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‘Hotel Rwanda’ star is United Nations Goodwill Ambassador for the Environment

Kigali – The actor of the genocide film �Hotel Rwanda� Don Cheadle has been named the UN Goodwill Ambassador for the environment, the UN announced Monday.

The Hotel Rwanda actor first teamed up with the U.N. in 2009 to front its climate change campaign, urging world leaders to sign a treaty limiting greenhouse gas emissions.

The UNEP provides leadership and encourages partnership in caring for the environment by inspiring, informing, and enabling nations and peoples to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future generations.

Cheadle’s efforts have won him high praise from organisation officials and he will be promoted to a Goodwill Ambassador during a special ceremony next month (June 2010).

In a statement, Cheadle said: “I will be named officially in Rwanda on June 5th, a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Environmental programme. I’ll be in Rwanda on June 5th.”

This day will be International Environment Day coinciding with the naming of baby Gorillas in Rwanda.

Don Cheadle is well-known as one of the founders of the ‘Not On Our Watch’ organization � along with George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon and Jerry Weintraub � after co-authoring a book of the same name with human rights activist John Prendergast, offering background information about the Darfur crisis and how the public can help.

He also co-founded a charity poker tournament called ‘Ante Up For Africa’ with Annie Duke to raise money for and awareness of the crisis in Darfur.

Since its release in 2005, the movie �Hotel Rwanda� has not been watched in public in Rwanda. Mr. Paul Rusesabagina, the Rwandan exiled politician on whose story the movie is based, is a fierce government critic. He has received various global awards.

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