After 21 years of good and loyal service, Angelina Jolie renounces her role as special envoy of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the star wishing to "
work differently
" and on broader humanitarian issues.
"
After 20 years of working within the United Nations system, I feel it's time for me to work differently, engaging directly with refugees and local organizations,
" the actress said in a statement. released by UNHCR on Friday.
“
Angelina Jolie has long been an important humanitarian partner of UNHCR.
We are grateful for her decades of service, her commitment and the difference she has made for refugees and people forced to flee
,” said Filippo Grandi, head of UNHCR.
Angelina Jolie - one of Hollywood's most iconic faces - has completed more than 60 field assignments over the years, lending her stardom and certainty to the media in her travels to the refugee cause.
Recently, she traveled to Yemen and Burkina Faso with UNHCR to meet displaced people who are enduring "
two of the most underfunded and underreported emergencies in the world
", the statement said.
