Posts Tagged ‘united nations’

Angelina Jolie Attends Trial of Congolese Warlord

May 19th, 2009

Angelina Jolie, an outspoken advocate for the rights of children across the world, attended the International Criminal Court trial of a Congolese warlord on Tuesday in the Netherlands. The warlord, Thomas Lubanga, is charged with using child soldiers, the AP reports.

A statement released by the court Tuesday says the case against Lubanga is a "landmark trial for children," and called attention to former child soldiers who traveled to The Hague to testify. This trial is the first international trial to focus on child soldiers.

 

Lubanga is the founder and former leader of the Union of Congolese Patriots political movement and its armed wing. He has pleaded innocent to charges of recruiting and using child soldiers in tribal conflicts in 2002-2003. The United Nations estimates up to 250,000 child soldiers still fight in more than a dozen countries.

 

Meanwhile, partner Brad Pitt did his part to better the world, as he and his brother Doug Pitt donated $600,000 to Drury University’s O’Reilly Family Event Center to pay for the center’s Leadership in Environmental Energy and Design Gold certification.

The center will be the first Gold LEED-certified arena in the country, according to a Drury news release. The Pitts made the donation in honor of their father, William A. Pitt.

Gavin DeGraw’s Visit To Africa

March 24th, 2009


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Charlize Theron: Messenger of Peace?

November 14th, 2008 / Author: OK! Staff

Joining the ranks of fellow superstars George Clooney and Michael Douglas, actress Charlize Theron became the latest A-list celeb to be named a United Nations messenger of peace.

The Aeon Flux star, 33, is now the tenth celebrity to be given the messenger of peace designation by the U.N. and she will be expected to leverage her high-wattage star power toward the goal of ending violence against women around the world.

"You have used your voice, compassion and special relationship with the public to create a better world," U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said to Charlize during Friday’s announcement.

In addition to her work on film, the South African-born star has been lauded for her efforts to bring mobile health care units to the poorer and more remote regions of her native country.

Angelina Talks About Her Pregnancy

April 9th, 2008

She has never confirmed that she is pregnant, but on Tuesday, Angelina Jolie revealed during the middle of a conference on education policy in Iraq that she "felt kicking suddenly in the middle of the event."

It’s quite an admission from the expecting mother of four, who has quietly continued her busy life–happy not to acknowledge her growing baby bump. But on Tuesday, Jolie said she’s savoring this period–unexpected kicks and all–adding "It’s a very special time in our lives."

Angie is in Washington D.C. to promote education among Iraqi children. Specifically, she is there to launch her new initiative, Education Partnership for Children of Conflict.

Jolie brought her two sons, Maddox,6, and Pax,4, with her to the nation’s captiol. She will remain in D.C. for the rest of the week before re-joining Brad Pitt and their daughters Zahara,3, and Shiloh,1.

Angelina Promotes Education for Iraqi Children

April 8th, 2008 / Author: OK! Staff

Angelina Jolie is in Washington, D.C., where, on Monday night, she presented her friend, Mariane Pearl, wife of slain journalist Daniel Pearl, with an award for outstanding leadership.

Pearl accepted the Fern Holland Award from a glowingly pregnant Jolie at the Vital Voices Global Leadership Awards Gala at the Kennedy Center.

During her acceptance speech, Pearl, whose life was portrayed by Jolie on screen in A Mighty Heart, called the actress a "sister," and told the audience the two had spent the day together with their children, Maddox, Pax and Adam.

Angie presented other awards, along with First Lady Laura Bush, to six individuals for their outstanding humanitarian efforts. The 32-year-old mother of four arrived in the nation’s capitol on Monday to promote her latest effort — urging the international community to make educating Iraqi children a priority.

"The best way to heal children of conflict from trauma is to have them focus on their future," Jolie told the Council on Foreign Relations on Tuesday.

The event was to help launch the actress’s new venture, the Education Partnership for Children of Conflict, which will focus on the work of prominent charity organizations as well as tell the stories of the children in need.

"Every child has a right to education and conflict is not a reason to ignore that," Jolie said.

Angie visited Iraq last August and has traveled to more than 2o humanitarian hot spots, including Sudan’s Darfur region since becoming a goodwill U.N. ambassador in 2001.

Clooney Talks Darfur With British Prime Minister

April 8th, 2008 / Author: cwillett

George Clooney took a break from promoting his latest film, Leatherheads, on Tuesday to take a meeting with British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown. The subject  — convincing governments to speak out about China’s foreign policy in Sudan.

The two met as the Olympic torch arrived in San Francisco for the only North American stop in the Beijing Olympic torch relay, which has been dogged by human rights protesters in London, Paris and Istanbul.

The protests have been fueled by anger over China’s human rights record, its grip on Tibet and China’s support for Sudan despite years of bloodshed in the country’s western Darfur region. China is a major trading partner with Sudan, and Beijing has resisted United Nations attempts to force Sudan to accept U.N. peacekeepers in Darfur.

"I think the protests are good. They’ve beeen warned for a while that there was going to be some protests," Clooney told reporters on the red carpet for the British premiere of Leatherheads. Brown praised the 46-year-old actor’s role in drawing attention to violence in Darfur.

The AP reports only 9,200 troops and police of the 26,000 authorized are on the ground in Darfur, where violent conflict since 2003 has displaced some 4.27 million civilians and left more than 200,000 people dead.

 

”The situation in Darfur is unacceptable,” Brown said after a meeting with Clooney, announced only after it took place.

”The rebels and government continue to openly flout United Nations Security Council resolutions through attacks on civilians,” Brown said in a statement.

Brown praised Clooney’s role ”in drawing attention to this crisis — this is a humanitarian tragedy of colossal proportions and the world must take note and act.”

Clooney — who has been named a UN peace envoy — has publicly spoken several times about the crisis in Darfur.

Brown said Britain was working with the international community and others to pressure all sides in the conflict to agree to a cease fire, start peace talks and allow peacekeepers to deploy.

Hollywood Stars: Making a Difference in Darfur

March 28th, 2008

Financial contributions from Europe and a charity co-founded by Hollywood actors George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Don Cheadle and Matt Damon will help maintain humanitarian flights in Darfur through April, the United Nations said on Friday.

The $6 million donated by Ireland, the European Union and the Clooney backed Not On Our Watch Charity will allow the U.N.’s World Food Program (WFP) to hire helicopters and other aircraft to ferry aid workers to Sudan’s war torn region for 30 more days.

"We’ve received some funds which will allow us to maintain the flights for the month of April," WFP spokeswoman Christiane Berthiaume said on Friday. "It is vital to maintain the service especially at a time when insecurity still reigns."

The western Sudanese region of Darfur is the site of the world’s largest aid operation. International experts estimate five years of conflict have killed 200,000 people and driven 2 1/2 million people from their homes.

George Clooney: Messenger of Peace

January 31st, 2008 / Author: cwillett

George Clooney has had many banquets and events thrown in his honor, but none by the United Nations… until today.

Recently named a Messenger of Peace, the Oscar winner stopped by the U.N. headquarters in New York Thursday morning for a ceremony commemorating his new title. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon honored George, who arrived with his parents, Nick and Nina, and was greeted by fans the same way he would be on a red carpet — with “oohs” and “aahs” and lots of camera flashes.

George is the U.N.’s ninth ambassador — others are Michael Douglas, Elie Wiesel, Jane Goodall, Yo-Yo Ma, Daniel Barenboim, Paulo Coelho, Midori Goto and Princess Haya of Jordan — and was selected for his ability to turn the spotlight on grave international political and social issues.

He is most famous for his campaign to end the war in Darfur, from where he had just returned.

As reported earlier in the week, the 46-year-old humanitarian missed Sunday’s SAG Awards to tend to his peacekeeping operations in India.

George Clooney Travels to Africa

January 22nd, 2008

As George Clooney’s name was being called as a best actor nominee for his role in the drama Michael Clayton, the actor was halfway around the world, serving as a United Nations “messenger of peace.”

Clooney traveled to Sudan and Chad to visit victims of conflict in Sudan’s troubled Darfur region. Chad is host to around 240,000 refugees, many of whom have lived in the country since fighting broke out in the region in 2003.

Clooney, along with his Occeans 13 co-stars Don Cheadle and Brad Pitt, has been an outspoken advocate on behalf of Sudanese refugees, and has pushed for greater international attention on the plight of those suffering in the East African nation.

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