Angelina Jolie reaches out to refugees in Ecuador

Hollywood star Angelina Jolie has visited displaced Colombians forced to seek refuge across the border in Ecuador, as a special envoy of High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres, said the UNHCR on Sunday. It was the first such working visit for the screen star since Guterres named her to the post this month. She has, however, been a UN goodwill ambassador since 2001, and as such made 40 visits around the world in the past decade. The new post will see the Oscar-winning actress perform a more diplomatic role. "She is expected to focus on large-scale crises resulting in the mass displacement of people, to undertake advocacy and represent UNHCR and Mr Guterres at the diplomatic level, engaging with relevant interlocutors on global displacement issues," UNHCR spokesman Adrian Edwards said last week. Ecuador is the Latin American nation which has the largest number of refugees -- including some 56,000 from neighbouring Colombia. Jolie visited refugees in the Sucumbios province on Saturday, the UN said.