Angelina says, 'The purpose of the U.N. is to prevent and end conflict, to bring countries together, to find diplomatic solutions and to save lives. We are failing to do this in Syria.'
- Apr 25, 2015
AceShowbiz - Angelina Jolie addressed the United Nations Security Council at the U.N. headquarters in New York on Friday morning, April 24. Angelina criticized U.N.'s failure to end war in Syria and appealed for urgent help for the growing ranks of Syrian refugees.
The "Maleficent" actress said, "The purpose of the U.N. is to prevent and end conflict, to bring countries together, to find diplomatic solutions and to save lives. We are failing to do this in Syria."
"The problem is not lack of information. We know in excruciating detail what is happening in Aleppo, in Homs. The problem is lack of political will," she went on, "We cannot look at Syria, and the evil that has arisen from the ashes of indecision, and think this is not the lowest point in the world's inability to protect and defend the innocent."
"But all of this good is being undermined by the message being sent in Syria - that laws can be flouted, chemical weapons can be used, hospitals can be bombed, aid can be withheld, and civilians starved, with impunity," she added.
"It is sickening to see thousands of people drowning on the doorstep of the world's wealthiest continent... If we cannot end the conflict, we have an inescapable moral duty to help refugees and provide legal avenues to safety," the "Salt" actress said. "The crisis in Syria illustrates that our inability to find diplomatic solutions causes mass displacement, traps millions of people in exile, statelessness and displacement."
Angelina has been working for 13 years for the United Nations. Before being promoted to special envoy, she served 10 years as goodwill ambassador for the United Nations High Commisioner for Refugees. Most recently, she wrote heart-wrenching stories from Syrian refugees in an op-ed for The New York Times.
