As the devastating civil war in Syria enters its sixth year, one of the world's biggest stars is once again calling on leaders to take action and bring an end to conflicts driving tens of millions of men, women, and children from their homes.
On Tuesday, Angelina Jolie spoke out on the refugee crisis during a visit to Lebanon, saying, "We cannot manage the world through aid relief in the place of diplomacy and diplomatic solutions.”
“My plea today is that we need governments around the world to show leadership, to analyze the situation, to understand exactly what their countries can do, how many refugees they can assist and how, in which particular communities and to what time frame, to explain this to their citizens, and address fears based on not emotion, but on a measured assessment of what can and must be done to share the responsibility and to get on top of this situation," the actress and special envoy for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said, according to a video of the remarks posted by NBC News.
Jolie has logged more than a dozen missions focused on helping those impacted by the refugee crisis since she was appointed to the envoy role in 2012. The UNHRC estimates that the number of refugees worldwide exceeded 20 million at the end of 2015. Counting people forcibly displaced within their home countries, that figure balloons to a staggering 60 million.
Her latest visit to a Lebanese refugee camp coincides with the fifth anniversary of the conflict in Syria. Close to half of the country's residents have been forced to flee their homes amid the complex and multi-sided war, the United Nations estimates. More than 250,000 have died.
"Syria is the biggest humanitarian and refugee crisis of our time," United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said in a statement, "[It is] a continuing cause of suffering for millions, which should be garnering a groundswell of support around the world."
Refinery29 is committed to telling the human story behind the headlines of the refugee crisis. Read "Daughters of Paradise," the story of three Syrian women who were forced to flee violence and civil war and rebuild their lives in Turkey, here. Read Refinery29's full coverage of the refugee crisis here.