Angelina Jolie visits Ecuador as UNHCR special envoy

QUITO—Hollywood star Angelina Jolie visited Ecuador this weekend on her first trip as special envoy of High Commissioner for Refugees United Nations, the UN said in a statement.

In a photo provided by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, UNHCR Special Envoy Angelina Jolie, second from right, meets with Plinio, right, in Providencia, Ecuador Sunday April 22, 2012. UNHCR/JTanner

Jolie, promoted to the role on April 17, chose Ecuador because it is the home of the largest refugee population in Latin America — largely people fleeing a half-century of conflict in neighboring Colombia.

She visited the Amazon province of Sucumbios on the Colombian border which is made up of some 80 percent refugees, and during her trip met with Ecuador’s Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino to “discuss the situation of refugee protection,” said the UNHRC.

Jolie, a goodwill ambassador since 2001, has taken on a “new and expanded” role as UNHCR special envoy, performing more diplomatic duties.

Jolie, is the winner of a best supporting actress Oscar for her role in the 1999 film “Girl, Interrupted” and one of Hollywood’s most glamorous and best-paid stars, and half of Tinseltown’s most celebrated power couple, along with live-in love, actor Brad Pitt.

In her new post, she is expected to focus on “large-scale crises resulting in the mass displacement of people.”

In a previous assignment as a UNHRC goodwill ambassador, Jolie made some 40 humanitarian trips, two of which were to Ecuador.