United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Friday named George Clooney a U.N. messenger of peace to promote the group's peacekeeping efforts, Reuters reports. Clooney's latest pet project has been drawing attention to the slaughter in Sudan.

The 46-year-old actor was chosen as the U.N.'s ninth messenger -- people chosen form the fields of art, music, literature and sports -- because he has been "focusing public attention on crucial international political and social issues," U.N. spokeswoman Michele Montas said.

He'll officially join the company of Michael Douglas, musicians Daniel Barenboim, Midori Goto and Yo-Yo Ma, authors Paulo Coelho and Elie Wiesel, naturalist Jane Goodall and Olympic equestrian Princess Haya of Jordan on Jan. 31.

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