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Celebrities answer a higher call: UN peace efforts

The United Nations knows that star power, the kind that celebrities possess, counts when it comes to delivering a message. That's why the world body has enlisted some of the biggest names in show business (and other fields) as its "messengers of peace." Currently, there are nine such ambassadors charged with raising awareness of UN peacekeeping efforts, the latest addition being movie star George Clooney. He was chosen because of his efforts on behalf of Darfur refugees – he filmed a documentary about their camps along the Sudan-Chad border – and his work cofounding Not on Our Watch, a nonprofit group of influential people in the arts who bring attention to world atrocities. The UN Messengers of Peace, with the countries each represents:

- Actor George Clooney (US)

- Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein (Jordan)

- Conductor Daniel Barenboim (Argentina, Israel, Spain, and Palestine)

- Author Paulo Coelho (Brazil)

- Actor Michael Douglas (US)

- Primatologist Jane Goodall (Britain)

- Violinist Midori Goto (Japan; lives in Los Angeles)

- Cellist Yo-Yo Ma (US)

- Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel (US)