighboring countries. A Kenyan court recently stopped the government from closing what had been the world's largest refugee camp, Dadaab, and sending more than 200,000 people back to Somalia. The court said the government had not proved Somalia is safe for refugees to return.
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