|
|
CELEBRITIES
CAN DO MORE TO HELP UN SPOTLIGHT WORLD CRISES, SAYS ACTOR GEORGE CLOONEY
(MaximsNews)
|
UNITED
NATIONS - / MaximsNews Network / 09
April 2008 -(ORIGINALLY
PUBLISHED 14 September 2006 )-
Celebrities can play a bigger role in working with
the United Nations to call attention to the world's overlooked or under-reported
crises, but they must be well informed if they are to have a positive impact,
the actor and director George Clooney said today.
In
an interview with the UN News Service after his joint briefing with Nobel
Laureate and UN Messenger of Peace Elie Wiesel to the Security Council in New
York about the dire situation faced by the people of Darfur, Sudan, he said
celebrities can help ensure crises stay under the media spotlight.
In
the case of Darfur, Mr. Clooney said the immediate goal is to try to bring
action before the end of the month, when African Union (AU) soldiers are slated
to leave the region, which may spark an exodus of humanitarian workers. Some 3
million people in Darfur depend on aid for food, shelter and health care.
“Our
job wasn't to try and convince anybody in that room. Our job was to try and make
sure cameras got there. Because once you shine a light on people, they tend to
have to honour their commitments,” he said, citing last month's Security
Council resolution 1706, when members voted to deploy more than 17,000 UN
peacekeepers.
The
resolution “invites the consent” of the Sudanese Government to the
deployment, but Khartoum has stated repeatedly that it is opposed to any UN blue
helmets taking over from the AU.
Mr.
Clooney said the challenge now for him, Professor Wiesel and others was to try
to keep Darfur in the public eye up until the AU departure deadline at the end
of the month.
“I
really think that our job is to try and empower and buoy up the UN, because
without them I don't know what we can do? Things come and go very quickly [in
the spotlight]. Like the Darfur rally in May or in April, and everyone goes,
'Well, we fixed it,' and then they go away.”
Mr.
Clooney said that while there has been a long history of celebrities and public
figures working to spotlight important public problems, it is vital they know
the topic they are speaking about if they are to resist the attacks of potential
critics.
“If
you're a celebrity and you're going to do it, you better be really well informed
on the subject matter, because otherwise I think you do damage to it,” he
said, before giving an example.
“People
like to come in and say, 'OK, tell me about Minni Minawi [a Darfur rebel
leader].' If you don't know that sort of thing, then they basically marginalize
you? So your job is to be really well informed, so that when somebody tries to
put that, you're able to respond to everything along the way.”
Mr.
Clooney – who visited Darfur earlier this year – stressed it helps to be
“finding and picking your spots and not trying to tell everybody what to
think; just trying to spotlight.”
He
said he was optimistic about the willingness of people, whether well known or
not, to support good causes.
“I
think people, when they have a minute, are actually really good about helping
out. I really do think that. And celebrities have the access, so they should do
something whenever they can.”
Across
the UN system there are currently about 80 Goodwill Ambassadors and nine
Messengers of Peace. Since the early 1950s the world body has enlisted prominent
figures from the spheres of art, music, film, literature and sport to highlight
key issues and draw attention to its activities.
During
the interview, Mr. Clooney also praised the efforts of humanitarian workers from
UN agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to assist the people in
Darfur, where fighting between Government forces, allied militias and rebel
groups has displaced nearly 2 million people since 2003 and led to scores of
thousands of civilian deaths.
“It's
shocking how brave these people are,” he said, noting the conditions he
witnessed in many of the camps for Darfur's internally displaced persons (IDPs)
where the aid workers operate.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 |
MaximsNews®
LLC
NEWS NETWORK FOR THE
INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY |
MaximsNews Network® LLC is a Global News Network
that is read worldwide, in 195 countries and territories. It is associated with MediaChannel.org and Globalvision News Network, global news and media information services with more than 350 news affiliates in 135 countries.
Established in 1999, MaximsNews now publishes in
the six UN working languages: English, French, Arabic, Chinese, Russian and
Spanish.
SEE:
About
MaximsNews
The views expressed are the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of MaximsNews®
LLC.
REACH
THE WORLD'S MOST INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE
SEE:
Advertise
with MaximsNews | MaximsNews
MEDIA PARTNERSHIPS
|
Labels: MaximsNews,
United
Nations, U.N., UN,
World Politics,
International
News, Opinion,
Diplomacy, NGO,
Think-TankNews,
People
in World News,
|
|
MaximsNews
UN
United Nations World
Politics International News
Opinion
Commentary Diplomacy
Turbo Tagger
|
MaximsNews.com
U.N. ® LLC www.MaximsNews.com
| MaximsNews@MaximsNews.com |
Please
contact us about Republishing:
Syndication@MaximsNews.com ©Copyrights 1999 -
2008, MaximsNews® LLC. All rights
reserved.
|
