A committed human rights advocate, the United States actor George Clooney was designated as a United Nations Messenger of Peace in January 2008. Using his global appeal and wide ranging talents as an actor, producer, screen writer and director, Mr. Clooney has focused public attention on crucial international political and social issues while diligently working to mobilize political action against the violence in Darfur.
The actor’s efforts toward ending the Darfur crisis have included a private trip with his father in 2006 to the war-torn region, as well as trips to China and Egypt, and serving as executive producer and narrator of a 2007 documentary, “Sand and Sorrow”. This documentary follows human rights activists as they visit refugee camps along the Chad-Sudan border and includes interviews with experts from Khartoum to London to New York that chronicle the ongoing tragedy.
In September 2006, Mr. Clooney spoke to members of the Security Council at an “Arria formula” meeting along with Messenger of Peace Elie Wiesel, Nobel Laureate and Holocaust survivor. The “Arria formula” is a vehicle by which non-governmental actors can address the United Nations Security Council outside the official sessions.
In April 2007, Mr. Clooney and several other leaders in the United States film industry co-founded “Not On Our Watch,” a non-profit organization using influential people in the arts to capture global attention and resources as a way to combat mass atrocities around the world. Helping bring about a resolution to the Darfur crisis is the organization’s first official mission.
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