HOLLYWOOD - The United Nations will name actress Angelina Jolie as its goodwill ambassador next Monday, Reuters reports.Jolie visited refugee camps in Sierra Leone and Cambodia while working on the film Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, in which she portrayed the popular heroine Lara Croft.
From February to March of this year, Jolie traveled to Sierra Leone and Tanzania to learn about and assist in refugee issues. The mission was organized by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees but was entirely funded by Jolie.
Jolie kept a personal journal of her thoughts during and after her trip, which can be read on the United States Association for the UNHCR Web site.
Kris Janowski, a spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, told Reuters, "[Jolie] has a genuine interest in refugee issues and she is fantastically popular."
"The kind of people who find the UN boring--young people and teenagers who are not interested in refugee issues--adore Angelina Jolie," he added.
The UN refugee agency will formally appoint Jolie at their headquarters in Geneva on Monday.