George Clooney has stepped down from his role as a UN 'messenger of peace' amid reports of the Academy award winning Hollywood actor's engagement with human rights lawyer Amal Alamuddin.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters that Clooney has ended his service as a UN Messenger of Peace.
"After six years in this role, Clooney feels it is time to retire his official role as Messenger of Peace," Dujarric said adding that competing demands on their time from their professional and advocacy lives sometimes make it difficult for high-profile individuals to carry out a formal United Nations role.
The 52-year-old actor was a vocal activist for the UN work in Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan. Wishing well for his engagement, Dujarric said the UN Chief hopes that Clooney and the UN would have opportunities in the future to work together again.
Clooney's focus area as a messenger of peace was UN peacekeeping. The UN said Clooney is a "committed human rights advocate", who used his global appeal to focus public attention and support for United Nations peacekeeping efforts around the world.
In September 2006, Clooney spoke to members of the United Nations Security Council at an out-of-session meeting to help mobilize political action against the violence in Darfur.
In April 2007, Clooney co-founded 'Not On Our Watch', a non-profit organisation using influential people in the arts to capture global attention and resources as a way to combat mass atrocities around the world. The organisation’s first priority is to help bring about a resolution to the Darfur crisis.
Clooney has received three Golden Globe Awards and two Academy Awards. He recently proposed to 36-year-old international law attorney Alamuddin.