Clooney takes on new role
UNITED NATIONS (AP) - January 31, 2008 The 46-year-old actor's arrival Thursday was greeted with
"oohs" and "ahs" from dozens of people, mostly women, who
crowded the lobby entrance for a glimpse and cell phone picture of
him.
"Hi guys!" he said, stopping only briefly to pose for a
picture with his parents and shake a few hands.
Clooney was touring the United Nations headquarters for a
ceremony marking his designation for the special job by Secretary
General Ban Ki-moon. He was just back from a trip to Sudan's Darfur
region, arriving in the U.S. by way of India, a major contributor
of U.N. peacekeeping troops.
Clooney and Jane Holl Lute, the assistant secretary general of
peacekeeping operations, were part of "a technical assessment
mission" visiting the joint African Union-United Nations
peacekeeping operation in Darfur and the U.N. missions in the
Central African Republic and Chad and in the Democratic Republic of
Congo, U.N. officials said.
Clooney took on the job of promoting the world body's
peacekeeping missions after waging his own campaigns for an end to
the 4 1/2-year war in Darfur and for more humanitarian aid for the
millions caught up in the conflict.
As the ninth U.N. peace envoy, Clooney was selected for his
ability to focus public attention on critical international
political and social issues.
He was accompanied Thursday by his parents, Nick and Nina
Clooney, exchanging the glamour of Hollywood for a day spent among
the diplomatic trappings of U.N. offices, a windowless press
conference room, and several hours of back-to-back interviews with
news media organizations.
The visit coincided with a meeting of countries Thursday that
contribute troops to the 17 U.N. peacekeeping missions in countries
from the Mideast and Africa to Haiti, Afghanistan and East Timor.
Clooney had been scheduled to attend that meeting but those
plans were scrapped because several member countries did not want
him there, according to U.N. officials.
The 17 missions involve more than 100,000 personnel, include
73,000 troops and more than 9,000 international police. One of the
newest missions is the joint A.U.-U.N. operation in Darfur that
started deploying this month.
Other messengers of peace are Michael Douglas, Elie Wiesel, Jane
Goodall, Yo-Yo Ma, Daniel Barenboim, Paulo Coelho, Midori Goto and
Princess Haya of Jordan.
Clooney also is a co-founder of Not on Our Watch, a humanitarian
group that focuses global attention on Darfur's people and has
raised more than $9.3 million for the region.