Angelina Jolie steps down as envoy for UN refugee agency after more than 20 years

Angelina Jolie has stepped down as special envoy to the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) after more than 20 years in the role, UNHCR and Jolie announced in a joint statement on Saturday.

Jolie started working with UNHCR in 2001 and was appointed special envoy to the agency in 2012. In that role, the 47-year-old actress “used her powerful voice to build awareness and support for refugees and to call for urgent action and solutions for people forced to flee,” according to the statement.

Jolie said she will continue to work with and advocate for refugees, but that after 20-plus years in the U.N. system, she feels it is time to work directly with refugees and local organizations in order to support their efforts to find solutions.

As special envoy, Jolie carried out more than 60 field missions for UNHCR, according to the statement. Most recently, she traveled to Yemen and Burkina Faso to meet with displaced people.

“I am grateful for the privilege and opportunity I have had to work with so many outstanding and dedicated UNHCR field officers and other colleagues doing lifesaving work globally, and to serve as Special Envoy,” Jolie said. “I will continue to do everything in my power in the years to come to support refugees and other displaced people.”

UNHCR thanked Jolie in the statement for her work with the agency.

“Angelina Jolie has been an important humanitarian partner of UNHCR for very long. We are grateful for her decades of service, her commitment, and the difference she has made for refugees and people forced to flee. After a long and successful time with UNHCR, I appreciate her desire to shift her engagement and support her decision,” U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said.

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