After about ten years, Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie (47) is resigning from her role as special envoy of the UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees). This was announced in a statement.

The actress and the refugee agency have been working together for around 20 years, and she was appointed special envoy in April 2012. Now Jolie wants to "work differently", for example "directly with refugees and local organizations", she is quoted in the message as saying.

She is grateful "for the privilege and opportunity to work with so many outstanding and dedicated UNHCR field workers and other colleagues who are doing life-saving work around the world." In the coming years, Jolie will continue to do "everything in my power to support refugees and other displaced people".

In recent years, Angelina Jolie has visited more than 40 crisis regions, most recently the Ukrainian city of Lviv. The UN praised Jolie in the statement as an "important humanitarian partner of the UNHCR" and expressed gratitude for the "enduring friendship".