PARIS (AFP) – Hollywood star and director Forest Whitaker is to be named goodwill ambassador for peace and reconciliation for the United Nations’ educational, scientific and cultural body, UNESCO said on Thursday.

Whitaker, who won an Oscar for his 2006 portrayal of Ugandan dictator Idi Amin Dada in “The Last King of Scotland”, is to be officially named at a ceremony on Tuesday, the UN body said in a statement.

The nomination was “in recognition of Mr Whitaker’s humanitarian and artistic commitment. This is most visible in his projects, such as ‘Better Angels’, a film about Ugandan child soldiers,” UNESCO said.

Born in Texas in 1961, Whitaker first studied to be a tenor opera singer in California before becoming an actor, building his reputation with such iconic roles as jazzman Charlie Parker in Clint Eastwood’s 1988 biopic “Bird”.

At UNESCO, he will be tasked with helping to educate the general public and mobilise political decision makers in favour of youth programmes centred on peace education, human rights and global citizenship.

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