Ben Stiller appointed Goodwill Ambassador for UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency.
Meeting refugees in Guatemala this week, UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Ben Stiller calls for action and solidarity with refugees around the world. |
| UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Ben Stiller speaks with a woman who has recently arrived at a transit shelter supported by UNHCR in Flores, Guatemala. © UNHCR/Michael Muller |
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, today announced the appointment of
actor, director, producer and philanthropist Ben Stiller as its newest
global Goodwill Ambassador.
The announcement comes today as Stiller concludes a trip with UNHCR
to Guatemala, where he met some of the men, women and children from the
North of Central America who have been forced to flee their homes
because of violence. In recent years a growing number of people across
El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras have fled extraordinary, unchecked
violence at the hands of organized criminal groups and gangs – including
murder, rape, abduction and even the forcible recruitment of children
into gangs. Stiller spent time in Guatemala meeting refugees, including
unaccompanied children, and seeing how UNHCR, with the Government and
its partners, is working to support and protect them.
Commenting today on his new role as Goodwill Ambassador, Stiller
said, “I am enormously honored and proud to take on this role as
Goodwill Ambassador for UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency. UNHCR is an
organization that is working tirelessly all over the world helping men,
women and children fleeing war, terror and persecution. Here in
Guatemala, the families, including children, that I met experienced fear
and violence back home that is beyond imagination. They are vulnerable
and have suffered immensely. They need help. UNHCR is on the ground here
with its partners providing them with support, protection and shelter.
Stiller continued, “With over 68 million displaced people around the
world today, there has never been a more compelling reason or greater
urgency to show solidarity and support for refugees. I for one will do
what I can as a Goodwill Ambassador for UNHCR, to advocate for refugees
and encourage others to join me.”
Filippo Grandi, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees,
said, “Ben will be a great Goodwill Ambassador. I have witnessed
personally his commitment to the world’s refugees and his extraordinary
capacity to talk about the complicated issue of displacement in a manner
that is clear, passionate and convincing. And this is precisely the
role of Goodwill Ambassadors: to raise awareness, generate support and
give a voice to those who have been forced to leave their homes. I am
looking forward to working with him.”
UNHCR works with governments and partners on the ground in locations
all over the world to support and protect refugees and help them build
better futures. In Guatemala UNHCR is working with the government and
civil society partners as part of a comprehensive regional response.
Through this regional response framework, known locally by its Spanish
acronym, MIRPS, six governments in the region have agreed to work
together to address the full scope of forced displacement, from its root
causes, strengthening asylum and protection systems and working on
durable solutions. This initiative is a concrete example of regional
cooperation to address difficult situations of forced displacement,
which has directly informed the development of the Global Compact for
Refugees, to be adopted at the end of the year.
UNHCR continues to call on governments to strengthen global
responsibility sharing and solidarity aimed at ensuring safety for
families fleeing life-threatening violence and persecution.
Ben Stiller has been supporting UNHCR since early 2016, meeting with
refugees in Germany and Jordan. Best known for his role in films like
Dodgeball, Zoolander and Meet the Parents, Stiller has played a key role
in UNHCR projects including the #withrefugees campaign.
Most recently, on 20 June 2018 to mark World Refugee Day, he appeared in a special edition Buzzfeed Tasty film entitled “Homemade Chicken Shawarma, As Made By Ben Stiller and Ahmed Badr”.
In the film Stiller joins writer and former Iraqi refugee Ahmed Badr to
make an at home version of chicken shawarma, a traditional dish from
Ahmed’s homeland Iraq, bringing back memories of his childhood in
Baghdad before he was forced to flee.
More informations:
www.unhcr.org/ben-stiller
Images available via Refugees Media: http://media.unhcr.org/gwa
By © UNHCR
