Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi accepts role as UNAIDS ambassador

"Nobel peace prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi has accepted a new role with [UNAIDS] to advance efforts to eliminate stigma and discrimination against those affected by the epidemic," the U.N. News Centre reports. "She accepted the invitation to serve as Global Advocate for Zero Discrimination during a recent meeting with UNAIDS' Executive Director Michel Sidibe at her residence in Myanmar's capital, Nay Pyi Taw," the news service notes. "It is a great honor to be chosen as a champion for people who live on the fringes of society and struggle every day to maintain their dignity and basic human rights. I would like to be the voice of the voiceless," Suu Kyi, who is a member of parliament in Myanmar, said, according to the news service (11/20). In a statement, Sidibe said, "From small villages to big cities, from Africa to Asia, people are talking about Daw Aung San Suu Kyi ... She is inspirational," according to Agence France-Presse (11/20).