Angelina Jolie visits Ecuador

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Angelina Jolie was named Special Envoy of the High Commissioner for Refugees, António Guterres, on April 17, 2012, after a decade of service to the organization as a Goodwill Ambassador for ACNUR. Since receiving the appointment this is your first visit to Ecuador.

He has over 40 field visits in the last decade as a Goodwill Ambassador for ACNUR, and has made his third trip to Ecuador to assess the current situation of Colombian refugees. Ecuador is the country with the largest number of refugees in Latin America.

Currently, Ecuador is home to about 56,000 refugees and 21,000 asylum seekers. It continues to receive 1,300 applications each month for new side of people fleeing the conflict in Colombia. Many refugees live in remote and poor areas of the country, very near the border with Colombia.

In his two-day visit, the Special Envoy has visited refugees living in urban and remote areas of the province of Sucumbios, located north of the country. Also met in Quito, capital of Ecuador, with senior officers of the Government.

"I really urge the Government to continue its tradition of supporting vulnerable families in need," said Angelina Jolie.

In addition, the ACNUR Special Envoy met with Mr. Ricardo Patiño, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Government of Ecuador, to discuss the situation of refugee protection.

www.acnur.es

www.unhcr.org