UN Responds To Pakistan's Request To Remove Priyanka Chopra As Goodwill Ambassador

Just two days after a Pakistani minister called for the removal of Priyanka Chopra as the UN Goodwill Ambassador for Peace, Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General, clarified that a Goodwill Ambassador retains the right to speak about issues of interests or concern to them in their personal capacity.

During his press briefing on Thursday, Dujarric responded to the issue:

Well, I mean, I can tell you that, for any Goodwill Ambassador, whether it’s Ms. Chopra or anyone else, we expect them to adhere to impartial positions when they speak on behalf of UNICEF or any other organization. When they speak in their personal capacity, they retain the right to speak about issues of interests or concern to them. Their personal views, however, do not reflect those of the agency with which they may be affiliated with.

On Tuesday, Pakistan’s Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari  had written to UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta H. Fore, calling for the removal of Chopra as the UN Ambassador. 

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She said Chopra’s “jingoism and support for violations by the Modi government of international conventions and UNSC resolutions on Kashmir, as well as support for war, including a nuclear war, undermines the credibility of the UN position to which she has been elevated.”

Mazari’s letter came just days after a Pakistani woman, Ayesha Malik, questioned Chopra’s role as the UN Goodwill Ambassador during a Beautycon event. 

The audience member had accused Chopra of “encouraging nuclear war against Pakistan”, referring to the actor’s 26 February tweet where she said “Jai Hind #IndianArmedForces”. 

(With PTI inputs)